Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are “right in the mix” at the top of the Premier League despite their stumbles over the past two weeks.
The third-placed Gunners, hunting their first top-flight title since 2004, are five points behind leaders Manchester City after nine games, following a shock 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth and a 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
They face a tricky away trip to Newcastle on Saturday, desperate to ensure the gap does not grow wider.
Arteta, whose team have pushed City all the way in the past two seasons, was asked on Friday whether he was concerned over the points difference, with Liverpool also four points ahead.
“You want to be first, you want to win every game,” said the Spaniard. “We know the situations that we have to play with this season, but we’re right in the mix.
“We know the tough challenge that we’re going to face tomorrow, but we’re fully ready for that.”
Arteta said his injury-hit team had showed an “incredible capacity” to compete against Liverpool last week.
“Unfortunately a lot of things happened that we didn’t even plan for,” he said.
“I was suspecting, with the size of the squad that we had, to be very adaptable in the season and that’s something that we worked on from day one in pre-season.
“But obviously, not to be that adaptable, especially in certain scenarios, but for sure the team showed an incredible capacity to compete, to be better than the opponent in many moments.”
Arteta has ruled defender Riccardo Calafiori and long-term absentee Martin Odegaard out of the game at St James’ Park while Takehiro Tomiyasu is still missing.
The Arsenal boss said he was unsure about Ben White’s availability but Gabriel Magalhaes could feature.
Newcastle are 12th in the Premier League table, without a win in their past five games, but Arteta warned they would prove a stiff challenge.
“They’re a fantastic team. They’re really well coached, they’re very intense,” he said. “It’s a great stadium to play in. You know what you’re going to face there, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Arteta also spoke about Ethan Nwaneri’s “rare” talent after the 17-year-old scored his third goal of the season in the midweek 3-0 win against Preston in the League Cup.
“I think the biggest thing is to push him, and then when he is being pushed, you always grab him right behind to make sure that he’s always stable and protected,” he said.
“But with this talent, you have to push him. The protection is necessary to keep an eye on him and be at the right distance, but he needs to see that he can fly and don’t clip any wings.”
