Mikel Arteta says the slide when his top Gunners turned to “plop” gives Arsenal hope of reeling in Liverpool’s eight-point lead in the title race. Kop boss Arne Slot told his players not to get “carried away” after stretching their advantage at Southampton last weekend , citing Arsenal’s surrender of an eight-point gap at the Premier League summit two seasons ago. In return, Arteta warned Liverpool that being front runners for virtually a whole campaign is no guarantee of success - because the Gunners were top for 248 days of the 2022-23 season and still didn’t win the title.
He said: “We’ve been there and to sustain it for 10 months is extremely difficult - everything has to go your way. Just when you think you have it, plop! Everything collapses. Results can change through injuries, decisions and it can happen at any moment.
You have to be ready for that but it’s something you can’t always control. All you can control is to do your very best.” Arteta admits that Arsenal need to be near-perfect if they are to topple Liverpool from their perch, saying: ”If they continue then that's for sure, with the numbers they're producing and the amount of games they're winning.
“But the focus is on us to maintain the consistency especially and performances that will give us the right to win games and keep the availability in the squad. This is a long run.” Arteta senses Arsenal have their mojo back after convincing wins against Nottingham Forest and Sporting.
