Granit Xhaka has claimed Arsenal are learning to live with the pressure of being Premier League favourites.
And the Swiss star insisted the Gunners do not always have to win in style as they seek to end a 19-year title drought. “As long as you get the result, nobody will ask you at the end of May,” he said.
Mikel Arteta’s side go to Fulham on Sunday after keeping their five-point lead at the top with the 97th-minute winner against Bournemouth. And after battling to a 2-2 draw at Sporting Lisbon, the Gunners will have a great chance to reach the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.
Xhaka insisted Arsenal have the strength in depth to compete on two fronts with potentially 18 games left between now and the Europa League final in Budapest on May 31. And he said his side are also developing the mental strength to cope at the top.
“You can see that every team is playing differently against us,” said the stand-in skipper in Lisbon. “They are dropping a lot, sometimes they are pressing us as well, but this is what happens when you are top of the league. There is much more pressure than before, for sure.
"But in general, I think we are doing well. I think there is a good mentality in the team and let’s try to keep that.”
Arsenal have won their last four Premier League games but have not been convincing. They needed late goals to beat Aston Villa and Bournemouth and conceded five goals.
“You see the last games, the results, we won them,” Xhaka responded. “We have to respect all the opponents, even if Bournemouth is not top in the table. We know how difficult it is to play against them. Even in the Premier League you play against first or last, it’s the same. It’s difficult. But as long as you get the result, nobody will ask you at the end of May.”
Arteta told his side to stop conceding “simple goals” if they want to win silverware this season after letting in another from a setpiece in the Portuguese capital.
Xhaka admitted they were allowing “easy goals” and said: “It’s too simple. One a set-piece, the other one we don’t take the runner. But everything starts at the front, if nobody or not all of us are ready on this level, you get punched. But the 2-2 is okay. We can now finish the second leg at home.”
Arsenal had planned to take Gabriel Jesus to Portugal to train on Friday but changed their mind after deciding to fly home on Thursday night after the game.
But the imminent return of the Brazil striker, who underwent knee surgery after the World Cup, will boost Arsenal for the last two months for the season.
“For sure, because we lost Eddie (Nketiah) as well, it’s much more important to have Gabi back,” said Xhaka. “Leo (Trossard) as well is injured and he can play in this position. Step by step, I hope that Gabi will be 100% fit to help this team because we know that he can help us. With his attitude, with his personality, he is very, very important for us.”
