Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal are not in a comfort zone ahead of this weekend’s clash with Brentford in the Premier League.
Arsenal host Brentford this weekend as the Premier League leaders look to return to winning ways. The Gunners’ 13-game unbeaten run in the league came to an end at Everton last time out, a second successive defeat in all competitions following the club’s FA Cup exit at Manchester City.
Arteta believes he has seen a reaction from his team this week and says Arsenal can use their back-to-back defeats as a chance to reboot their season.
“Absolutely. It’s not about a comfort zone,” he said at his pre-match press conference. “In football you lose matches. They are very different matches we lost against City and against Everton, but losing brings a lot of opportunities to look at other things and see the reaction of the team. And the reaction of the team has been superb this week.
“Tomorrow we’re going to put a great performance in, in front of our crowd to try to win the game.”
Arsenal’s clash with Brentford is followed by a huge fixture with title rivals Manchester City in midweek, but Arteta insists his focus is only on Brentford who arrive in north London on a nine-game unbeaten run.
“I think our only focus has been on Brentford tomorrow, the preparation has been about that. We have to go into tomorrow’s game with the right mindset because we’re going to have to be really good to beat them.
Brentford are pushing for a place in Europe after a fantastic season under Thomas Frank and Arteta outlined the threat that the Bees will pose at the Emirates this weekend.
"I am an energy-giver! I don't like energy-suckers!" 😅
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta when asked how he's dealing with the Premier League title race 🔴 pic.twitter.com/MkFLlaAH7b
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 10, 2023
“Many different ones. The ones they put every single week to every opponent,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where they are on the table they’re extremely efficient at what they do.
“[They have a] Very clear way of playing, very clear way of generating advantages, overloads and sequences of play that they want to do. That will be the game tomorrow and be at your best because they can create a lot of issues for you from anywhere on the field.”
Arteta discussed the reaction from his squad to their defeat at Everton, insisting his side have reflected and are prepared to bounce back against Brentford.
“Really positive. Straight away we sat together, what happened and the opponent played their part.
“You have to congratulate the opponent on the day. It’s true that there are things we didn’t do like in other games and that’s why you lose football matches. But it’s always an opportunity to bounce back and show how much we want what we’re fighting for and do it tomorrow.”
The Spaniard was asked how he is dealing with the pressure of the Premier League title race and believes high energy is key.
“As a young manager – a lot of energy. I am an energy giver, I don’t like energy suckers, I just like to give and I like people who give energy in many different ways. Sometimes it’s with body language, tone of voice, hugging people, tone of voice and people looking for solutions, not excuses. So energy, a lot of energy.”
