Arsenal face Aston Villa on Friday night in what promises to be a difficult game for Mikel Arteta’s side.
The Midlands outfit head into the game off the back of a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Wolves last weekend, but Dean Smith’s side have shown that they’re more than capable of attacking Premier League defences, and Arsenal will have to be wary of the threat they pose.
Arteta’s team are undefeated in their last five league outings, but performance levels have dropped a bit since the North London Derby, as the Gunners drew with both Brighton and Crystal Palace.
The drop in level has led to questions of Arsenal’s desire, but Arteta insists that the Gunners are focused on winning games again.
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side are unbeaten in domestic competition and have won all three games in their UEFA Champions League group.
Their most recent victory came against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, where they ended up 3-2 victors whilst doing the so called ‘dirty’ side of the game expertly well.
When asked whether Arsenal need to play in a similar way in his pre-match press conference, Arteta replied: “Yes. My focus is to win and play well, and this is what we have to do.
“When we were playing well, and in the phases that we were playing well we dominated the game, we generated the chances, and we deserved to win the game. The issues come when we don’t start to do that.
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“But when you do that, you have to show enough resilience and know how to manage those situations; like we had to do against Brighton in certain moments, and still be able to win the match.
“Sometimes individuals actions, [such as] a set piece helps you to do that. Of course, it’s another way of winning, and it has to be present in the way the team acts and thinks.”
The Gunners are currently sitting in 12th place, but three points will move them into ninth heading into the weekend.
