Mikel Merino insists Arsenal will thrive on pressure of Premier League title bid

Mikel Merino insists Arsenal will thrive on the pressure of their bid to win the Premier League and has cited the late push in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea as evidence of their character.

Arsenal conceded Pedro Neto’s equaliser in the 70th minute and having been in poor form since the middle of October, it may have been the trigger for them to go under. They had taken one point from three league games and lost at Inter in the Champions League last Wednesday.

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Arsenal stabilised and created a clutch of openings in the closing stages, especially when the substitute Leandro Trossard touched just wide from a William Saliba cross, with Kai Havertz well placed behind him. The offside flag went up against Saliba; it was tight and would surely have been reviewed by the video assistant referee.

Arsenal trail the leaders, Liverpool, by nine points. They have got several of their most difficult away fixtures out of the way – against Manchester City, Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Chelsea. Mikel Arteta is unbeaten at Stamford Bridge in six visits as the Arsenal manager and a draw there can rarely be described as a bad result. It was put to Merino that the context made it feel more disappointing.

“I know what you mean,” Merino said. “You have to look at it all – not only the result. But at the same time look at where the team is coming from, how the team is playing and I think it was a day to be very proud of the guys. We did an amazing job after a difficult couple of weeks with a lot of injuries.

“The mentality and the character that these guys are showing is just unbelievable. You can see it, just after conceding a goal away from home, against a team who is normally dominant, and you are the ones who are dictating the tempo and attacking and creating the chances. This is a big sign of what this team is about.

“If you want to be in a big club, if you want to achieve big things, you have to love the pressure. You have to love playing against the best and for the biggest trophies. The mentality that these players have is to try to be the best; every single day, every training session. It is not only about wanting to do it. You have to show it. We are showing it in training sessions, we have to show it in games, as well. For sure, I think we will.”

Merino said he was not thinking about the title, simply the most immediate challenges. After the international break, Arsenal’s next three league matches are Nottingham Forest (home), West Ham (away) and Manchester United (home).

“We have to think about the next step, about the next training session, the next game,” Merino said. “Don’t look too much ahead of ourselves because the small steps are the ones that are going to build the long run.

“We have to look at ourselves, how we want to perform and not start thinking about what is going to happen if we lose. That’s adding extra pressure. We know we have to win every game. We want that and we have to work for that. In order to achieve that we have to focus on the present, on ourselves, on improving and getting better.”