Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew has praised Mikel Arteta and Arsenal amid their title race with Man City.
Arteta won’t be focused on the Premier League right now, as his side just manage to get through to the FA Cup fourth round by beating Portsmouth 4-1, and they now face a Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Chelsea.
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The Gunners haven’t won a piece of silverware since 2021 in Arteta’s first season, so the pressure for them to win a trophy is really mounting, and the pressure on Arteta to win another trophy is really mounting too.
However, Arsenal’s biggest priority is winning the league, as they finished second for the last three seasons. They are currently in the driving seat in the Premier League, as they have a six point lead over rivals Manchester City.
Alan Pardew says Arsenal made Man City ‘give in’
Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew has been full of praise for Arsenal and Arteta, as they have been able to stay ahead of Pep Guardiola’s Man City, even though City have put them under pressure at times this season.
Pardew said on talkSPORT: “What I think is quite impressive about them, is, when Man City just went on that six, seven game winning run, and they put the heat right on them, there was about two or three weeks where they had to win to stay two points ahead.
“Then who was the team that gave in, it was Man City, which is very unusual. That was a real first class attitude from Arsenal.”
Pressure on Arteta could grow if the Gunners don’t win a trophy this year
The former Newcastle and Crystal Palace manager has said that if Arsenal don’t win a trophy this season, fans may begin to ask questions of Arteta, but he did emphasise just how good Arteta has been for Arsenal, especially this year.
He added, “If he doesn’t win a trophy [this season], if one of those four [trophies] doesn’t come in, then I think the Arsenal fan base would be more than upset this time.
“He’s intense, but he’s started to channel that in a much better way. His teams now are intense aren’t they?”
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