Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta faces a challenge that dwarfs the club’s sprint to the top of the Premier League table in the run-up to the World Cup: How can the incredible streak be extended?
The Gunners want to resume their league season where they left off six weeks ago when they host West Ham in the late Boxing Day match that will cap a seven-game schedule on Monday.
Arsenal was the strongest club in the Premier League during the first half of the season and leads Manchester City by five points, but their task will be made more difficult without talisman Gabriel Jesus, who is recovering from a knee injury suffered while playing for Brazil in Qatar.
West Ham, who are 16th, have only barely avoided relegation after a poor start that includes four wins in the team’s first 15 games, but Arteta is not taking the Hammers lightly.
“On the pitch, we need to do that (get momentum). We’ve talked about it a lot. “We realize how important it is to get off to a good start, and we play at home,” Arteta added. “It’s a very special day in Premier League history, a very wonderful family day to play football, an extraordinary atmosphere on that day, and we want to make the most of it.”
He also praised his young team’s consistency during the first 14 games of the season, which included victory over rivals Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea. However, more difficult challenges lie ahead.
“Probably the level that we demonstrated and the consistency that we demonstrated within that level, which given the group and age we have is not simple,” Arteta said. “We showed remarkable maturity in key circumstances, especially against large opponents.
“The focus is to play better every single day, to keep progressing individually, collectively and to keep worthy to win matches. That is all we can hope for because football is a difficult game.”
While Arsenal’s Europa League campaign does not resume until March, the FA Cup begins in January, and Arteta understands that rotation will be critical, especially after a lot of his players participated in the World Cup in Qatar.
The Gunners have six games in the next 28 days and an equally tough schedule in February.
“There will be periods where you have time to train and other occasions where matches will arrive quickly and you will have really busy periods,” Arteta explained. “How healthy the team is, how fit it is, and how much rotation can assist us sustain the level we desire will be critical.”
Tottenham travel across London to face Brentford at midday, with Spurs boss Antonio Conte insisting that the start of league play comes too soon after the World Cup final.
The Gunners have six games in the next 28 days and an equally tough schedule in February.
“There will be periods where you have time to train and other occasions where matches will arrive quickly and you will have really busy periods,” Arteta explained. “How healthy the team is, how fit it is, and how much rotation can assist us sustain the level we desire will be critical.”
Tottenham travel across London to face Brentford at midday, with Spurs boss Antonio Conte insisting that the start of league play comes too soon after the World Cup final.
“It’s an unusual scenario, and to play so soon – only one week after the World Cup – I’m not particularly delighted,” he admitted. “In one hand, you are glad because for my club, Tottenham, to have 12 players in the World Cup it means that we are in the right way to attempt to be competitive and to try in the future to achieve something.
“However, it is usual when so many players compete in a competition like this, especially during the season, that it is currently difficult because the physical condition is not at its peak.”
Crystal Palace hosts Fulham in another London derby, Everton hosts Wolves, Newcastle travels to Leicester, Brighton visits south coast rival Southampton, and Liverpool travels to Aston Villa.
