Arteta on hunger, Rice’s form and Eze | Press conference | News
Mikel Arteta said he only sees hunger in his team as we prepare to take on Fulham in a big fixture at Emirates Stadium.
Off the back of our draw in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid, it’s a quick turnaround to face the Cottagers in N5.
The boss knows his players are ready to go and is confident we have enough fuel in the tank to go again this weekend.
He said: “Hunger, hunger to win, that’s it. To compete, to prepare and to achieve the goal that we set at the start of the season.
“I think we have enough fuel in the tank; we’re playing to win the Premier League, and it’s exactly where we want to be. Four games to go, it’s game two, I’m ready to go.
“I would put the emphasis on showing that desire, that determination, that hunger, that will that we’ve shown all season and even more because we have only four games to play now and everything is at stake so it doesn’t get better than that.”
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Declan Rice showcased his skills yet again during our midweek draw in the Spanish capital, and Mikel was quick to praise our number 41 after bringing up a 50 appearances for the campaign.
“What Declan is doing again is incredible. To play the amount of games, minutes with the quality that he’s shown in every game is something extremely difficult to do, and he’s doing it, not only this season, but the last few seasons that he’s been with us, and to show that level of consistency is extremely rare because the demands and the standards are very, very high.”
The form of Ebere Eze also came under the spotlight in Mikel’s pre-match press conference, during which the boss highlighted his calmness on the pitch in the big moments.
“I think it’s part of his character,” he said. “He has a unique way of expressing himself. “What he actually transmits to the world outside is such security, calmness and composure in every situation on the field.
“I think that’s something special. I think we need players like that, we need players that can have a different kind of presence on the pitch and body language, and Ebs brings something else that I think is unique and very powerful for the team.”
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