Mikel Arteta has told his title-chasing players to join another club if they can’t handle the “noise and bullets” that comes with fighting for the Premier League.
Arsenal face arch-rivals Tottenham on Sunday with their championship credentials on the line after they surrendered a two-goal lead to draw with bottom-of-the-table Wolves.
Arsenal’s destiny remains in their own hands following a largely impressive season which will see them make the short trip across north London perched at the summit.
However, Arteta’s side, who have finished runners-up for the past three years, have faced accusations of being “bottlers” since dropping points at Wolves – one that Arteta moved swiftly to deny.
The Gunners though have won just two of their last seven league games.
Addressing claims that the external noise could become too overwhelming for his players, Arteta replied: “You ask them the question: Do you want to be part of the noise? Or not? If not go and do something else.
“Be part of a different club or do you want to be Arsenal? And everybody has been demanding for 10 years, 15 years that we need to go back there (fighting for the title) and now we are there, and now what? You don’t want noise?
“Noise is part of it and the bullets are part of that and we try to deal with it in the right way and achieve what we are looking for.
“We have to do what we have to do. I don’t think it is going to change for anybody. At the end you have to win the next match and if you do that, you are going to be in a much stronger position and that is the only thing we can control.”
An injury-hit Martin Odegaard has played just 45 minutes across Arsenal’s last five games.
But the Norway international could be available to lead his side out against Tottenham.
Odegaard’s form has been a hot topic for debate. He has scored just one goal this season and only twice in the league in the last year.
However, his playing time has been restricted through a number of different injuries.
And Arteta continued: “The percentage of time he (Odegaard) has been available for us has been far from ideal.
“Again, he has been part of that journey in this year to deal with a lot of injuries and, with us having a lot of important players out like we have now, the team has done extremely well to maintain that level.
“Injuries are the worst part of our profession when a player has a big sequence of events and I understand how Martin wants to be involved with the team, it is tough.”
Meanwhile midfielder Declan Rice dismissed concerns about the Premier League leaders’ mentality but admitted the 2-2 draw at Wolves was “sickening.”
Rice told Sky Sports: “For them (Wolves) to come back and draw 2-2 was sickening and very, very disappointing.
“We just stopped doing the basics, in a game of football it swings both ways and we ended up getting into a game they wanted to play.
“We didn’t really get a foothold in the game after the (Wolves’ first) goal, which is disappointing because at 2-0 you think you’re going to walk away with it.”
However, he added: “From the moment I’ve come in, to the moment we’re at now I’ve seen a big difference after games and the mentality of the boys in terms of…if things aren’t right, things getting brought up, saying something and getting something off your chest that you feel can actually help the situation.
“I think the other night that was needed because at 2-0 we should have won the game, we know the position we are in.”
Arsenal have now drawn their last two Premier League games, which has allowed City to close the gap, and their next test is a north London derby at Tottenham on Sunday.
In addition to their league expectations, a busy fixture list also sees the Gunners through to next month’s Carabao Cup final and they have secured their spot in the Champions League knockout stages, while a trip to Mansfield awaits in the FA Cup fifth round.
The Gunners have finished as runners-up in the last three Premier League seasons but Rice stressed that there is belief within the group.
Asked about feeling the weight of pressure and expectation following their second-placed finishes, he said: “We’re on our own journey and we fully believe in each other.
“We want to do it because we’ve got such a good core group, such quality players now, that we can do it, and it shows then that we can flick a page in terms of people talking about that mentality.”
Arsenal last won the Premier League in 2004 and Rice stressed the need for readiness as his side challenge for that crown.
He added in The Sun: “We’re not going to be handed it, we need to go and win it, we need to deserve it and we need to be ready for anything that is thrown at us.”
