Arsenal face Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-final second leg, leading 1-0; the Gunners have been beaten in three out of their last four matches and Mikel Arteta has been questioned recently; Arteta wants to see “no fear, pure fire” from his team in the coming weeks.
Mikel Arteta has called for Arsenal to have “no fear” and “pure fire” in an extraordinary rallying cry ahead of the biggest week of his career at the club.
Arsenal are attempting to reach back-to-back Champions League semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history, with a potential Premier League title decider at Manchester City, live on Sky Sports, waiting in the wings on Sunday.
But Arsenal go into this week on a run of three defeats in four matches, going from four possible trophies to two. And after a shock home defeat by Bournemouth, Arteta’s ability to keep his team calm in the most important part of the season has been questioned.
But Arteta was at it again in the press conference room by admitting he himself is on “fire” ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg with Sporting CP on Wednesday, with his team 1-0 up on aggregate.
Asked what he wants from his team on Wednesday night, Arteta took his time for a few seconds and then replied: “No fear. Pure fire. That’s it.
“That’s what I want to see from the players, the people and myself. Go for every opportunity. It’s unbelievable.
“We are in April, an incredible opportunity ahead of us. Let’s confront it and go for it. I am putting everything into it.
“Fire! I’m on fire! That’s it. Nothing else. I’m dreaming so much.
“I’ve done so much to be in this position. Because I know how this club was. I’ve done so much against anything that I just see beauty, opportunity. I want to get it done who have been on this journey with us. They deserve it, it’s unbelievable.
“I have zero fear. I had fear when: if we don’t get this done, I don’t know what happens to the club. Now? It’s just purpose, fire, direction.”
Asked if he is seeing it in his players, Arteta replied: “Yes. Big time.”
And asked if this is the biggest week of his Arsenal career, Arteta replied: “The biggest opportunity of six and a half years, yeah.”
Arteta reacts to Man City fan ‘bottle’ moment
Arsenal have been accused of “bottling” the Premier League title race, as they missed the chance to go 12 points clear of Manchester City on Saturday, before Pep Guardiola’s side – who have a game in hand – cut their lead to six by beating Chelsea on Sunday.
One Manchester City fan drank from an Arsenal ‘bottle’ in the away end – a clip which ended up going viral – and Arteta responded to that moment.
“One fan?” Arteta replied. “One fan that says something, over 60,000 fans that are incredible at the Emirates? I don’t get moved by that.
“I show [my players] all the people and players that love these players for what they’re doing which is unprecedented in this club.”
“What we are trying to achieve, it’s difficult, challenging, bumpy at times. It’s supposed to be like this. You have to confront it.”
Arteta defended Arsenal’s recent wobble in form – admitting that getting over the line to claim a first Premier League title in 22 years, and reaching the latter stages of the Champions League is meant to be difficult.
“We are trying to do something, in this competition, that hasn’t been done in the history of the club – in 140 years,” said the Arsenal manager. “That tells you the difficulty of that.
“We value a lot where we are. We want to be in the semi-finals. We are in a really strong position in the Premier League for 22 years without doing it. So we know the difficulty of that. The beauty of it, is that it’s difficult.
“We haven’t been in this position in the Champions League ever in our history. We have overcome a lot of hurdles that were there for 140 years, they’ve never been done before.
“If we want to go to the next step, for sure, we have to have more ambition than anyone else. We are doing it, and are very, very close.
“What I love about where we are is that there is no satisfaction about it. You haven’t asked me any questions about: congratulations, you’re going to be in the Champions League next year.
“Now we take it for granted. I assume the next 20 years this club is going to take it for granted that you’re fighting for titles in April. C’est finit. That’s great. I do value a lot what the players have done.”
Is Arteta doing the right thing by calling for fire?
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:
After last week’s stunning ‘bring your lunch, bring your dinner’ rallying cry to his supporters, only for his side to lose to Bournemouth, Mikel Arteta could have opted for a quieter approach this press conference.
Many felt Arteta’s antics last week added more to the noise, the expectation and the pressure of the team – and it led to a jittery display at the weekend.
And anyway, his team are 1-0 up in the Champions League quarter-final tie, they are expected to progress to the European semi-finals – and Wednesday’s encounter with Sporting CP is not even Arsenal’s biggest game of the week.
But the Arsenal manager has doubled down – producing yet another rallying cry. Instead of calling for calm, or producing the usual ‘one game at a time line’, he has stolen the headlines once again.
At the start of the season, many observers of Arteta noticed a much calmer version of the Spaniard. That calm came from the confidence he had in his team: a bigger squad, better chances of success – and it exuded confidence in his players.
Now this version of Arteta is very, very different. And it is a complete contrast to the Manchester City camp, which is cool, composed and controlled by Pep Guardiola.
The Arsenal manager has drawn the line in the sand: his Arsenal team are showing a burning desire for success. But is this latest speech going to fire up his players – or send his season up in smoke?
Eze: You can see the fire in Arteta’s eyes
Speaking before the quarter-final, Arsenal midfielder Eberechi Eze says Arteta has “fire” in his eyes – and that the squad are keen to ignore the noise about their season.
“The boss speaks well, he is passionate, and you can see the fire he has in his eyes and mind, and that has been pushed around the whole training ground,” he said.
“We know the opportunity we have, we know what is at stake and what is possible, but we have an opportunity to make history as a club.
“And regardless of what people are saying outside, it is about us here and what we do massively, we have so much confidence in what we are doing and that has been the main message – just focus on what we are doing and this feeling we have and letting go of all the noise outside.”
Eze could be crucial in overcoming Arsenal’s recent attacking woes and is eyeing up a first start since getting injured in the Champions League last 16 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Asked if he has been tested at Arsenal, Eze said: “I would not say tested. I’ve experienced football for long enough to know how to carry myself and operate and be the best version of myself on the pitch.
“And a lot of that is, to be honest, not caring what you guys talk about and just doing what I do. I am professional and the one who plays and everyone has an opinion and thinks they know what is right.
“And I can see we now have the mentality just to let go and do what we do best.”
