Arteta: Troubled Arsenal must 'show their teeth'

LONDON — Mikel Arteta urged Arsenal to "show their teeth" after his side's "nightmare" run culminated in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea, dealing a fresh blow to its Premier League title hopes on Sunday.

Arteta's team blew the lead given to it by Gabriel Martinelli's second-half strike, as Pedro Neto's superb long-range equalizer extended Arsenal's winless run to four league games.

With only three wins in their last nine league matches, the fourth-placed Gunners are languishing nine points behind leader Liverpool.

Arsenal's unexpected malaise comes after two successive runner-up finishes in the title race.

Arteta still believes it can get back in the title race, as long as it shows the nastier side of its personality.

Asked what Arsenal needs to do to close the gap on Liverpool, the Gunners boss said: "Win, win and win. That is what we have to do. There is nothing we can change about our position right now.

"When it gets nasty, show your teeth and show how much you want it. When you are in Disneyland, everything is beautiful and everyone is nice to you. When it gets dark and difficult, that is the time to show your courage."

Arteta has been hampered by injuries to Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka, among others, with a rash of red cards also unsettling his side early in the season.

Odegaard has finally returned from the ankle problem that has kept him out of Arteta's starting lineup since Aug 31.

The influential captain started against Chelsea and provided a sublime pass for Martinelli's goal, which is an encouraging sign for Arteta, who is keeping his fingers crossed that everyone returns healthy from the international break.

"I am just going to pray that after the international break, I have all my players available," he said.

"It has been an absolute nightmare for eight weeks. Issue after issue with players not being able to play and train in certain moments.

"Physically and mentally, to be connected with the team in that way was incredible for Martin today."

"It is a long season — long way to go. We had a tough period in December last season and came back," Odegaard reportedly told Sky Sports. Odegaard was making his first start since sustaining ankle ligament damage in September. "We know the quality and mentality we have, and we just have to keep going."

Behind the top two, the league is bunching up.

Just four points separate Chelsea and 13th-place Manchester United after 11 rounds of the season.

'It was so poor'

After successive defeats against Inter Milan and Newcastle, Arteta could only take slender comfort from Arsenal's battling display, especially when it conceded a goal that left him fuming.

"We were the better team in many phases and, after going ahead, I'm very disappointed with the way we conceded the goal.

"It was so poor. It is not up to our standards and we don't accept it," he said.

"It is a second phase set-piece, and we were disorganized. We don't reorganize quick enough."

Chelsea is in the Premier League's top three for the first time since the final day of the 2021-22 season, when it finished behind Manchester City and Liverpool.

Enzo Maresca's side has surpassed expectations in his first season in charge.

Maresca arrived from Leicester in the close season to find a club in turmoil, both on and off the pitch.

But, the Italian's tactical prowess and astute man-management have offered hope of a brighter future for his emerging young team.

"I enjoyed it, absolutely. We know them quite well, and we competed pretty well," he said

"The performance is very important for us in this moment and it was good.

"It is the way we want to do things. We try and play face to face against every team."

Beaten by Manchester City and Liverpool earlier this season, Maresca was pleased with the way Chelsea laid down a marker against one of the Premier League's elite.

"We are Chelsea, so it is important to send this message. There are managers that have been at clubs for five and nine years, so we are behind them," said Maresca.

"For sure, very soon we are going to win this kind of game. We were trying to win until the end."

AFP