-
Mikel Arteta reacts to the suggestion Arsenal are Premier League title favourites.
Following his team’s victory over Manchester United on Sunday, Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, declined to comment on the notion that the Gunners are now the favorites to win the Premier League title this season.
Arsenal came from behind against a United team that had only been defeated once in all competitions since early October before getting pegged back. However, Eddie Nketiah scored his second goal of the game late in the game to win it 3-2.
With a game yet to play, the outcome puts Arteta’s club five points ahead of second-place Manchester City with half the season still to play. Additionally, they have only lost once all season in the Premier League and have displayed great mental toughness to achieve victories.
When questioned about being referred to be title favorites, Arteta said he had no opinion. However, the Spaniard seems to be aware that others are openly stating it because he refers to it as “perception.”
RELATED:
- Arsenal vs Man United five-goal thriller reignites old rivalry
- Arsenal announces the signing of Leandro Trossard from Brighton
- Erik ten Hag reveals how Man United can beat Arsenal without Casemiro
“I don’t have an opinion, it can be a perception,” he commented, via Arsenal.com.
“I know my team so well. I know where we are, I know we are here and I know where we want to be, and we are still far from that. I know the level of the other teams, especially one that has won everything in the last five or six years, and we are not there yet.”
Regardless of your perspective, Arsenal hasn’t been in this situation for 15 years. In contrast, the ‘Invincibles’ generation of the 2003–04 season is still the last Gunners team to win the Premier League title. Their last significant title challenge came in 2007–08, a long time ago.
“Extraordinary, I would say!” Arteta said of the first half of the season.
“It doesn’t get much better than that, that’s the reality. I think we deserve the points that we have, I think we have played well enough to win most of the matches, but the reality as well is that we still have a lot of things that we can get much better at, attacking and defending in transitions, in set-pieces and that’s the aim.”