Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is not backing down from critics.
The Gunners boss has come under a bit of criticism following the loss against West Ham United. That defeat has put them in a really difficult position and many feel that the Premier League title race is over.
That has led to debates over whether the Gunners have become worse this season than they were last time around. This will be the first time that Arsenal will not improve their points tally from the previous campaign under Arteta.
The Arsenal manager, however, is adamant that his team hasn’t fallen off.
Mikel Arteta raves about what Arsenal have done in the Premier League this season
Arsenal look like they will finish second again in the Premier League this term.
Yes, it is mathematically still very possible that the Gunners can win the title, but 11 points just feels like it’s too big a gap to overcome, even though the Londoners have a game in hand.
On paper, a second-place finish for the third season in a row makes it seem like Arsenal are not improving. That has led to a few disgraceful comments about Arteta’s job recently.
However, people are forgetting the context of everything that has happened this season – not many other teams would’ve been where the Gunners are right now if they went through the same.
That’s the message Arteta has tried to get across to fans.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “I think we have made big strides this season, yeah, big time! Because we should be in a very different position with everything that has happened.
“Because there is no team in Premier League history with five red cards and the amount of injuries we’ve had are in the position that we are in today. It hasn’t been done.”
Tottenham are proof that Mikel Arteta is right
Arteta is absolutely spot-on with his assessment.
If any other team had the number of injuries that Arsenal have had to their key players this season, they would be nowhere near the top of the Premier League table.
Tottenham, for example, have had a ton of injuries this season, and that has pushed them down to 13th in the Premier League table ahead of their game on Wednesday night – 20 points below Arsenal.
On top of that, Arsenal have had five red cards this season, and we can argue that four of them were wrong decisions.
If Arsenal either had a fully fit squad available or didn’t have decisions go against them, we’re convinced that they would be on top of the table right now.
The fact that they are still second and alive in the Champions League shows just how incredible a job Arteta has done this season.
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