Mikel Arteta has said Arsenal can still win the Premier League title and praised his squad for refusing to be consoled by Champions League qualification.
Manchester City have taken charge at the top of the table, moving one point clear with a game in hand after following up last Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Arsenal by beating Fulham 2-1 on Sunday.
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However, Arsenal’s defeat at Etihad Stadium coincided with Brighton’s 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, which guaranteed Arteta’s side will play in the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
Before the season started, a top-four finish would have been viewed as a successful season for Arsenal, but, with the possibility of returning to top spot with victory over Chelsea at the Emirates on Tuesday, Arteta told a news conference: “I am incredibly proud and thankful to everyone who has contributed to bringing Champions League football back to this club with five or six games to go, it is something that hasn’t happened in over a decade in this football club.
“So congratulations, but also thank you for still being upset and not accepting that Champions League is not enough and we want more because this squad is going to demand to get what we want.
