Arteta emphasised he had not given up hope of catching Arne Slot’s side but also believes finishing as runners-up for a third successive season would be an overachievement given the suspensions and injuries his team have had to overcome.
Mikel Arteta has insisted he will give up on the title race “over my dead body” and suggested Arsenal could have found themselves in mid-table this season given their poor disciplinary record.
“So if somebody tells you at the start of the season: ‘By this time, you have played five times with a red card over half an hour in each of those games, and you have lost this amount of players,’ what’s the bet?
Myles Lewis-Skelly will miss the trip to the City Ground after his red card on Saturday took Arsenal’s tally for the season to five, two more than any other club.
Arsenal head to third-placed Nottingham Forest on Wednesday trailing the leaders, Liverpool, by 11 points after surrendering their 15-match unbeaten Premier League run against West Ham.
