Mikel Arteta sends message to Arsenal fans amid nervy Premier League title race | OneFootball

Gunners have stuttered in recent weeks with title rivals hot on their tails

Calming the nerves: Mikel Arteta

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Mikel Arteta has urged the Arsenal fans to stay patient during tight matches, and his players to hold their nerve even when the atmosphere is tense.

The Gunners are five points clear of Manchester City heading into the final nine matches of the Premier League season, but their title rivals do have a game in hand.

Arsenal kept their advantage at the top with a nervy 2-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday, surviving some shaky late moments despite playing the final 20 minutes with an extra man.

When that noise was aimed at the Frenchman, Arteta turned around and raised his arms in an appeal for calm.

Asked on Tuesday whether that was a message to his coaching staff or to the Arsenal supporters, Arteta responded: "It was to the crowd, yeah."

Expanding on the mood inside the stadium, Arteta emphasised the need for his players to respond to the match situation rather than the noise from the stands.

"I think when you have the ball, you need to be able to make those decisions," the Spaniard said.

"If I'm shouting to a player when they have the ball, ‘pass to him, pass to him', you are not making decisions, you are just being told what to do. What you see maybe and what you feel, it's very different.

"If we've done three transitions and my heart rate is at 180 [beats per minute], the game requires slowing down and controlling the game and to dominate it.

"If there's an opportunity to run, because I'm fresh after a set-piece that I had a minute to rest, that's a different opportunity to run. So it's a lot of factors, and the players have to make those decisions.

"The crowd normally shouts in this country, ‘shoot, shoot’ from 40 yards as well. We can shoot all the time. [Then] they [say], ‘Why are you shooting from there?’

"I think we'll have a split stadium. It's natural that they are pushing but we need to understand as well that, at certain moments, we have to take our time to start attacks in the right way."