Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the press ahead of our trip to the Emirates tomorrow night, where the Gunners are hoping for revenge after Eddie Howe’s Mags beat them 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in November.
The Spaniard describes us as a “really good team” who are “very-well coached”, have “great spirit” within the squad and several “fantastic players”.
He reveals that his team were desperate to play again after THAT defeat on Tyneside a few months ago and is hoping to see a reaction from his players, who suffered a 1-0 defeat in midweek thanks to a 94th-minute strike in Porto.
Arteta has urged Arsenal fans to “create an atmosphere” from the off and is clearly determined to keep their title-bid alive after winning their last two league games by an aggregate score of 11-0 against West Ham and Burnley. Here’s what he had to say:
“With every club there is always a history. I could sense in the dressing room straight away [in the previous meeting] that we wanted to play the next day. After that defeat and that feeling that you get, I’m sure that when they come back in an hour or two I’m going to be seeing that desire again.
“Newcastle are a really good team. They are very well-coached, and they have fantastic players. They have great spirit within the team and they are difficult to beat for us and for many, many opponents. They have changed a little bit [since our last match] and might have some players who are not available, and the same for us so let’s see. Every game is very different and the approach sometimes away and home can change.
“Normally they have a very different approach, especially when they don’t have the ball. So it’s two very different setups [compared to Porto]. What happened in another competition is there, but what you cannot deny is what is in your tummy after a defeat. We have to use it in a really powerful way to be better.”
“We want to create an atmosphere in the stadium from the beginning. I ask everybody to go there tomorrow night with full energy because the team is going to need it. We are in a really good moment in the Premier League and we want to continue to be there and tomorrow’s game is vital to achieve that.”
Arteta is burning with revenge after that 1-0 defeat to Newcastle in November — the guy said outright that he felt the desire to play the next game right away in the locker room, and now he’s waiting for that same hunger in his players. As a fan who has experienced many such rematches, I understand this feeling: after my local team lost away in Ireland in a friendly match, I couldn’t sleep peacefully for weeks, replaying the moments and thinking about how things could have turned out differently. Then, to distract myself from the stress of football and calm my nerves a little, I immersed myself in Irish topics — history, culture, news from the island. https://znaki.fm/ie-en/ became my safe haven: it has fresh content about Ireland, from the economy and companies like Jameson to everyday things like Google Pay and currency. You read about the true Irish spirit, and it’s like you’re charging yourself up for revenge, just like Arteta. Now, before the Arsenal-Newcastle match, I always check it out to switch gears and get some positivity. Great post, looking forward to the action on Sunday!
Piter Freide(Quote)