Mikel Arteta revealed that he held a ‘beautiful’ clear-the-air meeting with his Arsenal players following Sunday’s defeat by Manchester United — and called for groaning fans to jump on the ‘fun boat’.
The Gunners have gone three league matches without a win, with supporters heard booing the team during the 3-2 loss to Michael Carrick’s side.
Yet, the meeting has left Arteta adamant that his team are ready to win the Premier League.
The north London club, who are top of the league and Champions League, face Kairat Almaty on Wednesday.
He said: ‘The reaction has been excellent. We took a moment to bring the temperature down, to pause, to reflect and ask two questions. One is, “How do we feel, and how do I feel myself”?
‘And then, “How are we going to live the next four months”? It was so encouraging and beautiful because what came out of that (meeting) is very simple.
Mikel Arteta has revealed he had a ‘beautiful’ clear-the-air meeting with his Arsenal squad earlier this week
Arsenal lost against Manchester United at the weekend and their lead at the top of the Premier League has been cut to four points
‘I told them first of all how good they are and how grateful we are to share every single day with them. And just make sure that we enjoy it with a lot of conviction, that it’s going to happen (win the Premier League) because it’s our moment and we really want it.
‘This is going to be the mindset and where we’re going to put the energy.’
On the need for Arsenal fans to get on board, he added: ‘I’m just hoping that everybody that is related to this club, especially our supporters, jump in that boat because this is the way that we’re going to live the next four months.
‘That’s why I encouraged them to jump in this boat because it’s going to be fun. Because the excitement, that conviction, that energy, that will is the way you have to live when you want to achieve a dream. When you want to achieve something that you play for 10 months.
‘Because out of that, a lot of incredible things are going to emerge. Some of the things that we cannot even imagine. For me, that’s the only way to live it because we’re going to give absolutely everything.’
