Mikel Arteta reveals Arsenal focus amid Cole Palmer threat | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will be looking to exploit the weaknesses of Chelsea rather than focusing on the specific threat posed by Cole Palmer.

Arteta takes his side to west London after suffering two away defeats in the space of four days - firstly at Newcastle United in the Premier League and then against Inter in the Champions League.

The Gunners have dropped points in four other Premier League games, leaving their title hopes hanging in the balance as they already trail table-topping Liverpool by seven points – no club has come back from such a margin in over 30 years of top-flight football.

Arsenal have been affected by injuries to key players - Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice among their most notable absentees - but it appears imperative that they collect all three points against ever-improving Chelsea.

The Blues have made a good start to life under Enzo Maresca, with Cole Palmer picking up where he left off to prove his first season at the club was no fluke.

Speaking to the media, Arteta was asked if he had a specific plan to nullify the threat of Palmer, with the Spaniard admitting that Arsenal's intention is to stop the 22-year-old and cause Chelsea problems of their own.

"That's a question that probably all the managers in the league have had in the last year or so and he's still managed to impact games in the right way," Arteta said.

Cole Palmer continues to shine for Chelsea / Michael Regan/GettyImages

"Obviously we will have a plan, not only for Cole, but to minimise all the quality and threats that they have and try to exploit their weaknesses, like any other team."

On whether Odegaard, who may return to the starting lineup after two months out, is the player to get Arsenal firing, he continued: "We are demanding that but it's not very realistic. It's about the collective, every player taking ownership with what we have to do in attack and doing it better and more consistently.

"But certainly, having a player like Martin helps because he's shown how important he's been for us in the last three or four years.

"We hope he's going to help because he's been incredibly good for us and the impact he has on the team, not only in that phase, but in other phases that are also linked to the attacking phase, especially the way we transfer from one to other. He's been out for a while as well, so let's hope that it's going to be very fast and that he can impact the team."