Arteta refuses to give up on Arsenal’s title hopes

Mikel Arteta has insisted Arsenal will not give up in the Premier League title race “over my dead body” despite acknowledging the scale of the challenge to catch leaders Liverpool.

Arsenal travel to face in-form Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, trailing Arne Slot’s side by 11 points following a disappointing 1-0 defeat to West Ham at the weekend. Liverpool extended their advantage a day later with a victory over Manchester City.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Arteta made it clear that his side will keep fighting. “Mathematically it’s possible. You are there, you have to play every game,” he said. When asked if he still believed Arsenal could challenge, the Spaniard was emphatic. “Over my dead body. If I don’t believe, I go home.”

The Gunners are aiming for their first Premier League title since 2004, but Arteta acknowledged the difficulty of the task. “If you’re going to win this Premier League with the circumstances that we have, you’re probably going to have to do something nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League,” he said.

Arsenal, who have a game in hand over Liverpool, have been hampered by injuries, particularly in attack. Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are out for the season, Bukayo Saka is not expected back until next month, and Gabriel Martinelli remains sidelined. Captain Martin Odegaard also missed 12 games earlier in the campaign with an ankle injury.

Reflecting on the defeat to West Ham, Arteta admitted it was “a very hard one to take” but urged his squad to stay focused. “The reality is there are so many games to play. You have to have the levels and the consistency and the hunger to go again, and that’s what we are going to do on Wednesday.”

(Source: AFP)