Arteta Hopes Champions League ‘Urgency’ Kicks Arsenal Into Top Gear
Before Tuesday’s last-16, first leg visit to PSV Eindhoven, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes his injured side can still challenge for Champions League glory.
After losing 1-0 at home to West Ham and drawing 0-0 at Nottingham Forest in their previous two games, the Gunners appear to have lost their quest for a first Premier League title in 21 years, falling 13 points clear of Liverpool’s leaders.
With all of Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Kai Havertz injured, it is understandable why Arsenal hasn’t had much firepower.
Mikel Merino has recently been forced to switch to a makeshift striker, but Arteta insists there is still more to come from his side.
At his pre-game press conference in the Netherlands on Monday, Arteta stated, “We still have gears with the players that we need to change.”
Every person should perform at their absolute best. We are a really strong team when we do that and establish that connection.
Arsenal can at least rely on the Premier League’s worst defense, which has been one of the best so far this season, to survive a free-flowing attack.
In the eight-game league phase, Inter Milan finished third behind only Arsenal in the goals conceded.
Our biggest reassurance is that we won’t be able to compete in the Champions League this season because it won’t happen for that long for a reason. We have it in us, Arteta continued.
“We’re going to have to adapt,” he declared. Although that is unquestionable, we can still be a very effective and effective team.
There is “something else” when you get to this stage of the Champions League. It can be felt in the setting’s air and energy.
Because it’s a competition you don’t participate in weekly, it’s something else. You play, and you either enter or exit. And that makes you feel more urgent.
[/url ]FULL LIST] Teams That Qualified For the UEFA Champions League Final 16In the shock defeat suffered by losing to West Ham, Arsenal only managed one shot on target and two against Forest.
Jurrien Timber, however, thinks they can outsmart the Dutch champions.
Wining games allows us to change the narrative, and that’s simple. On his return to the Netherlands, Timber, a former Ajax defender, said, “We have to score tomorrow, we have to win games.”
“Our group has a lot of quality,” says the leader. There are a lot of injuries, especially in the front. That is common knowledge. However, I believe that putting our front players, or anyone else, in the best position to score goals is a beautiful challenge for us as a team.
Source: Channels TV
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