Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta agrees with Mauricio Pochettino claim and gives glowing verdict on Chelsea
'I am convinced.'
Mikel Arteta agrees with Mauricio Pochettino’s assertion that Chelsea should be ‘much higher’ in the Premier League and says he is ‘convinced’ his friend and former team-mate will bring success to Stamford Bridge.
Eyebrows were raised at the end of last month when Pochettino claimed Chelsea ‘should be’ in the top four rather than languishing in mid-table, closer to the relegation zone than the top of the Premier League.
Pochettino said the ‘technology and data’ suggested Chelsea’s underlying numbers were strong and that they would be in much better position in the table had they been more ruthless in front of goal.
Chelsea were unbeaten in eight games before Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City but they also dropped points to Brentford, Burnley and Sheffield United during that period.
But there does appear to be signs of improvement at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea thrashing Everton 6-0 this time last week and pushing Man City hard at Wembley over the weekend.
Arteta says he has seen ‘huge improvements’ at Chelsea and is adamant his close friend Pochettino will bring silverware to the west London club.
The Chelsea and Arsenal managers were team-mates at Paris Saint-Germain over two decades ago and have remained close ever since.
Asked for his thoughts on Chelsea ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, Arteta said: ‘I see huge improvements.
‘They deserve to be in a much higher position in the league, when you look at what they have done and what they have produced in games.
‘They have reached a final [in the League Cup] and a semi-final [in the FA Cup] and could have gone through so I think what Mauricio is doing is really impressive and I’m sure he’s going to get them there.
‘I wish him all the best and believe he will inspire that club to get to the best.’
Asked whether he believes Chelsea will challenge for top honours once again under Pochettino, Arteta said: ‘I am convinced they will. With that squad, yes. With that manager, yes.’
Arsenal make the journey across London to Stamford Bridge having got their Premier League title challenge back on track with a 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.
Before that, Arteta’s side had suffered successive defeats, first to Premier League rivals Aston Villa and then to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Reflecting on the win at Wolves and Arsenal’s title challenge, Arteta added: ‘It really meant a lot to us. We have been in a great position in the Premier League over the past nine months.
‘We want to give it a real go and are really determined [to carrying on challenging] while it is still in our hands to try to lift the trophy. Tomorrow we will have another tough opponent in front of us and we will try to win again.
‘But [the title race is] dependent on another two teams [Liverpool and Manchester City] as well. They are two of the best teams in the history of this league, so this is where we are.’
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