Mikel Arteta has now revealed that he had to intervene to stop his players doing one thing ahead of their clash with Chelsea.
Arsenal will welcome Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium for a Premier League showdown on Tuesday evening.
This is a must-win game for the North London club. They are currently perched at the top of the Premier League table, but they are not in control of the title race as things stand.
Manchester City sit just one point behind the Gunners and hold a game in hand. If Mikel Arteta’s side are to stand a chance of being crowned champions this season then they must win all of their remaining games and hope that that the Cityzens slip up.
Arsenal must find the energy to go again v Chelsea
Beating Chelsea will keep Arsenal right in the thick of the title hunt and will maintain the pressure on Manchester City.
Having recently been beaten by Aston Villa, Declan Rice promised Arsenal fans they they would see a positive response against Wolves. The Gunners were indeed able to get back to winning ways at the Molineux Stadium on Saturday evening.
However, with such a short period of respite between matches, there will certainly be a concern that tiredness could set in and derail the Gunners during the run-in. Bukayo Saka has already suffered with fatigue this season, whilst the likes of Martin Odegaard, Rice, Kai Havertz, Ben White, William Saliba, and Gabriel Magalhaes have all had to play a huge amount of football.
Mikel Arteta reveals drastic action he took in Arsenal training
Arteta was asked if he was worried about burnout amongst his players in his pre-match press conference ahead of this encounter with the Blues. As quoted by the club’s official website, the Spanish coach said, “I don’t know, when I saw this morning, I had to stop them, because winning as well is a big boost of energy. After the performance against Wolves, and winning, and now having to play the London derby tomorrow, everybody is ready for it.”
“It’s not the moment for us to look at that, we have to think about it in a positive way and feel and think that we are fresh to perform in the best possible way.”
The fact that Arteta had to call a halt to his players’ training whilst they looked set to continue suggests that his squad is in physically good shape ahead of this fixture.
This will give Arsenal fans a cause for optimism. However, they still ought to be prepared for a tough test against their London rivals. Chelsea have endured a tough season so far, and will still be hurting from their FA Cup semi-final defeat at the weekend. They will be eager to show what they are capable of at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal will have to be sharp and willing to fight until the final whistle to get the three points that they desperately need from this match.