Arsenal are keeping alive the dream, says Arteta

Arsenal
kept alive their dream of winning the Premier League with Saturday's 3-0 defeat
of Fulham on Saturday, manager Mikel Arteta said.
"It
says to us and to our dressing room that we keep the dream alive," Arteta
told reporters .
"What
these guys have done, not now but throughout the season, to win that many games
in the circumstances that we had to do it, without so many players available at
times, is remarkable."
Arsenal
rediscovered their attacking verve as they blew away Fulham with a first-half
masterclass, with fit-again Bukayo Saka on song and summer signing Viktor
Gyokeres delivering arguably his best performance for the Gunners.
Their
season had seemed to be unravelling, with March's League Cup final defeat to
title rivals Manchester City being followed by a FA Cup quarter-final loss to
second-tier Southampton to end their pursuit of a quadruple.
Back-to-back
losses in the league, the second at Manchester City, then saw Arsenal cede the
advantage to their rivals and they were knocked off the top of the Premier
League for the first time since October when City beat Burnley last week.
Having lost
just three of 49 games in all competitions, a run of four defeats in eight
prompted questions about Arsenal's mentality and their ability to finally add
to the 2020 FA Cup, their only major trophy under Arteta.
But
Arsenal shrugged off recent shaky performances and the exertions of Wednesday
night's Champions League semi-final first leg at Atletico Madrid to move six
points clear at the top of the league with their assured 3-0 win over Fulham.
Arsenal
raced out of the blocks on Saturday and took an early lead they never looked
like giving up, generating a positive atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium which
in turn spurred on the players, Arteta said.
"When
you feel that connection with them (the fans), we are much, much better,"
he said. "And I know that it has to come from us.
"It
certainly came from us today but we need to do it somehow, even when the team
is not giving it probably the right reasons."
The
Gunners were out of sight at the break after what Arteta described as one of
their best first-half performances of the season, allowing him the luxury of
resting key players before the visit of Atletico on Tuesday, taking off Saka at
halftime and withdrawing Gyokeres and Declan Rice around the hour-mark.
Arteta
said his side needed to harness the positivity of Saturday's performance and
take it into Tuesday's game, with his side four – and possibly five – games
from greatness.
"Use
that momentum, energy, belief towards Tuesday," he said. "We're going
to certainly need that.
"When
I look at the atmosphere in the dressing room, I think it's striking in the
right direction."
















