'Mikel is too smart. He won't get caught up in all that' Premier League winner makes Arsenal mentality claim ahead of title run-in

News
By published

Premier League winner Owen Hargreaves believes Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have the mental strength to withstand the pressure of a title fight

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta is chasing his first Premier League title (Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal's mental strength was called into question after a blip harmed their Premier League title charge last month.

Mikel Arteta's men played out goalless draws with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, before losing 3-2 to Manchester United in a dramatic finale at the Emirates.

'Too smart' Owen Hargreaves makes Mikel Arteta mentality claim

Owen Hargreaves is a long-standing member of TNT Sports football coverage

Owen Hargreaves won the Premier League as a player (Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal are six points clear of second-place Manchester City but that gap could have halved by the time they kick off at Brentford on Thursday night, with Pep Guardiola's men hosting Fulham 24 hours earlier.

The Gunners also play the day after their title rivals on the two matchdays that follow this week's games, including their trip to Tottenham Hotspur for the North London derby on Sunday, February 22, which follows City's home match against Newcastle United the evening before.

Pep Guardiola has opted to leave Nathan Ake out of his Manchester City starting XI's as of late

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are Arsenal's closest rivals for the title (Image credit: Getty Images)

It's the same story when Arsenal host Chelsea on Sunday, March 1, with City at Leeds United the evening before, so a win for Guardiola's side will pile the pressure on the league leaders.

But Owen Hargreaves - who was part of four Premier League-winning squads across spells at the two Manchester clubs - believes Arsenal and Arteta won't be affected by that quirk of the fixture list.

Speaking ahead of the midweek action on TNT Sports, the pundit said: "You can't really control the fixture list as a player. I think the real trick, and younger players probably struggle with this, because you get too far ahead of yourself, whereas the ones who've been in and around the game a long time, they realise, the next game, don't really count if we don't win ours.

"So, you don't really want to do anything to distract yourself. I wasn't a big fan of watching games like that if, say, we were playing after, because I wouldn't want it to cloud my judgment.

"I wouldn't think, 'Oh, they lost, so we can take it easy'. I just think the reason Arsenal are in the position they're in is because they've treated every game with the utmost respect and gone for it and played to their best.

Arsenal Premier League title

Arsenal last won the Premier League in 2003/04 (Image credit: Getty Images)

"Try not to worry about everybody. Whatever Arsenal have been doing up to this point is working. So, just keep doing that. Mikel is too smart. He won't get caught up in all that."

Arteta is chasing his first Premier League title as a manager and only his second major trophy in charge of Arsenal, having lifted the FA Cup in 2020.

He was part of City's coaching staff for Guardiola's first two English top-flight title wins, in 2017/18 and 2018/19, before getting the top job at the Emirates in December 2019.

James Roberts
Freelance writer

James Roberts is a freelance sports journalist working for FourFourTwo. He has spent the past three years as a sports sub-editor for various national newspapers and started his career at the Oxford Mail, where he covered Oxford United home and away.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.