Mikel Arteta makes bizarre numbers rant when trying to explain Arsenal poor Premier League form
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Updated 21/12/2020 at 12:58 GMT
Just one win in 10 Premier League matches has seen Arsenal stuck in a relegation battle rather than fighting for a top-four spot this season, with the pressure mounting on Mikel Arteta as a result. And that pressure showed in Arteta's press conference ahead of Arsenal's Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester City on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta - FC Arsenal
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Mikel Arteta, in trying to explain Arsenal's woeful Premier League form, ended up making a rather bizarre rant about percentage chances of winning matches.
The Gunners' 2-1 defeat at Everton on Saturday means they find themselves 15th in the Premier League, having won just one of their last 10 league matches.
Arteta's position as Arsenal boss is coming under increasing scrutiny as a result, but he has received public backing from both chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and technical director Edu over the past 10 days.
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The Spaniard, who took the job just over a year ago, has suggested he has no plans to walk away and feels he has a squad of players who are willing to fight to address the slump, even if his explanation for the Gunners' form was rather confusing.
"Last year against Everton we won the game with 25 per cent chance of winning, supported by the stats, we won 3-2," Arteta said.
Last weekend it was 67 per cent chance of winning any Premier League game in history, and nine per cent chance of losing - and you lose. Three per cent against Burnley and you lose, seven per cent against Spurs and you lose.
"You need fighters and you don't want any victims [to turn things around]. Victims bring excuses, victims bring negativity and they start to blame anything that is happening around them or is not going their way. You need people who fight, people who contribute and people who are ready to give everything to the club in this moment.
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"From within the club everything I am feeling is just support, encouragement, and total confidence that we will get through this together.
"Externally I never read what is happening, I know more or less what is happening but I never read it: in beautiful moments I don't read it, in difficult moments I don't read it, I just try to focus on the job and what I have to do.
"But obviously a club of this stature deserves the best and when it is not happening, everyone is going to question what is happening. I am the most responsible one in terms of results, so I have to accept that."
Arteta also revealed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will not be fit to face Manchester City in Tuesday's Carabao Cup quarter final.
"Auba is not fit for tomorrow, that's for sure," Arteta said. "[He] is feeling much better. He was more positive yesterday (Sunday) than in the previous two days. He will have another scan in the next few days and we will see how quickly we can get him back in the team."
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