Arne Slot Fires Back at Mikel Arteta’s Premier League Title ‘Excuses’ | OneFootball

Liverpool coach Arne Slot has claimed “excuses are for teams that don’t win” after Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta blamed red cards and injuries for the Gunners falling short in the Premier League title race this season.

Liverpool stormed to Premier League glory with four games still left to play, having left Arsenal in their dust. But Slot took exception to Arteta stating in an interview with Sky Sports that “red cards and injuries, for sure,” were a main reason for the Gunners not triumphing.

“All these excuses you could give to Liverpool, with us maybe not spending, or not bringing new players in, or taking over from someone (Jürgen Klopp),” Slot told BBC Sport.

“All these things are excuses for teams that don’t win the league, and it’s nice that if you have all these excuses, that you don’t have to use them, but you still just won it.”

Mikel Arteta was frustrated Liverpool won title with lower points tally. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Slot went on to suggest that Arteta had valid points about “right time, right place” playing a part in some success. But he firmly stated that such luck or fortune ultimately doesn’t play a part in which team is crowned Premier League champions, even if Manchester City’s shock collapse meant it required fewer points to finish top of the pile than in previous seasons.

“Everybody has the right to have his own opinion. What he meant was: ‘Sometimes you have to be in the right place at the right time’,” Slot explained. “I totally agree with him on that.

“Only not in a Premier League season. So in a Champions League, FA Cup, World Cups, then it is about ‘in the right time in the right place’. In a season that‘s so long, then normally the best team wins the league.

“You can reach a final with good luck, and you can never win a league with only having a lot of luck.”