Mikel Arteta

Defiant Arteta claims ‘nobody’ works harder than him and his players

(Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images via ONE FOOTBALL)

A defiant Mikel Arteta claimed that there is nobody who wants to win more than he does in response to Arsenal’s recent dip in form.

The Gunners have suffered defeats to Bournemouth, Newcastle and Inter in recent weeks and are without a win in the last three Premier League games.

But Arteta has refused to push the panic button and insists that performances have still been good.

He said: “I promise you that nobody works harder than me to achieve that, or these guys (the players). Nobody.

“Talking, yes maybe, but actually working and making sure that this is going to happen? Nobody. I guarantee it.

“We don’t need a reset. We need, in one particular aspect, to go from 95 to 100. I’m not going to tell you what that is.

“When you don’t win it affects the mood and the energy but the positive thing is that there is nobody in this room or outside that wants to win more than I do and these guys in the dressing room want to. It’s impossible.

“I had a meeting with them about it and I can sense it straight away. What I sense as well is that big belief of how good they are as a team, and again what we did in Milan, watching it back twice I haven’t seen my team do that against them (before).

“But again, you need to take that into winning football matches because in the end that is the only thing that anyone is going to judge not how superior you are to the opponent, if you outperformed the opponent in every single way.

“We have a problem and the problem has to be resolved by scoring more goals than the opponent. That’s it.”

Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Sunday but midfielder Declan Rice is a doubt for the game through injury having missed the defeat to Inter on Wednesday.

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