Mikel Arteta praises Arsenal’s defensive resilience amid an injury crisis as they prepare to extend their Premier League lead against Brentford.
According to a report from FotMob, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised his side’s defensive cohesion and versatility as they prepare to host Brentford on Wednesday, looking to further extend their Premier League summit cushion to five points.
The Gunners have had a demanding week, featuring a 4-1 win over Spurs and a 3-1 Champions League victory against Bayern Munich, but were held to a 1-1 draw by Chelsea on Sunday.
This run has coincided with a “wave of key injuries,” leaving the league leaders without defenders William Saliba and Gabriel, and attackers Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard.
Despite the setbacks, fringe players, including Piero Hincapie, Christhian Mosquera, and Myles Lewis-Skelly, have proved vital. Arteta reflected on the challenge after the draw with Chelsea:
“Yes, it’s been a headache, because we’ve had to have a lot of options and changes over the last few months for different reasons.”
Arteta specifically addressed the unexpected loss of his key defender: “[Losing Saliba] is very unexpected, and it happened yesterday, but the beauty of it is that you have players so willing to play, so willing to connect with each other, and it makes their relationship even better.”
The manager concluded by expressing confidence in his rotation players: “So, it was great for all of us, and it gives you the reassurance that whoever is there is going to perform.”
Arteta called the heavyweight week, which included playing a new defensive partnership against Chelsea, “a really positive week, because the difficulty has been immense.” Brentford currently sit 10th in the table.