01 May 2023 , 21:30
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Mikel Arteta wants to build “the perfect machine” at Arsenal – but insists he doesn't need to turn his team into a land of the giants.
The Gunners, top of the charts for 247 days this season, lost control of the title race when they were terrorised by Norse monster Erling Haaland and steamrollered by Manchester City last week.
But Arteta hopes the brute will be on the other foot on Tuesday night when victory against Chelsea – gilded, hopeless and eight games without a win – would send them back to the summit for at least 24 hours.
Arsenal were not just outclassed it their 4-1 defeat at the Etihad. They looked physically smaller, like a team of welterweights struggling to absorb heavyweight power.
They simply couldn't live with Haaland, Rodri, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Kyle Walker. Arteta admitted: “Centimetre by centimetre on the day, yes (they were bigger), but it takes time to build the perfect team.
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“You don't do it in one, two or three years – that was seven years' worth of process, with a lot of good decisions, and we are trying to do something different, but you cannot copy and paste.
“At the Emirates, we played the same way and we could have beat them. In the end, we didn't. Why? Because when they raised that level a little more, boom, they took the game in individual moments. That's what we have to recognise and not accept. Do not accept it.”
Arsenal were battered and bullied by Man City at the Etihad (Getty Images)Arsenal's golden era under Arsene Wenger was built on the power of Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Sol Campbell and Thierry Henry, while Dennis Bergkamp was no shrinking violet, either.
But when Le Professeur rebuilt his Invincibles team around the likes of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, he sacrificed an element of physicality for finesse – and the trophies dried up.
Asked if the big guns needed a few bouncers on the door to cope with the Premier League's hulks and ogres now, Arteta said: “It's a great question and you think you might go in that direction. But playing with Gael Clichy, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Kun Aguero, Sterling – City collected 100 points.
“Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro – six titles (at Barcelona ). Good players, incredible players. In the right moment they step up. They love what they do and they create the right chemistry.
“You have them and they are all two metres tall? Even better. Great. Are they good enough technically? Are they sharp enough? Can they turn? The perfect machine - that's what we all want. Give me 24 of those. We are all looking for the perfect squad, and hopefully we can find it.”
Amid the disappointment of losing an eight-point lead in the title race, Arsenal's qualification for the Champions League, which is now guaranteed after a seven-year absence from elite orbit, has flown under the radar.
Mikel Arteta insists his side are still moving in the right directionThe Gunners boss says it is a measure of how far they have come, adding: “We are back in the Champions League and everyone is still unsatisfied with the situation. But this is what we need to move forward as a club and a team. We are Arsenal, we have to be here to win every single trophy. The demands have to be there.
“The disappointment (after losing at City) was across the club. It was a big night and we didn’t produce the performance we wanted. We deserved to lose the game and we have to move on.
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“We still have the nicest part of the season to play with five games to go. I'd pay a lot of money next season to be in this position, believe me.”
Chelsea have won nine times in all competitions at the Emirates since Arsenal moved into their new stadium in 2006, but the Blues are on course for their lowest points total of the Premier League era.