Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes his players are ‘thriving on the pressure’ from title rivals Liverpool.
The Gunners reduced the gap to league leaders Liverpool to four points in midweek after they beat Tottenham 2-1 in the North London Derby.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Aston Villa this weekend, Arteta believes his players should be relishing the challenge.
Another north London derby, another big moment from Gabi ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/tfrgVCnbGy
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 17, 2025
“If you want to be fighting for the top trophies with the top teams like we have been doing for the last two and half years you have to enjoy that.
“You have to enjoy those kind of moments, those circumstances, the challenges and the pressure that comes with it.
“This is the beauty of it. We are playing to win.”
However, the 42-year-old believes the biggest pressure needs to come from within his camp.
“The pressure comes from within. I think nobody can put more pressure on you. I think if that is a case then you are probably preparing in the wrong way.
“There is no more pressure in my opinion than the commitment you do with yourself.
“It’s important to capitalise when teams drop points, we need many more of those at the moment and we need to stay focused.”
Arsenal welcome Unai Emery’s Aston Villa to the Emirates Stadium tomorrow evening as they look to exact revenge.
In their last meeting in North London, Villa ran out 2-0 winners in a result that virtually ended Arsenal’s title hopes last season. Arteta dismissed the notion that the result back in April is still in his players’ minds.
“We know the difficulty of the team that they are. They are performing so well, they have an excellent coach, really good players and organisation.
“Tomorrow we are going to have to be really good again.
Despite not winning any silverware over the last year, the Spanish manager reiterated that his side have been the best in the Premier League.
“In this case I refer to the stats. The stats said we were but in reality [we’re] not because somebody else won the title.
“So that is a margin there that we are looking to improve and be better.”
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