In the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s latest collapse, Mikel Arteta was furious but also conflicted. It is the contradiction that often comes with his managerial approach, as well as a title race. Arteta wanted to lay into the mistakes his side made against West Ham, but also knows he needs to keep them confident and focused for the seven crucial games to come; onto the next one as there is still work to be done.
“The best way to do it is to convince the team how good they are,” the Arsenal manager said. So it was when he was asked whether the pressure of it all is getting to his team.
