Mikel Arteta has rubbished suggestions that his Arsenal players are mentally scarred after Thursday’s 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, insisting they can bounce back against Newcastle United on Monday.
The North London Derby defeat has narrowed the gap between the two sides to a point, with Arsenal perched just inside the top four while Spurs lag behind in fifth.
Antonio Conte‘s team appear to have the momentum, though, after claiming a point at Anfield and then emphatically swatting aside their local rivals. They host Burnley on Sunday, before travelling to Norwich on the final day of the season.
Spurs showed why a Champions League place would be wasted on Arsenal
As for Arsenal, Champions League football is still in their hands, but they face the tricky test of a trip to St James’ Park to face a Newcastle side that have won six of their last seven home matches. They then host relegation-threatened Everton in their final game.
Ahead of the run-in, Arteta told the club website: “We started the game [against Spurs] extremely well, that we conceded the first goal and the way we conceded after that decision and obviously after the game, got into a situation that is difficult to judge or assess, but I said it, I was really proud of the players, how they tried to handle the situation, but obviously very disappointed with the result.
“How lucky I am to have them, how they stand under any difficulty, how much they are looking forward to play on Monday, how excited they are about the challenge ahead, because we all know everything that we’ve been through throughout the season and how much we have to fight to be in this position.
“The way they’ve come in today with the energy that they were with today to play the game and very willing to go there and perform at the highest level.
“Obviously losing a derby is always painful and having been through the situation we went in the game, it’s like that, but as well, you learn a lot probably more than…
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