Mikel Arteta believes that a raucous Emirates Stadium crowd could prove to be the difference when Newcastle United arrive in north London on Saturday night.
After a packed house roared us on to a huge victory against Liverpool in our last home outing, the boss was thrilled to witness the way our supporters helped push the players throughout the game and raise their levels in a crunch fixture.
And now, just like he does with our squad, he is asking all Gooners to go a step further when the Magpies visit as we aim to make it a sixth-straight win in the Premier League, and settle the score against the opponents who ended our undefeated start to the season in controversial circumstances back in November.
“We want to create an atmosphere in the stadium from the beginning,” Mikel said in his pre-match press conference. “I ask everybody to go there tomorrow night with full energy because the team is going to need it. We are in a really good moment in the Premier League and we want to continue to be there and tomorrow's game is vital to achieve that.”
When prompted if he wanted a repeat of the decibel levels heard against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds earlier in the month, Mikel laughed and suggested: “I always want better! I want the team to play better, and the crowd to be even more energetic with us in every single ball and that's what we have to be tomorrow.”
The boss expects a reaction from his players following Wednesday night’s defeat in the Champions League at Porto - something akin to our only other European defeat this season at Lens but then beat Manchester City at Emirates Stadium three days later.
The chance to replicate that arrives against a Magpies side that pinched two points from us at St James’ Park thanks to Anthony Gordon’s controversial VAR-assisted goal, and also frustrated us on their last visit when they dug out a 0-0 draw in January 2022.
That has seen a bit of edge develop between the two sides, but Mikel believes these rivalries always exist when you play the same teams every season, and the ultimate revenge should come via the full-time result.
“With every club there is always a history,” he added. “I could sense in the dressing room straight away [in the previous meeting] that we wanted to play the next day. After that defeat and that feeling that you get, I’m sure that when they come back in an hour or two I’m going to be seeing that desire again.
“Newcastle are a really good team. They are very well-coached, and they have fantastic players. They have great spirit within the team and they are difficult to beat for us and for many, many opponents. They have changed a little bit [since our last match] and might have some players who are not available, and the same for us so let’s see. Every game is very different and the approach sometimes away and home can change.
“Normally they have a very different approach, especially when they don’t have the ball. So it’s two very different setups [compared to Porto]. What happened in another competition is there, but what you cannot deny is what is in your tummy after a defeat. We have to use it in a really powerful way to be better.”
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