Mikel Arteta admitted on Friday that back-to-back league defeats had slowed Arsenal’s momentum, but the Gunners coach tried to put things into perspective ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup third round clash. against Liverpool (5:30 p.m.).
Arteta’s side, who sat top of the Premier League table before the holidays, fell to the foot of the podium after taking just one point from their last three matches. Even Liverpool’s 1-1 draw on December 23 was a source of frustration for the Londoners who opened the scoring in the 4th minute.
Conversely, the Reds collected seven points in the same period of time, following up with two victories at Burnley (2-0) and against Newcastle (4-2), and moved to the top of the championship.
At a press conference, Arteta admitted that the defeats against West Ham at home (2-0) then away to Fulham (2-1) had been detrimental, but he urged not to react excessively before the reception of Liverpool.
“Until Christmas we were leading the championship. Six days later we are fourth,” he said. “We may therefore be tempted to look at things either with a microscope or with a telescope (which allows) us to look a little further and with a little more perspective.”
“My job,” he continued, “is mainly to look through the telescope, to step back and analyze things in the right way.”
Arteta stressed that neither Liverpool nor Arsenal expected to have to play such a match in the third round of the FA Cup, which marks the entry into the Premier League clubs.
“It’s the draw,” he noted. We played each other two weeks ago and it was an incredible match, and I’m sure it will be a very good match again.
Arsenal hold the record for FA Cup wins (14), and Arteta said he had a “good feeling” about the competition, which brought him his first trophy as Gunners manager in 2020.
“It’s a big competition, as I said before, especially for the club,” he said. “We’ve won it more times than anyone, so we’re expecting a great game and a good run.”