Mikel Arteta has been responsible for the ascent of Arsenal into a side looking to compete in the Premier League title race and this has been achieved through astute squad building, coaching and strict principles - but the Spaniard is not without his faults. Some have emerged in games which have seen the Gunners drop points, and the next challenge facing his side sees old wounds revisited.
After what many would have described as an overachievement were Arsenal to have finished in the top four last season, the club were denied to chance to qualify for the Champions League in the very fixture they tackle on Sunday. Losing 2-0 to Newcastle with a lacklustre display in May of last season sentenced the Gunners to their fifth-place finish.
Should Arsenal lose or even just drop points again when they face the Magpies again this weekend, it is highly probable that any glimmer of hope for the title will have been extinguished. Mikel Arteta spoke ahead of the game, and when asked about last season’s disappointment as to whether it would serve as motivation, he dismissed it.
READ MORE: William Saliba shows first team path to new Arsenal signing amid Calum Chambers transfer warning
"I don’t think so," he said. "There is not a lot to motivate from there, there are a lot of things we have to do much better than we did on the day.
"It’s a different group of players as well and where we are today is very different to that group."
I disagree. I think there is all the reason to use that game as additional motivation to understand exactly what this Newcastle United side are, ruthless.
Whether they had something to play for or not, which in the case of 2022 they didn’t, they will be gunning to show their status as a side that plans on overtaking this Arsenal team in the near future. Eddie Howe has taken them from relegation battlers to almost Champions League competitors in a very short space of time.
A year ago, Arsenal were wounded and without key players and the same can be said for this weekend. William Saliba is injured, and for the second year in a row Gabriel Magalhaes is a doubt for the game.
Arsenal have a new adversary who want to challenge them for their own goals and damage their chances of achieving them, just like they did last season. Arteta’s side have responded brilliantly from the disappointment of last season’s finish delivered to them by this very team.
If anything, they are the side which can be the catalyst for a strong end to Arsenal’s season, and in the process keep any hopes of a title challenge alive as well as looking to finish the campaign in as strong a way as possible. Some bookies have the home side as slight favourites, and the Gunners need to show why this is in error.
Perhaps Arteta wanted to remove the emotion from the game with his reply. Maybe what is said behind doors away from the media and those supporters listening in is different.
It wouldn’t be the first time Arteta has said one thing publicly only for something else to then happen. Whatever the case, that bad memory of last season needs to be forgotten and not resurrected and so it is on Arsenal to get the job done.
READ NEXT:
Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal transfer: Deal 'very close', £53m price tag, Barcelona battle
Graeme Souness aims brutal dig at Gary Neville following Sky Sports pundit role exit
Why Arsenal are targeting Premier League players, Emile Smith Rowe future, Marc Guehi latest
William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes: Arsenal injury news and return dates ahead of Newcastle clash
Transfer news LIVE: All the latest news and rumours from Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham
