Mikel Arteta has lamented Arsenal’s intolerable ‘standards’ against Chelsea and urged his team to “show their teeth.”
The 42-year-old also wished that their ‘nightmare’ injury issues would eventually start to improve.
At Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the Gunners were held to an entertaining 1-1 draw by their London rivals. Gabriel Martinelli’s first-minute effort was quickly cancelled out by Pedro Neto’s first Premier League goal for Chelsea. Leandro Trossard’s last-minute attempt to win the match was unsuccessful.
Arsenal, who have only won one of their previous five games in all competitions and already look to have a difficult time winning the title as they lie in fourth position, nine points behind leaders Liverpool, had yet another unsatisfactory display.
Both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice hobbled off at Stamford Bridge, further exacerbating Arsenal’s ongoing fitness problems during a challenging start to the new season.
As a result, they are major doubts for England’s final Nations League doubleheader against Greece and the Republic of Ireland this week.
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According to The Evening Standard, Arteta acknowledged that his team’s ongoing fitness issues had created a nightmare situation as the issues continued to mount, leaving him “praying” that he can have a fit squad to choose from.
When Arsenal return to action following the most recent international break, they will have a demanding schedule across all competitions in the lead-up to Christmas. Starting with the visit of Nottingham Forest in the top flight on November 23.
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