Mikel Arteta confident in Arsenal title chances: ‘My brain tells me we are lifting the Premier League’

The odds, the fixture list, the weight of Manchester City’s recent history may tell you otherwise, but Mikel Arteta’s brain insists that in nine days’ time, his Arsenal team “will lift the Premier League”. With two games left of the season, they must beat Everton on the final day and, before that, Manchester United at Old Trafford, a ground where they have not won in front of fans for nine years.

It’s not an easy task in itself, but it’s not even half the battle for Arsenal. They will also rely on Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham to take points off City. There are three teams that have won one each in the last five championship games. It would be an exaggeration to say that Fulham are already on the beach, but when the time comes for Marco Silva’s men to depart at the end of the season, they will probably be following kites around the beaches of Dubai and the Maldives.

Still, Arteta believes. “My brain tells me when I talk to the players that we are lifting the Premier League,” he said ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Old Trafford on Sunday. “That’s what my brain is doing at the moment and I want to follow my brain and my instinct. That’s how I want everyone to think too.

“I’m telling you how I’m feeling, the thoughts that come into my head, and what’s driving my energy and purpose right now. It’s that ambition, that purpose that feels so good.”

Manchester United’s struggles

Perhaps he can see the title triumph so clearly because he knows there is little to fear from his next opponent. Arsenal may have an appalling record at Old Trafford, but in all their recent visits they have not faced a team as abject as the one they were beaten 4-0 by Crystal Palace on Monday. The unstoppable force of the Premier League’s highest-scoring attack is flying towards an object more than willing to get out of its way if it is in any way troubling Arsenal.

In 2024, Manchester United allowed 317 shots on goal, the highest number in the Premier League by a non-negligible margin. This is remarkable when most of the top flight have played 16 or 17 games. At two down, United are giving up shots at a frightening volume. Erik ten Hag would, and often does, point to a defense continually rocked by injuries.

There is no relief from the defensive crisis for Arsenal’s visit, even though Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay have returned to training. Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof remain sidelined until perhaps the FA Cup final. The availability of fellow defender Willy Kambwala is unclear. Luke Shaw has suffered a setback in his recovery, although there is no prospect of Tyrell Malacia returning this season. Lisandro Martinez’s pleas to play against the league leaders were ignored.

Fernandes’ presence could test Arsenal. He tends to shine in these games, dropping deep, avoiding the press and making passes into the space that William Saliba and Gabriel will leave behind. Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho may not offer as much as they should without the ball, but they relish the chance to fly behind the backline. If the latter had started half a second later on his visit to the Emirates Stadium then he could well have scored the winning goal on that mad September afternoon where Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus both scored to the death.

“We know they are one of the best teams, or probably the best,” said Arsenal’s Ten Hag. “You can argue about that. Are City the best team or are Arsenal the best at the moment? Very safe ball, very good structures and we know we have to play absolutely at our maximum level to get a result. But we are capable of it. “

Arsenal’s title quest needs help

Meanwhile, Arteta’s views extend to “a really positive context” for his team to face United, but he knows, even if he doesn’t like to broach the subject, that Arsenal’s fate is linked to that of Fulham this week, when they face City. Although Marco Silva’s team secured survival a long time ago, they have quietly impressed since the start of the year, collecting 20 points from 16 games and boasting the sixth-best expected goal difference in the Premier League. They got time off to fly kites after training.

“The power of team unity,” said Arteta when asked about the antics. “No one knows what it is, but sometimes you get incredible results with it. I’ve been on teams fighting to win a game and we go out to dinner and then you go on an unbelievable run. happened with Fulham.”

It’s easy to see why Arteta is so certain his claims will come true. This was the man who prophesied a bright future for Arsenal when many were wondering if he was about to lose his job before Christmas 2020. His team responded to last season’s collapse with some hurdles in front of them, putting pressure on City each time. more, even in a more challenging Premier League. Now he finds himself in a position he would have been more than prepared to accept at the start of the season.

“I would pick up that pen and sign it,” he said when asked what he would have thought of that scenario if it had been offered to him at the start of the season. His faith that the breaks will favor Arsenal seems unshakable. He may be the only Arsenal fan who doesn’t expect City to slip up. He seems to know this is coming.