We have to face challenge but Arsenal are not going to throw in towel, asserts Mikel Arteta
In light of their poor start to the season, Mikel Arteta has asserted that Arsenal are not throwing in the towel this early and they need to keep battling the challenges. The North Londoners have lost the first two league games without scoring a single goal for the first time in their history.
Arsenal faced Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium and were soundly beaten in a recurring 2-0 scoreline to that of last week. Romelu Lukaku, who made his first appearance since joining Chelsea, scored the opening goal of the game before Reece James added to the tally just before half-time. It condemned Mikel Arteta’s side to another defeat and left them in the relegation zone after two games. The North London club were subject to injuries and have been plagued by Covid-19 in the opening weeks of the new season.
That has left the club without almost nine first team players, thanks to injuries and COVID-19, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang making his comeback against Chelsea. But the Gunners have bigger issues with a large portion of their first team only set to return after the international break. Yet, despite the problems and critics, Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal needs to “face the challenge” because the “league or table is not decided in August”.
"I don't think the club in their history have faced something like this. We have to face the challenge. The league or table is not decided in August. The worst thing you can do is throw in the towel. We certainly are not going to do that. You have to understand the situation we have. We are missing nine players, and it is difficult. It is not just nine players - they are some big, big players.There are a lot of positives,” Arteta said in his post match interview with BBC.
"Five players who are 19 or 20 years old playing at this level for the first time - that will have a positive impact but at the moment it is difficult. I don't like to feel sorry for myself. I think everyone can see at the moment we don't have the squad that we want and it seems to be more difficult by the day."