Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has expressed "full faith" in his squad despite recent Premier League hiccups, asserting that a Carabao Cup win could kick-start a successful run as they gear up for their quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace. With Arsenal sitting third in the standings following a pair of draws and fan unrest audible at the Emirates after a draw with Everton, questions surround their attacking prowess.
The team's 30-point haul from 16 matches lags behind past performances, and goal-scoring concerns are exacerbated by Kai Havertz’s single goal over two months and Gabriel Jesus’ goal drought since January, alongside a lack of open-play goals in their last three league games. Addressing speculation of a new striker in the January transfer window, Arteta retorted: "I fully trust the squad and our players. The amount we generate in the match, and how little we concede, I fully trust my players.
"That’s always the narrative (that Arsenal are too reliant on set-pieces). When you score five goals and another five and three you’re not going to talk about it.
"If you concede, it’s ‘you don’t have many clean sheets’. That’s normal. For us it doesn’t change. We want to improve regardless of if we score three or five."
Arteta is set to mark an impressive five-year stint at Arsenal this Friday. During his reign, the club has risen as a formidable title challenger, securing second place behind Manchester City twice consecutively.
Despite only lifting the FA Cup in 2020 under Arteta's guidance, he holds faith in the Carabao Cup propelling the Gunners to their first league title in over 18 years. Arteta commented on the importance of winning: "It (winning a trophy) is really helpful because it brings belief, trust, positive energy, touching the cup, and being in the semi-final and beating somebody in the final."
He believes that success in the tournament can generate momentum and a winning culture essential for greater accomplishments: "It creates that energy and the right path to go and do something else, particularly because of the timing and when the competition is played in this country, it gets that momentum going.
"I fully believe in that, the fact that you are winning and you get into the next round and it creates something different around the team and that is why these kind of games are so important."
"We want to win and we will do everything we can to win it. The pressure is about being at a big club or winning the major trophies, and this is what we want to do."
On a squad note, Arteta confirmed absences for Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko, while providing a boost with the news that Declan Rice is available for selection following his substitution in the clash with Everton.