Mikel Arteta addressed his side’s recent struggles in front of goal in the second half of his post-West Ham press conference, which also doubled as his pre-Fulham media appearance, as well as questions about the form of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, and the increased tension of the Emirates Stadium crowd.
This is what he had to say…
Depending on how confident he is, his team will not panic after a string of poor performances…
There is no panic; it is all about doing more, doing better, and winning games. If the squad continues to play like this, it will win a lot more games.
On if his team can win the championship if they keep playing like they did on Thursday…
If they don’t become better in the boxes,
Whether Saka and Martinelli are feeling the pressure…
I’m not sure. Obviously, there are a lot more games, but they all looked incredibly fantastic and new. When you win, you don’t think about it. They are young; if they are 35, it may be a different story, but they have a lot of energy and can keep going.
On whether his side lacked zeal…
You don’t get what the squad did today without a spark. It’s not feasible! But it’s the final touch, the final action that determines whether the ball goes in the net or not, and that’s what we need.
On crowd tension affecting his players…
I’m not sure. They want to win with us, and we want to win with them.
No, it isn’t. And we may be second, and if we win, we can be first. We just have to focus on what we can manage; there is no time to look at other teams; you’ve seen how difficult it is for teams on Tuesday and Wednesday, and it will continue because the level in this league is extraordinary.
