MIKEL ARTETA says Arsenal will give up on the Prem title “over my dead body”.
And the Gunners boss admits this gruelling season of injuries and suspensions is one of his “proudest moments” at the club – because it could have left them in MID-TABLE.
Prem leaders Liverpool have one hand on the title with an 11-point gap on second-placed Arsenal after Arteta’s men slumped to a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham last weekend.
Barring an unprecedented collapse from Arne Slot’s Reds with 12 games left, Arsenal are on course for a THIRD successive year as the top flight nearly boys.
Yet ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Nottingham Forest, asked if the title race is over, Arteta said: “Over my dead body.
“You cannot control [Liverpool’s lead]. At the end, you’re going to have to set a certain number of points to win in this league.
“And we’re going to have to hit that number if we’re going to have any chance of doing that. But we’re certainly going to continue to try.
“If not, I’ll go home. Mathematically, it’s possible. You are there, you have to play every game. Suddenly, three days ago, we could close the gap and you are one and a half games away.
“It doesn’t matter. We have to continue to go. The players know, especially because we’ve been in the other position recently and we know how quickly things can change.
“You have to be there and we all deserve to continue in that fight.
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“The thing is that when you are there, you want more and you want more and you want more. And I’m not going to stop. Over my dead body.
“We’ll put everything that we possibly can to increase the probability of us winning and being better than the opponent and hitting that performance and those standards constantly, regardless of what happens.
“The difficulty is higher than three days ago. But if you want to win the Premier League, you’re going to have to do something special.
“You’re going to have to win with the circumstances that we have. You’re probably going to have to do something that nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League.”
Despite their drop-off in the title race, Arteta insists he remains proud of what his team have achieved so far this campaign – in the Prem and in Europe.
The Spaniard cited the fact that from November 9, 2024 to February 16, 2025, Arsenal matched Liverpool with 10 wins and five draws, with an identical goal difference of +23.
And that run included injuries to the key figures like Ben White, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, as well as two red cards to Myles Lewis-Skelly, alongside the reds also picked up by Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and William Saliba earlier in the season.
They are also in the Champions League last 16 – facing PSV next week – having finished third in the brand new league phase format, just two points behind winners Liverpool.
Arteta continued: “It’s been extremely consistent for the last three and a half months, considering everything that we’ve been through.
“So, if somebody tells you at the start of the season, by this time, you have played five times with a red card over half an hour in each of those games, and you have lost this amount of players, what’s the bet?
“You are in the middle of the table, at least, you know, and you are out of the Champions League.
“That’s not the situation. So that tells you the resilience, the resources, the ambition that the team has, every individual has and that has been probably one of my proudest moments, in that sense.”
Arsenal player ratings vs West Ham
MYLES Lewis-Skelly’s second red card of 2025 appeared to put the final nail in Arsenal’s title dreams and any chances of them catching Liverpool.
The Gunners lost 1-0 to West Ham and failed to respond to Jarrod Bowen’s opener on the brink of half-time.
The Hammers’ wall stood firm as Arsenal registered just two shots on target before Lewis-Skelly’s last-man foul on Mohammed Kudus was upgraded to a red after ref Craig Pawson went to the monitor.
And Liverpool fans will breathe a sigh of relief given their recent dip in form as Arsenal remain EIGHT points behind Arne Slot’s men.
Here SunSport’s Charlie Wyett rates every Arsenal player from the Emirates Stadium.
DAVID RAYA – 5
Declan Rice indicated to Raya that he expected him to come off his line to deal with the cross for the goal.
Maybe he had a point but ultimately, Raya was let down by his defenders.
JURRIEN TIMBER – 6
West Ham did not offer much of a threat down their left so Timber had a reasonably comfortable game while he did try and get forward.
WILLIAM SALIBA – 6
Was ordered by Mikel Arteta to push forward more in the second half when Arsenal had possession and in the closing stages, seemed to spend more of his time in West Ham’s area.
GABRIEL MAGALHAES – 5
Switched off for the Bowen goal but he was not the only one.
Also found the impressive Kudus tough to handle when he cut inside.
Guilty of delivering an abysmal cross late in the game when Arsenal needed a bit of quality.
RICCARDO CALAFIORI – 4
A poor performance. Given the nod ahead of Lewis-Skelly but badly at fault for the opening goal as he did not get close enough to Aaron Wan-Bissaka who delivered the cross to Bowen.
Was replaced after he kept losing the ball.
DECLAN RICE – 5
Not a day he will want to remember against his former club and he got plenty of stick from West Ham’s fans, as you would expect.
Wasted one chance before the break and failed to track Bowen for the goal. Substituted shortly into the second half which was a surprise.
THOMAS PARTEY – 5
A sluggish performance from Partey whose passing was also poor. Lucky not to be replaced.
ETHAN NWANERI – 6
Had a fascinating battle with West Ham teenager Ollie Scaries, who was making his first Premier League start.
Nwaneri was excellent at Leicester but had less success against his fellow youngster although still had some bright moments.
But, at least he has a bit of a spark unlike some of his more experienced team-mates. The 17-year-old sparked concern when he came off injured in the final 10.
MARTIN ODEGAARD – 5
Not having his best season at Arsenal.
This was the sort of game Arsenal needed their captain to deliver a moment of inspiration but he failed to do so.
LEANDRO TROSSARD – 5
Not a surprise that he was not used as a false nine like that disastrous experiment against Leicester.
But he had no joy against the impressive Wan-Bissaka.
MIKEL MERINO – 5
Was the two-goal hero in his first ever appearance as a substitute striker at Leicester but had no success against West Ham’s well-drilled defence.
He looked lost out there as the makeshift No 9.
SUBS:
Myles Lewis-Skelly (for Calafiori 56 minutes) – 4
Got a red card – Arsenal’s fifth of the campaign – and although he was a long way out could have no complaints.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (for Rice 56 minutes) – 6
Raheem Sterling (for Nwaneri 81 minutes) – N/A
Ben White (for Saliba 87 minutes) – 5
Was handed his first Premier League minutes since returning to the squad for last week’s Leicester win.
Subs not used: Neto, Tierney, Kiwior, Jorginho, Butler-Oyedeji.
