Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confessed that sustaining the team’s current momentum in the title race is not without its challenges.
Ahead of the Gunners’ confrontation with West Ham on Saturday evening, Arteta disclosed that maintaining their lead atop the Premier League table will be “extremely difficult”.
While insisting that Arsenal are not out of the title fight this season, Arteta noted: “We’ve been there and to sustain it for 10 months is extremely difficult. Suddenly when you think you have it, one day it collapses.
“It can be a result, through injuries or other kinds of decisions. And it can happen in any moment. We have to be ready for that.
“But it’s something we can’t control. What we can control is be at our very best.”
When quizzed about Arsenal’s chances of catching fellow contenders Liverpool this season, Arteta replied: “I really believe in my team, yes.”
“If they continue then that’s for sure, with the numbers they’re producing and the amount of games they’re winning,” added Arteta.
“The focus is on us to maintain the consistency, especially and performances that will give us the right to win games, keep the availability in the squad. This is a long run.
“Winning lifts the energy and our confidence up. We’ve had two big wins for us and now it’s about consistency and getting that momentum, take it further against a good opponent [West Ham] and try to replicate the performance to win the game,” he added.