Arsenal’s Arteta remains determined in title pursuit despite growing gap with Liverpool

Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta (42), has declared that his team will not abandon their pursuit of the Premier League title, despite falling further behind table-toppers Liverpool following Saturday’s defeat to West Ham United. He emphasised that the squad has performed admirably in the face of injuries and other challenges.

“We’re not giving up. Over my dead body,” Arteta asserted to the media on Tuesday, as the squad prepares for their midweek clash against third-placed Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool currently sit 11 points clear of Arsenal, although the Gunners do have a game in hand.

With forwards Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz ruled out for the remainder of the season and wingers Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli also injured, Arsenal, now in second place, face a tough battle. Liverpool remains unbeaten in the league since September.

“If someone had suggested at the start of the season that you would play five matches with a red card, with over half an hour in each of those games, and lose this many players… you’d expect to be well down the table,” Arteta remarked.

“But that’s not our situation. It illustrates the resilience, resources, and ambition of the team.”

Arteta noted that prior to the setback against West Ham, Arsenal had gathered exactly the same number of points as Liverpool from their last 15 matches.

“We suffered that defeat, and to make matters worse, they won… it was tough to swallow,” the former Arsenal player admitted.

“The fact is, there are still plenty of matches left. We need to regroup and get back to winning ways. We have the quality, consistency, and determination to push on, and that’s precisely what we intend to do on Wednesday.”

“Ultimately, you have to reach certain numbers to be successful in this league, and we need to hit those if we are to have any chance.”