Mikel Arteta has admitted that he questioned himself during Arsenal’s “frustrating” and “painful” run of form recently. The Gunners’ impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea on Saturday has eased the pressure on Arteta after a dismal run of one victory in 10 Premier League matches.
The Arsenal boss opted for a youthful line-up for the London derby and was rewarded, as goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka saw them take a deserved 3-0 lead at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea hit back through Tammy Abraham and had Jorginho’s penalty saved by Bernd Leno in a nervous finish, but held on to record a vital win which ended a seven-match winless league streak.
Although Arsenal remain 15th in the Premier League table, closer to the relegation zone than the top four, the result was a massive one for Arteta, whose position had been questioned.
They will now have the opportunity to move further away from danger when they take on Brighton on Tuesday evening, before a trip to 19th-placed West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
For Arteta, a turn in form would be personal, after suffering a difficult few months in which he endured sleepless nights.
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“I question myself every day,” he said after Saturday’s victory. “Since I arrived here, first of all I had to analyse really well what was happening, what we can and cannot do.
“Obviously results-wise in the last few weeks we have all been suffering, I have been suffering. I feel very responsible for that.
“The worst feeling is because I want to do so well for this football club and at the moment we are in, I want to bring all my passion, the knowledge that I have, the right intentions to move as quickly as we possibly can as a football club.
“In order to do that we need to win football matches, to be stable and win some time. When I don’t, I feel like I am letting the club down and the people that work for us, and obviously our fans.”
Arteta is in his first managerial position, having moved from a coaching position on Pep Guardiola’s staff at Manchester City to take over from Unai Emery on December 20 last year.
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It has been a baptism of fire for the 38-year-old former Everton and Arsenal midfielder, but he says he has taken confidence from those around him at the club.
“It is draining, it is frustrating and it is painful,” he said. “At the same time I know we have to fight our way back.
“In difficult moments is when you see the right people, they give me a lot of encouragement because I see people that are willing to fight with me, with the people that we have here. It gives me energy every day to carry on doing it.
“It is a 24/7 job. As well a lot of things externally, very challenging. A lot of issues and then when results hit you like that you can sometimes not find the right reasons to understand why we are losing football matches, when we produce what we produce.
“It is a big headache. But as well it is the beauty of this game, to find ways of doing things in a different way.”