Mikel Arteta has now opened up about what he told his Arsenal players to inspire their 6-0 win against West Ham United.
Mikel Arteta got his tactics and team selection spot on as his Arsenal side thrashed West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
This was a record-breaking win for Arsenal. The Gunners have never won a Premier League match away from home by such a margin before. A brace from Bukayo Saka, as well as goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, and Declan Rice meant that this was a result that will live long in the memory.
It was vital that Arsenal won this game, too. Having beaten Liverpool in their previous outing to revive their Premier League title push, the Gunners needed to build on that win and maintain their positive momentum. They were able to do so in emphatic fashion, and have now won their last four league matches on the bounce.
Even Gary Neville now has renewed faith in Arsenal’s title chances, and has admitted that he hopes to see Arteta’s side crowned champions come the end of the campaign. Of course, the north London outfit have a tough task ahead of them if they are to achieve that outcome. Given the strength of Liverpool and Manchester City, Arsenal will likely have to be near-perfect for the rest of the season if they are to come out on top in the end.
How Mikel Arteta inspired Arsenal win over West Ham
Arteta will know that his players cannot afford to go into a single game lightly. There can be no room for complacency. His squad need to take each game as it comes, and treat them all as something akin to a cup final.
Not only did Arsenal play as if their title hopes depended upon it against West Ham, they were clearly also out for revenge. Before Sunday, the Gunners had already faced David Moyes’ side twice this season. In the first instance, the Hammers knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup. More recently, in a Premier League clash, the Irons came to the Emirates Stadium and escaped with a 2-0 win after Arsenal missed a number of opportunities to score.
Payback for those defeats was very much the theme of Arteta’s message to his players before they kicked off against West Ham on Sunday.
In his post-match press conference, Arteta was asked about what he had said in he pre-match team talk. As quoted by the club’s official website, the Spanish coach revealed, “time to beat West Ham. We all knew it, we all had it in our tummies and we knew that it was going to be a really tough match, and we have to do certain things better especially in both boxes than in the previous match. We certainly did that today.”
Clearly, the message got through loud and clear.
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