After our recent run of form propelled us back into title contention, Mikel Arteta wants to maintain our momentum to heap pressure on our title rivals.
With Liverpool and Manchester City going head-to-head on Sunday, we have to chance to top the Premier League by kick-off at Anfield should we beat Brentford at Emirates Stadium the day before.
Having netted 21 goals in our last four matches and stringing together seven straight league wins since the turn of the year, we are the most in-form team in the division right now and Mikel is demanding us to maintain that form heading into the international break – after which a trip to City will be next on the horizon.
Speaking about the message our recent sensational results have sent to our title rivals, Mikel said: “It shows the quality and the consistency that the team is showing. The way that we have scored goals, not only the manner but the personnel, is a really positive thing to see. Then there’s the fact that we are conceding very little defensively so those ingredients together are very powerful to get results and consistency, and we want more.
“We know the demands that Brentford are going to ask us to win the match. We are still not [top of the league] and we want to be better than where we are at the moment, and the other two are, so we have to continue to win.
“There’s something amongst the team that they want to keep improving. They all believe that they have another gear or two to go and that’s the level that we want to push them to.
“They have played more together, and understand the system better. They understand the way we have to compete and the demands that we have to put on ourselves better, and then the confidence grows when results go their way and the performance is good as well.”
Despite the opportunity of spending some time at the league’s summit being tantalisingly close, of course the boss isn’t getting carried away and looking no further ahead than the visit of Brentford.
Last season saw Thomas Frank’s team return to west London with a controversial point after VAR made a mistake and wrongly awarded Ivan Toney a goal which should have been ruled out for offside in the build-up, and Mikel admits that that result against the Bees still stings.
While he is desperate to avenge that result and consign it to history, he is well aware of how tough the task in hand is after we were forced to grind out 1-0 wins at the Gtech Community Stadium in league and cup competitions this term. A third success would make his Sunday afternoon in front of the TV even more pleasurable as he watches our two championship contenders go toe-to-toe.
“Every point that we left, or we left this season hurts, and that’s still there,” he said. “We have a lot to play for, the difficulty of the match is always really tough. We’ve played them twice already and we suffered, we always suffer against Brentford. On Saturday I expect a really similar match.
“That’s the only thing we can control – perform well, play better than them and earn the right to win the game. Let’s do that and if we do that then on Sunday it’s a beautiful game to watch for any football supporter. I will certainly be watching it.
“I will enjoy a magnificent game of football between two of the best teams in Europe in the last decade and let’s see what that brings, but the focus is on us and Brentford.”
Read every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
