Mikel Arteta fires defiant four-word message towards Liverpool in Arsenal title race vow | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta is remaining defiant about Arsenal’s hopes of catching Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League.

The gap between the top two was extended to 11 points at the weekend after the Gunners lost at home to West Ham and the Reds won 2-0 at Manchester City, prompting many pundits to declare the title race effectively over.

The north Londoners have a game in hand on the leaders and, all else being equal, would reduce the gap to eight if they were to win that fixture, which sees them welcome an ailing Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium on the same day that we contest the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle.

Arteta not ready to concede title race

When asked by reporters if he’s given up hope in the Premier League title race, Arteta boldly responded (via TNT Sports): “Over my dead body”.

The Arsenal manager continued: “Mathematically, it’s possible. You are there; you have to play every game. Suddenly three days ago we could close the gap and you are one-and-a-half games away. It doesn’t matter; we have to continue.

“The difficulty is higher than three days ago, but if you want to win the Premier League, you have to do something special. To win this Premier League with the circumstances we have, you have to do something that nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League.”

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Liverpool just need to remain focused and keep performing

As magnificent as Liverpool have been this season, it’s still a big ask for them to win each of their 11 remaining league games, and any slip-ups could yet offer Arsenal renewed hope of an improbable comeback from their current position.

However, the Gunners require Arne Slot’s side to fail to win in at least three matches, and that’s without dropping any points themselves in the meantime. Given that their longest winning streak in the top flight this term is three games, it seems implausible that they’ll suddenly reel off 12 in a row to finish out the campaign.

Of course Arteta isn’t going to publicly concede defeat just yet, but deep down he’ll know that the weekend’s results represent a hammer blow to his chances of catching the league leaders.

Liverpool have the luxury of knowing that, no matter what Arsenal do for now, we have our destiny very much in our own hands and simply need to look after our own affairs.

It’s still much too early to enlist the services of an engraver for the Premier League trophy, but it’s beginning to look increasingly unlikely that the Reds won’t go on from here to displace Manchester City as champions, so long as they maintain focus and continue to perform as clinically as they have done throughout the season.