Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal must do what ‘no one else’ can if the Gunners are to beat Liverpool and Manchester City and win the 2023/24 Premier League title.
The Emirates Stadium outfit can go top of the table with a win when Arsenal host Brentford on Saturday evening. Liverpool currently hold a two-point advantage over the north London natives with Manchester City in second. But the Reds host the Citizens at Anfield on Sunday.
Arsenal topped the top-flight standings after they beat Brentford 1-0 thanks to Kai Havertz’s 89th-minute goal in November. Trent Alexander-Arnold had rescued Liverpool a 1-1 draw at Manchester City earlier that day. But Arsenal then only led the way for the next two weeks.
Arsenal can top the Premier League table by beating Brentford
Brentford also threatened to deny Arsenal the chance to top the Premier League table when they met in November. Arteta’s men needed goal-line clearances from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Declan Rice. Havertz also stooped in the closing stages to meet Bukayo Saka’s delivery.
Goals have flowed far more regularly in north London in more recent matches. Arsenal have scored 31 of their league-high 68 for the season so far in their past seven fixtures alone. The Emirates Stadium club have also only conceded three of their league-best 23 in that stretch.
Arteta fears the standards Liverpool and Manchester City set
But, over the past 14 games since Arsenal beat Brentford, Arteta’s team have only taken the third-most points with 31 to Liverpool (35) and Manchester City (33). The Gunners have lost three times in that period and drawn once, while their title rivals have only taken one defeat.
Now, Arteta admits that Arsenal must do what ‘no one else’ has managed in recent years by beating the standards that Liverpool and Manchester City set, if they are to secure their first Premier League title in 20 years. He also fears the points needed will ‘never stop’ being high.
“We are third at the moment and we are competing with two of the most successful clubs in Europe in the last decade,” he said, via the Mirror. “They have set the standards that no one else has been capable of. But what we have to do is try to improve and do better than them.
“What I enjoy is to be fighting for big trophies in this period, and we want to do the same when it gets to May. That is our objective. It will never stop – the demands and the number of points that are going to be needed. That will be so high.”
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