Mikel Arteta says Arsenal still believe in title chances

LONDON – Mikel Arteta has said that “everything is still to play for”, as he prepares his title-chasing Arsenal team to host Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League on Sunday.

The Gunners, seeking to win the title for the first time since 2004, are one point behind leaders Manchester City (82) with just three games to play.

Treble-chasing City, closing in on their fifth league crown in six years, also have a game in hand.

When asked on Friday whether the players still believe they can win the title, Arteta said: “That’s what we’re here for.

“It starts on Sunday again, there’re three games to go, this is the crucial one and right now we want to beat them and elevate our hopes and enthusiasm to keep going because everything is still to play for.”

Arsenal have won their past two matches – 2-0 over Newcastle United and 3-1 against Chelsea – after a damaging string of results that allowed City to leapfrog them.

Arteta also said that his men had recovered their confidence “by playing well, by being on top of the game and individually raising the level – that has been something critical and really important when you get to this stage of the season”.

The Spaniard added: “Once you’ve done that, that has a huge impact on the team’s performance. The team has been playing well, scoring goals and winning matches, so it’s a good mixture.”

Arsenal will be without William Saliba on Sunday but the Frenchman and fellow defender Oleksandr Zinchenko are not ruled out for the remainder of the season.

“With William, that’s for sure that he’s not going to be fit for this game and we are doubting whether he will be for the next game (at Nottingham Forest) as well,” Arteta said. “But we want to keep the hope going and make sure that we give ourselves the best chance to bring them back.”

Saliba has been out since March with a back injury, while Zinchenko came off with a suspected calf issue during the second half of Arsenal’s 2-0 win at third-placed Newcastle last weekend.

The Gunners beat Brighton 4-2 when they met on the south coast at the end of December after losing 3-1 in the third round of the League Cup at the Emirates last November. 

Roberto de Zerbi’s men still have a mathematical chance of finishing in the top four and the Italian has urged them to remain calm.

“We don’t feel the pressure because we fixed our target higher than normal,” he said.

“Before I started to work here, the target was 10th place and, after two months, I fixed the target to Champions League, Europa League and I am not afraid if we don’t achieve our target.

“You (only) lose when you don’t fight, when you don’t compete.”

He also confirmed that Solly March and Adam Webster are unavailable due to injury. AFP, REUTERS