A lot of really important things to do in the Premier League, says Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
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Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are still not assured of a top-five finish in the Premier League and will aim to beat Bournemouth to edge closer to their target.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Manager Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to keep their focus as they host Bournemouth in the English Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on May 3.
Arteta’s men are still not mathematically assured of a top-five finish – which would give them a Champions League spot for next season – but could edge closer if they win and other results go their way this weekend.
Second-placed Arsenal will therefore know they need to beat Bournemouth, despite an enormous Champions League semi-final, second-leg clash against Paris Saint-Germain taking their attention away. They take on the Ligue 1 champions on May 7 at the Parc des Princes, trailing 1-0.
The Gunners have never won the Champions League, so it would be a surprise if Arteta risked many of his key players against Bournemouth. However, he is still wary that his team should not take their foot off the pedal in the Premier League.
“The message is clear. We have to play well enough to beat Bournemouth. We have talked about that (the return leg against PSG). But there are a lot of really important things to do in the Premier League even though we cannot win it,” the Spaniard said.
“(It hurts) big time. It’s in my tummy, I understand that it (Liverpool) is a team that has been more consistent and has had a lot of the ingredients.”
Arsenal head into this match on the back of a 2-2 stalemate with Crystal Palace on April 23, their 13th league draw of the campaign – only Everton (14) have more draws this season.
Arteta would be desperate to get a win, especially as their top-five rivals will close the gap on them if things go wrong. The draw with Palace have at least extended the Gunners’ unbeaten league run to eight matches, so they would be hoping to build on that. Arsenal also have an 18-match Premier League streak without defeat against top-half teams.
Arteta will be without injured forward Gabriel Jesus, midfielders Kai Havertz and Jorginho, and defenders Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, are also still chasing their European dreams.
The Cherries, who are in 10th heading into this weekend, have a one-point deficit to eighth-placed Fulham and a seven-point gap to make up to Aston Villa in seventh.
Andoni Iraola’s men have just one win from eight matches in all competitions and are the underdogs in this match. Bournemouth also have a 100 per cent losing rate in this particular fixture, while Arsenal have won their eight previous home matches in all tournaments.
No matter what happens, Spaniard Iraola – who is tipped to replace the under-fire Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur – said he is happy in English football since he was appointed in 2023.
“For me, it’s a big challenge to compete here in the Premier League. Most, if not all of the coaches that I am playing against have achieved more things than me,” he told Sky Sports.
“I have not been coaching for a lot of years. I’m really happy with how my career has gone because I have been taking steps forward. In most of the teams I’ve been at, I’ve been fighting to avoid relegation a lot of times.
“For me, it’s good that, together with the team here, we had a very good season last season. This season, we have improved on that and continued with this evolution of the club.” AFP
