Mikel Arteta has laughed off a suggestion from Paul Scholes that Arsenal would be the most boring team to win the Premier League, insisting his side are considered “the most exciting in Europe” in other countries.
Scholes, the former Manchester United midfielder, pointed to the lack of goals from Arsenal’s front four this season and reliance on set pieces as evidence for his claim. Viktor Gyökeres is the club’s top scorer in the league with six, and Arsenal have scored 17 goals from set pieces – three more than any other club.
Arteta, whose side head into the second leg of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium with a 3-2 advantage, dismissed the criticism after Arsenal became the first team to win all eight of their games in the league phase of the Champions League.
“I hear completely the opposite: all around Europe that we are the most exciting team in Europe – the most goals, the most clean sheets,” the manager said. “Maybe I have different sources.”
Asked why there was such a disparity of views at home and abroad, Arteta said: “I don’t know which people. You send me the names, the addresses and the email and maybe we can talk but I can’t give you a massive book of all the people.”
Arsenal, who have not lost to Chelsea in their past nine meetings, last won the League Cup under George Graham in 1993. They brushed aside Leeds on Saturday to move six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and Arteta emphasised the need for his players to maintain momentum by reaching the final.
“The big one is to get the team and players and all of our supporters together to enjoy that moment,” he said. “That is what really drives me. [Winning trophies] is a cycle that you want to repeat constantly, and we still have to do that, and some of them, they’ve never done it, so it’s always a first time. I think the group is really convinced that we have the ability to do it.”
It will be Arsenal’s first home game since a nervy league defeat by Manchester United but Arteta does not anticipate anxiety among supporters if his side make a slow start. “I expect the crowd, like it’s been all season, with us,” he said. “We have had some incredible moments together, and we have an opportunity to go to Wembley all together.”
Liam Rosenior, though, did not rule out Chelsea trying to play on recent signs of Arsenal being weighed down by anxiety at home. “We’ll see,” the head coach said, smiling, when the prospect of making the Emirates nervous was put to him. “We’ll see. We’ll go and play our game.”
Rosenior believes Chelsea have shown they are capable of rising to the occasion in big games. “Enzo Fernández has won a World Cup, as well as the group winning two trophies last year,” he said. “They can play in big games; they can perform in big games, and it is definitely a big game on Tuesday. My concern is resting. It’s another three-game week. We need to recover. It’s going to be a really physical game.
“I don’t have a best XI. I never have done in all of the clubs that I’ve worked with. Why? Because of the demands, the physical demands of the Premier League or Ligue 1 or the Championship now with 46 games. You need a squad, and you need to use the players in the correct way to challenge over the course of the season.
“I try and pick the right starting team, but I also try to pick a bench that will give us the right finishing team as well. So far I have to say the substitutes in every game that we’ve played have made a huge impact. It’s not down to my tactical stuff – there’s some part of that – but it’s down to their mentality to come on and help the team.”
Chelsea are likely to be without Jamie Gittens after the winger injured a hamstring during Saturday’s win against West Ham. Rosenior is unsure whether Estêvão Willian will be back after the winger returned to Brazil on compassionate leave.
