Arteta challenges Arsenal ahead of Sunderland | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has challenged his Arsenal side to maintain the standards that have made them the most defensively consistent team in Europe this season, as they prepare for Saturday’s trip to Sunderland.

The 3-0 win over Slavia Prague in midweek equalled a 120-year-old record for consecutive clean sheets by the Gunners, matching the eight-game run set in 1903.

But for Arteta, the milestone counts for little unless his players continue to improve.

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“It’s not about credit, it’s about doing it, and once you’ve done it, do it again, and that’s what we have to do,” he said at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Friday.

“Today we train at our best, try to improve, try to give a lot of clarity to the players and understanding of the game that we have to play tomorrow, and tomorrow is execution day again.”

Arsenal’s form since September has been near flawless, with 10 straight wins in all competitions, nine of them without conceding. Their control, pressing, and defensive discipline have become defining features of Arteta’s side, who have not lost since the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool in August.

Yet, the manager was quick to stress that perfection remains elusive.

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“Everything (can improve), because you learn from your team every single day, from your players every single day, from the opponents that you play every single time and that’s information that is so valuable to us,” he said.

“Tomorrow is going to be a very different game to Tuesday, and to the week before. We need to read it, we need to understand very early what the game requires, what we have to do to be better than them and hopefully beat them.”

The challenge now is to extend that defensive excellence against a Sunderland side unbeaten at home this season and fourth in the table after an impressive start under Régis Le Bris. Arteta knows their pressing style and intensity will demand full concentration from a squad still stretched by injuries.

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“We know what they can do,” he said. “They’ve been exceptional, especially at home. They are very well coached, very well organised, and they have players with real quality who can hurt you. We’ll have to be at our best again.”

Victory at the Stadium of Light would take Arsenal nine points clear at the top before Manchester City face Liverpool on Sunday, but Arteta dismissed the suggestion that his team are clear favourites for the title.

“I don’t agree, I’m sorry, because any team has the capacity and I’m sure the belief as well that they can do it, we are fully aware of that,” he said. “We know our strength, we know the things that we have to improve as well and we just focus on that. I’m just focused on tomorrow’s game. How crucial, how difficult and how tough it’s going to be and that’s the first step we have to make.”

The Spaniard has consistently refused to discuss title prospects, preferring to focus on what he describes as the “execution” of daily work. Arsenal’s transformation into a side capable of shutting out almost any opponent has come from that mentality.

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“Every weekend is crucial; there are weekends for other possible results or other games, maybe they are a little bit more important,” he said. “But at the end, you just need to conquer a certain amount of points if you want to achieve your goals and three points against Sunderland tomorrow is going to be really tough and we’re going to have to really earn them.”

The Gunners’ record this season supports his view. No Premier League team has faced fewer shots or conceded fewer goals, and their expected goals against (xGA) is the lowest in Europe’s top five leagues.

Yet it is their collective discipline that has most impressed observers.

“It’s always about what’s next,” he said. “We’ve done well so far, but that doesn’t mean anything tomorrow. What matters is how we show up, how we perform, and how much we want it again.”

With that, Arsenal travel north not just defending their lead, but defending a legacy they are rewriting with every clean sheet.