Arsenal 'very lucky' after nightmare week insists Mikel Arteta in new warning to squad

Mikel Arteta has told his Arsenal players not to feel sorry for themselves and said they should be “very lucky” to have had the week they just did.

The Gunners crashed out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage on Wednesday night by losing to Bayern Munich, while before that they surrendered control in the title race to Manchester City after suffering defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.

Arsenal, however, can regain top spot in the Premier League table on Saturday evening if they beat Wolves at Molinuex and Arteta has told his squad: “Don’t feel sorry for yourself”.

The Spaniard believes the Gunners should feel “lucky” to be back fighting with Europe’s elite and for the title.

“I think the players are all very lucky to have had the week that we’ve had,” he said.

“Because these are the weeks that we want and have been seeking for many years to have at Arsenal. You have to deal with that.

“If you want to be in this position, you have to go through it and it’s going to be tough. Against those opponents, the margins are minimal and you have to try to compete to be better than them.

“But maybe even if you are better, you don’t win? Like what happened at home against Bayern and against Villa. Are you ready to react to that?

“If not you’re not ready to be living these kinds of weeks and we want to be living these kinds of weeks.

“Don’t feel sorry for yourself - if we want to be here we have to be prepared because this is a possibility.”

The defeat to Aston Villa was Arsenal’s first in the Premier League since the turn of the year and Arteta says the backlash keeps his squad on their toes.

“It is testing your resilience and your ego,” he said. “If I take a newspaper and show it to my son, seven days ago after Brighton, and then seven days later Bayern Munich, talking about the same team, they would think it is three years ago.

“It is the reality of what it is, but we have to live with that. That is the beauty of it, as well.

“On Saturday you can be at home and you can be the happiest man ever, saying we have a real chance here, let’s go for it with five games to go. We have to make that happen. That is our job.”