Mikel Arteta lays out Arsenal plan to evade last season’s Leicester-style Champions League heartache
Mikel Arteta has told his Arsenal players to focus on the present as they push for fourth place.
The Gunners are in pole position to do so – and qualify for the Champions League – when they face Leicester this afternoon.
They were fourth going into the weekend, one point ahead of Manchester United, with THREE games in hand on their nearest rivals.
However, Brendan Rodgers’ strugglers’ visit serves as a timely reminder that nothing can be taken for granted in the top-four battle.
The Foxes were a foregone conclusion to finish fourth in each of the previous two seasons, only for a disastrous run-in to derail their hopes.
The Foxes were a foregone conclusion to finish fourth in each of the previous two seasons, only for a disastrous run-in to derail their hopes.
When asked how his high-fliers, who have taken 13 of the last 15 points available, can avoid a similar collapse, Arteta insisted on not getting too far ahead of themselves.
Arsenal’s manager stated: “Look only forward – not at what you have done or who is coming behind you.
“Look forwards – to the next training session, to the next performance and to the next match and make sure everybody is on the same page, that the focus and energy is on what’s in front!“
Such a strategy makes sense given that Arsenal were at rock bottom in August after losing their first three games.
Few people gave Arteta much hope of retaining his job, let alone predicting that his team would be the frontrunners in the Champions League race by March.
What makes their resurgence even more impressive is that it has been accomplished with the English elite’s youngest current line-up.
So, how did Bukayo Saka and company deal with the pressures of life in the basement and turn their fortunes around against all odds?
Arteta explained: “Accepting the reality. The reality you’re fighting at the bottom of the league.
“Your mindset, your efforts and the basics required to get out of there are different to what we have now. Confidence levels are different, the environment is different.
“So, first of all, you accept the reality and, if you don’t like that reality, you make sure you understand how you’re going to change it and how much effort you’re willing to put in to change it.
“Then, if you like it, you try to keep it or improve it. It’s about understanding the reality.”
If Arsenal ends its five-year absence from the Champions League, it should help them secure their top summer transfer targets.
According to Arteta, this has not been a problem during his two-and-a-half years in charge.
“A lot of players who don’t play here are willing to come to Arsenal,” the 37-year-old ex-Arsenal, Everton, and Rangers midfielder continued.
“As a club we can attract anybody’s attention because of our history, who we are, the values we represent, the players who have played here in the past and the managers who were here.
“If they believe this is the right club and we believe they’re the right players and can give them the opportunity, so be it.”
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Mikel Arteta lays out Arsenal plan to evade last season’s Leicester-style Champions League heartache
