So after Arsenal’s season (in the eyes of many) very nearly came to an end on Sunday, midfielder Mikel Arteta has spoken out to remind his teammates that the club are still without a trophy in over seven years.
The Gunners were minutes from bowing out of the FA Cup at the first attempt after Michu had given Swansea City the lead at the Liberty Stadium. But in the end it was the hosts who had to save themselves, as Danny Graham’s late equaliser salvaged the Swans a replay after Lukas Podolski and Kieran Gibbs had put the Gunners 2-1 up.
Arsenal will now have a second chance to get past the Welsh outfit but on home turf when the two teams take to the Emirates on Tuesday January 15, with the winner travelling to Brighton & Hove Albion in the next round.
However, Arteta has called for the side to buck their ideas up, after a very close call in Wales.
“It’s a great chance to win a trophy,” Arteta told Arsenal Player. “We don’t want to miss it.
“We improved a lot in the second half [against Swansea]. We had many chances to finish the game earlier, but then suddenly with one mistake they scored the first goal.
“We kept going and showed a lot of character to get back into the game, score and go ahead. But then we conceded a sloppy one again.”
One thing I like about this interview is that Arteta doesn’t tip-toe around the weaknesses in the side. Yes Arsenal are playing better as of late after a bad sell towards the back end of 2012, but the frailties are still there, and he wants them eradicated.
Arteta himself has never won a trophy in England, so he will be dying to step up to the plate and do all he can to lift some silverware and is doing the right thing in trying to lift his teammates.
The trophy hoodoo is not going to get rid of itself after all...
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