Lacazette is right, Arsenal need to be more ruthless, says Arteta
Arsenal travel to Chelsea on Tuesday night - in a game which they need to win to keep their top-four hopes alive, says manager Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta says he couldn't agree more with the recent comments made by Alexandre Lacazette, who feels that Arsenal lack a rurthless edge as the Gunners prepare to take on Chelsea tomorrow night. A 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield United on Saturday left Arteta's team 10 points adrift of the top four and Lacazette urged his team-mates to become nastier and claimed that the team was too naïve.
Ahead of Tuesday's key Premier League contest away to rivals Chelsea, manager Arteta was asked if he agreed with Lacazette's comments. "Sure, I think it's part of the game management," he told reporters this afternoon. "I think there were things we could have done better to put more pressure on the opponent, to bring the ball into certain areas where we could rest with the ball and control the game better. That will come. It's a good process for us to learn about those situations."
Arsenal sit 10th on 29 points
Arteta, whose side lost 2-1 to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium last month, agreed that Arsenal need to get their own back tomorrow if they are to have any chance of finishing in the top four, adding: "It's very important if we want to have the aim to fight for that. The game at home could have made a big difference as well and we were very close to it, so Tuesday, we need a win."
The 37-year-old insisted his players were buying into his methods as he responded to a question asking if it was proving difficult to convince the squad about progress while results remained disappointing, Arsenal having won just two of his first six games in charge.
Arteta's Arsenal have gained six points from six games
He continued: "I don't have that feeling. The feedback I'm getting from them is very positive, they know when we haven't won the reasons why and there are many different aspects to that. Some aspects we can influence, some we cannot influence, but they are there, and they are very aware of that. A lot of things have happened, and it feels longer than a month to be fair. The amount of games, the amount we've trained, the amount of things that happened. Yes, a lot of things changed, a lot of positives in terms of reactions and the things they are taking on board, the way we have managed to change the energy, atmosphere, relationship and chemistry with our fans was massively important for us. So yes, in terms of results it could have been a little bit different. I think we have been very unlucky and other aspects have influenced that."