Arsenal’s season is on life support after Saturday’s defeat to West Ham, with the Gunners now 11 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta will take his side to high-flying Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night as he looks to get them back on track. Arteta’s task has been made difficult by a succession of injuries, though club bosses did opt against adding any reinforcements in the January window.
The Spaniard has now hit back at those criticising his decision-making and the performances of his players. Arteta’s spiky response comes as he was warned about the future of star defender William Saliba.
The Frenchman will see his contract expire in two years’ time, prompting concern from Gunners legend Ian Wright. Here, Mirror Football rounds up all the latest Arsenal news.
Arteta hits out
Mikel Arteta claims Arsenal’s issues and setbacks should have them sat in mid-table as he hailed the resilience of his team. The Gunners have been slammed in recent days as their title hopes went up in smoke, but Arteta has insisted he is proud of his troops.
“It’s been incredibly satisfying to work with the players and the coaches and staff to overcome certain situations. If someone told you at the start of the season that by this time, you have played five times with a red card, each time for over half an hour in these games,” he said.
“And you have lost this amount of players, what’s the bet that you are in the middle of the table at least? And out of the Champions League. That’s not the situation, so that tells you the resilience, the ambition the team has, every individual has.”
Title race claim
Mikel Arteta has insisted he will not give up on winning the title this season. Arsenal are now 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, but Arteta has insisted that his side will continue to push the Reds.
“I’m not going to stop over my dead body. Over my dead body. If not, I’ll go home. Mathematically, it’s possible. You are there, you have to play every game. Suddenly, three days ago, we could close the gap and you are like, you are one and a half games away. It doesn’t matter. We have to continue to go,” he said.
“The reality is there’s so many games to play and you have to get back to it. And we have the levels and the consistency and the hunger to go again. And that’s what we’re going to do on Wednesday.”
Saliba warning sent
Ian Wright has warned Arsenal they are risking losing William Saliba in the summer. The defender’s contract is entering its final two years and Wright believes that he could look to depart.
“When you’re talking about renewals with certain players… Saka, Gabriel, Saliba… the way they’re moving now, I bet those renewals are all going to be slow. We’re going to have a situation maybe like Liverpool with Trent, Salah and Virgil,” he told the Wrighty’s House podcast.
“If they’re not going to get the kind of players that take us to the next step… look at Saliba. Real Madrid would take him tomorrow. Why not wait and see what’s going on in the summer to see the kind of players and calibre of player we’re signing?”
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