Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has been told he has made a mistake that the former Manchester United manager wouldn't have during a Premier League title race. It comes after the Gunners registered back-to-back draws against Liverpool and West Ham, with the latter coming as a huge blow to the side's title chances.
The gap at the top has now been cut from eight points to just four, with Manchester City now hot on their heals heading into the final few weeks. The north London outfit have a chance to extend the lead again this Friday though as they play Southampton while their rivals face cup action instead.
"What we can say is that our players have full faith in what they do," Arteta responded when asked about people writing his side off. "We know that what is at stake is incredibly beautiful. The best way to do it is to continue to do what we want to do every single day. Tomorrow, play really well, play with our crowd, create an incredible atmosphere and win that game."
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Given that it is still Arteta's first title race as head coach, there are plenty of things he could learn from the experience going into his long-term future at the top of the game. According to former striker Chris Sutton, one of those learning points could come from the draw against the Hammers, making reference to Sir Alex Ferguson.
He told BBC Sport: "Arsenal’s players will have felt sick going into the dressing room at London Stadium at full-time last Sunday and dropping points like that is a very different feeling to when you draw after trailing 2-0. I don’t think Gunners boss Mikel Arteta got it right when he said afterwards that his side looked “too comfortable” when they went ahead early on against the Hammers.
"He might just have been emotional at the result but he seemed to be questioning his players’ mentality and I don’t think we ever saw Sir Alex Ferguson doing that at United – he would have blamed the referee, or anything, instead. Maybe the pressure is getting to Arteta too, but his side need to start dominating games again, or at least controlling them – starting with this one."
It remains to be seen whether that will change the management style of Arteta, who was seemingly honest in his assessment of the game. However, it could create a shift in mentality that is required heading into the final few games of a title run-in that may need a siege mentality.
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