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Stephen Killen & Tom Canton

Mo Farah tells Mikel Arteta the mental trick that can help Arsenal emulate his Olympic success

Four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah OBE has offered an insight into the mental obstacles during his sporting career which can help transform Arsenal's fortunes.

The Olympians likened it to a feeling he endured going into a race off the back of a disappointing display but called on Mikel Arteta's side to call upon their mental resolve and have their 'heads high and sleeves rolled up' to continue moving forward.

The Gunners sat rock bottom of the Premier League going into September but saw a welcomed upturn in fortunes as they ended the month unbeaten, topping it off with an emphatic win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Arteta has since been nominated as one of the candidates for Manager of the Month for a spell of three wins, after seeing off Norwich and Burnley before Nuno Espirito Santo's side.

Brighton posed a different challenge to their North London rivals as they were forced to defend the physicality of Graham Potter's side as well as the elements on the south coast.

As the side go into the international break, they sit in 11th just shy of the top half following the weekend's results.

Mo Farah is famous for his heroics, not just at the London 2012 Olympics, but for his exploits at Rio as well where he reclaimed his crown as one of the best long-distance runners in the world.

For the 38-year-old and life-long Arsenal fan it was different growing up with a lot of different generations supporting the likes of Manchester United or Liverpool but for him, it was what brings the love of the game and what sparks many fans' obsession with the club. Ian Wright, Paul Merson, Tony Adams, all of the greats from yesteryear who ignited the Arsenal Way eventually bringing success to North London.

As he crossed the line, at what we now know as West Ham's London Stadium, the Somali-born Athlete crossed the line as the winner of the 5000m with shock and elation written across his face as he celebrated with his trademark 'Mo-Bot' celebration becoming one of the national treasures for his services to the sport.

"To me, if I could see the way they played against Tottenham, I’ll be happy," he told the Arsenal Way.

"I was lucky enough to go and when we won against Norwich, yeah we won against Norwich, Norwich are almost bottom of the table.

"And watching that game I was thinking we could put away three or four goals and early on we missed quite a lot of chances, we did come away with three points and I was happy with it.

"But then, you kind question and we played okay but we didn’t put all them shots and we’re going to play against bigger teams, how are we going to win? Nervous watching it then to see 3-0 up, 3-1 against Tottenham and how they played I was like ‘oh wow, where did that come from?’

"I think it could do [inconsistencies tarnishing European hopes] but it’s one of these things, just from what I’ve experienced myself as a sportsman, if I had a bad race it does have an effect on you, if you have a good race, it makes you more positive, gives you more energy and if you do have a good race you go into your next racing you going ‘I got this, I had that’.

"I think now we’ve had this, we’ve beaten Tottenham, we should have the motivation, look and have our head high, our sleeves rolled up and go ‘we can do it, we’ve just beaten Tottenham, we can do it,’ I think that’ll give the team a lift. Often, you are looking for them moments.

"Arteta coming in, been an assistant to Pep Guardiola, the Man City manager and having that experience, he’s done amazing.

"But now, it’s all about getting the best out of the players, often the manager always gets criticised but it’s not always the manager’s fault, it’s about being able to control the players and getting the best out of the players, but how do you do that without setting the marker? That’s the trickiest."

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