Mikel Arteta has said Arsenal are approaching ‘the most important part of the season’ as the Gunners look to win the Premier League title.
Arsenal are third in the Premier League table, two points behind leaders Liverpool. The North Londoners have impressed in recent weeks and thrashed West Ham 6-0 at the London Stadium last time out, with Arteta’s side having won four consecutive Premier League games.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Burnley, Arteta discussed Arsenal’s recent momentum at a crucial period in the campaign.
“It is the most important part of the season and we know every fixture will play a significant role in what we want to achieve,” he said at his pre-match press conference.
“Burnley are extremely well coached and are very competitive, so we know we have a tough match on Saturday – we will play with the same energy and enthusiasm.
“We have done a lot of things right in the season, we have shown a lot of level of consistency and now we want to go another step forward and want to play the way we are playing – we will see where we get.
“We are working as a team on our strengths and on the things we can improve, trying to have more belief and embracing the players’ qualities.”
Arteta will come up against Vincent Kompany tomorrow, with the Spaniard having coached the Burnley boss during their time together at Manchester City.
Arteta said he has huge admiration for the City captain and has backed Kompany for a successful coaching career, despite a difficult top-flight campaign at Turf Moor to date.
“We know each other really well and I have a huge admiration for him.
“He has a special aura around and is well articulated, he has great ideas and on top of that he has the courage – his work ethic is phenomenal.
“What Burnley did last season in the Championship was phenomenal and to do that you need to be exceptional and that is big credit to him.
“They went through a difficult period [earlier this season] and have been unlucky with the results they have had.”
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