Mikel Arteta 'concerned' as Arsenal manager prepares for Chelsea showdown

Mikel Arteta has voiced concerns over Arsenal’s scoring drought ahead of their crunch clash with Chelsea.

Despite this, Arteta emphasized the struggle in the Premier League, asserting that “everybody is struggling” in what he considers one of the most competitive title races in years.

The Gunners have drawn blanks in their recent away matches, and concerns are starting to emerge. Urging his players to convert performance into victories, Arteta stated: “The lack of goals is a concern because you need goals to win games and be consistent.

“When you don’t win it affects the energy. The positive thing is there is nobody outside who wants to win more than me or those players. It is impossible. But you need to take that into winning a football match.

“That’s the only thing that people are going to judge. You can overrun the opponent, you can outperform the opponent in every single way. It’s about whether you scored a goal. That’s the problem. The problem has to be resolved by scoring more goals than the opponents. That’s it.”

Injury worries loom ahead of their Stamford Bridge encounter, with Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, and Mikel Merino all potential absentees.

Arsenal risk slipping further behind in the title race, and they could be 10 points behind Liverpool by the end of the weekend if they lose to Chelsea. However, Arne Slot’s side and Manchester City have both experienced setbacks this term.

Arsenal boss Arteta has admitted that every team in the Premier League, including those at the top, are facing challenges this season. “Everybody is struggling, even if they’re winning,” said Arteta.

“I’ve not seen a team being that superior to other teams, but at the end the fact is you have to win and find ways and details to keep the right to win games.

“I think everybody has been consistently struggling with the level there is in this league and playing in Europe every three days at that level. The temperature has gone up another level, the level has gone up another level. I would put my fingers here and say I don’t think anybody is going to do 100 points this year. It will require perfection to keep winning.

“I think anyone can lose two, three or four matches in a row. And if you take that to Europe, and the competition in Europe, unfortunately it is going to happen. So let’s be prepared when the bump comes in. And at the moment we are having one and we need to get out of it. I think everybody is still in it, especially where we are in the season.”