Arsenal is chasing their first league title since 2004 and extended their lead at the top of the table with a 4-2 win over Brighton on New Year’s Eve.
Cesc Fabregas has slammed Mikel Arteta’s critics for attempting to have him fired in 2021, but has reminded Premier League leaders Arsenal that they ‘haven’t won anything yet’.
Earlier in his tenure, Arteta was fighting for his job, but he has turned things around magnificently to lead Arsenal to the top of the Premier League, seven points ahead of Manchester City in 2023.
Arsenal is chasing their first league title since 2004 and extended their lead at the top of the table with a 4-2 win over Brighton on New Year’s Eve.
While Arsenal ‘haven’t won anything yet,’ Fabregas believes they are ‘definitely on the right track’ and have been vindicated in sticking with Arteta despite calls for his sacking at various points.
‘If we had listened to certain people when Arsenal was finishing eighth and not doing well, maybe Mikel wouldn’t be here,’ Fabregas told The Times.
‘But they gave him the time he needed to develop his own style, with his own players coming in and doing his own thing.
‘Mikel was my teammate, and he helped me a lot when I was very young; he knows the game well. They haven’t won anything yet, but they are on the right track.’
Despite finishing seven points ahead of defending champions Manchester City in 2022, Arteta was keen to downplay Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League.
Man City lost two points at home to relegation-threatened Everton before the Gunners won at Brighton.
‘We knew the outcome [of the Manchester City game], but the boost is that we have to come here and win, and in order to do so, we have to perform at the highest level in this league,’ says the coach. Arteta spoke to BBC Sport.
‘Tonight, we needed a big performance to beat a really good Brighton side. We, too, had to dig deep.
‘[We have] a lot of things to work on, especially in defending situations. ‘There is still room for improvement.’
‘[A seven-point lead] sounds amazing,’ said Bukayo Saka, who scored the opening goal for Arsenal against Brighton.
‘Of course, if you asked us at the start of the season if we wanted this, we would bite your hand off. We are overjoyed.
‘We have a fantastic opportunity and have put ourselves in a fantastic position. We are not concentrating on that right now. We’re concentrating on the next game because we’ve seen how well Newcastle has been playing.’