Mikel Arteta talks sacrificing Europa League amid Arsenal’s Premier League title charge
Arsenal drew Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League round of 16, with the return of the competition to Mikel Arteta likely to make matters even harder
Mikel Arteta has vowed Arsenal will continue to struggle on two fronts this season despite the difficulties of the game plan.
The Gunners are two points clear of Manchester City in the Premier League title race ahead of Saturday’s game against Leicester City. They also have a game in hand against their main rivals for the trophy but know how difficult it will be to win a first title since 2004.
Things get even more difficult for Arsenal as news broke on Friday that they will face Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League round of 16. At Sporting, the demanding Thursday-Sunday turnarounds will return, but Arteta won’t sacrifice the European competition to improve his chances in the league.
“We will always try to pick the team that we think will win best that day,” he said in his press conference on Friday. “Because if you do something else, people will say, ‘Why did you pick this team and we didn’t win the Europa League?’
“You will never win this fight. We will pick the players who are in the best shape possible because it’s really important to win the game to be in better shape to win the next one.”
While he won’t field a weaker team against Sporting – who they face on March 9 and 16 ahead of Premier League games against Fulham and Crystal Palace – Arteta conceded his approach to training will change from next month would have to.
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He said: “We will have a lot less time to train and recover. I’m sure we still have a lot more minutes to play with the team, which is great because we have to give everyone chances.”
Arteta has generally liked to keep his selection consistent and draw on a small group of players for Premier League games. Injuries are one of the only factors that have changed things, with Eddie Nketiah coming on for Gabriel Jesus since the World Cup and Jorginho recently replacing Thomas Partey.
Partey could be back against Leicester on Saturday after missing the 3-1 defeat by Manchester City and 4-2 win over Aston Villa through injury. Jesus, who sustained a serious injury for Brazil at the World Cup, is slowing down.
“He’s making good progress,” Arteta said of the striker. “Keep doing more on the pitch. The knee isn’t responding, so it’s really positive. We want him back as soon as possible, but we also respect the timeframe that the doctors and specialists are giving us.”
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