Mikel Arteta has told the Arsenal players he wants more ‘fighters’ and less ‘victims’ in his squad as he battles to save his job. The Gunners are currently just four points above the relegation places and Arteta has demanded those bringing negativity into the squad to ‘stay behind’.
The north London side have not won in the Premier League since November 1, when they beat Manchester United 1-0, and pressure is starting to mount on the Spaniard as fans turn on their rookie boss.
Arsenal have gone from being FA Cup winners in August to a side who currently sit 15th in the table, after five defeats in their last seven league matches.
“Normally when [a bad run] happens you have two types of people – you have fighters and victims,” Arteta said. “You need fighters and you don’t want any victims.
“Victims bring excuses, victims bring negativity and they start to blame anything that is happening around them or is not going their way. You need people who fight, people who contribute and people who are ready to give everything to the club in this moment.”
Mikel Arteta has demanded more 'fighters' and less 'victims' in his squad. (Image: GETTY)
Only Sheffield United have a worse recent record than Arsenal in the Premier League despite having one of the highest wage bills in the division, with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil said to be on around £350,000-a-week.
With such an expensively-assembled squad, it is no surprise that fans have started calling the players’ attitude into question.
When Arteta was pushed on whether he has enough ‘fighters’ in his squad, he replied: “Yes, we do, but some of them can doubt in any moment because when you find yourself in this situation you are tempted to go to the other side and say, ‘Oh, we are scoring own goals, we cannot play with 10 men, we don’t have the crowd and the referee made these decisions’.
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Arsenal have a proud record of success. (Image: EXPRESS)
“There are people who are contagious and can transmit a certain level of energy. When you have a lot of them it is easy. You always have some on one side, some in the middle and some completely on board.
“Then you have to drag as many people as you want into your side, to the fighting side. And the ones who are not interested or cannot do it, they have to stay behind because, if not, they are dragging you back.”
Arteta is in his first full season as a manager or head coach, having joined Arsenal in December last year after a few years on Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City.
Tonight the two sides go head-to-head in the Carabao Cup and Arteta claims they want to win the competition despite their perilous league position.
Kieran Tierney has been a standout performer for Arsenal this season. (Image: GETTY)