Arsenal are facing a number of injury problems before their clash with Liverpool, but Mikel Arteta is refusing to make excuses.
Arsenal could be missing five key players, as Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka all missed training on Friday.
William Saliba is suspended and Martin Odegaard is among the longer-term absentees, and huge questions surround Arsenal’s potential starting lineup.
It would be very easy for Arteta to use these absences as an excuse for a poor display, but he was in a defiant mood in his pre-match press conference.
Mikel Arteta refuses to use Arsenal absences as an excuse
Speaking on Friday, Arteta admitted that the absences were far from ideal, but that his side still need to get the job done regardless.
“This is the game, you know, obviously, we didn’t want to be in that situation, but we are really lucky as well to have the squad that we have, to have the players that we have, to have the attitude that we have,” Arteta stated.
“When it comes down to reacting against a difficult situation and don’t feel sorry for ourselves, face it. We are a team that we know how good we are as well and how difficult we can be for the opponent. And having that ruthless mentality in the team is something that I love.”
Arsenal fans praise Mikel Arteta after ‘ruthless’ comments
Fans are now delighted with Arteta after his comments, with some taking to X to highlight why he is a “mentality monster.”
“No one is going to feel sorry for us. I love that he is keeping a positive outlook in the face of a difficult stretch. We must compete with the players available. He can get the best out of whoever will play and he will do it,” one claimed.
Another fan fired a shot at Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, who recently complained about injuries within his squad.
“Compare the comments of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Manchester United boss Eric Ten Hag today about injuries…you will notice a very very different message and mindset,” a fan pointed out.
“It’s not especially important to me that people outside of Arsenal warm to Arteta (he’s an intense guy and isn’t warm and cuddly by any means) but I find some of the stuff I read pretty bizarre at times because I find this utterly consistent in Arteta’s press conferences in terms of not making excuses and not being a victim. I think that accountability culture is very important to him,” a fan stated.
“He’s honestly the coolest minded manager there is. He won’t give anything away and will always keep the rivals thinking,” another claimed.
Arteta is incredibly popular amongst the majority of Arsenal fans, and he will make them even happier if he can transmit this mentality to his squad to pull off a win against Liverpool.
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