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Mikel Arteta has admitted feeling the psychological strain of Arsenal’s dire situation and accepts that the next three games will determine whether the club will be dragged into a relegation battle.
Arsenal are ranked 15th in the Premier League, after adding five points in their last 10 games and, following Chelsea’s visit on Boxing Day, they will go to Brighton on Tuesday and West Brom next Saturday, teams that currently they are two and seven points below them.
“The next seven to eight days will be crucial to see where we are headed in the Premier League,” Arteta said, when asked directly about relegation.
The coach and his players seem trapped in a bubble of poor results and dwindling confidence, with no way to break to boost morale with a team bonding session, for example, due to coronavirus restrictions. The latest setback came on Tuesday when Arsenal lost 4-1 at home to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
“At the moment, keeping the team together and alive, being a team rather than a group of players, takes a lot of energy,” Arteta said. “You have to get them to be positive with each other, not to start blaming any external factor or anyone when things don’t go well. The best thing to do when you are like this is to be able to do things outside of our site. Bring them together, change the environment, but at the moment we can’t do that.
“The players are really putting in a lot of energy and enthusiasm not to lose what we are building. But it takes a lot of energy because when you lose matches, each match has a lot of weight on your shoulders.
“People are suffering, we are hurt and we have to go back, become the leader again and try to push the players. Players respond and are excited again for the game. That is happening, but the best medicine is to beat Chelsea ”.
Arteta then uttered his last rallying cry, although the point is long past where it is actions on the field that matter. “We have to stand up and we have to collect the points,” he said. “Let’s draw a line and move on. Whether it’s bad luck or these things that are affecting our results, they have to change drastically. “
