Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal won't give up in Premier League title race against Liverpool - 'Over my dead body'

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Arsenal might be 11 points behind Liverpool but Mikel Arteta insists his side can still win the Premier League title. The Gunners face a trip to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening, live on TNT Sports and discovery+. Arsenal manager Arteta has said "over my dead body" when questioned about his side giving up on the title race, but admits the difficulty is higher than it was.

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A defiant Mikel Arteta insisted Arsenal won't be giving up in their Premier League title pursuit despite falling 11 points behind leaders Liverpool.

The Gunners' title hopes took a major hit over the weekend as they were beaten 1-0 at home by West Ham United and then Liverpool won at Manchester City 24 hours later.

Although Arsenal have a game in hand over Liverpool, it now looks a huge ask for them to catch a side who have lost just once all season in the league.

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10/09/2025 at 16:42

However, Arteta is not giving up hope. "Over my dead body," said the Arsenal manager when questioned about not giving up on the title.

"Mathematically, it’s possible. You are there, you have to play every game. Suddenly three days ago we could close the gap and you are one-and-a-half games away, it doesn’t matter, we have to continue.

"The difficulty is higher than three days ago but if you want to win the Premier League you have to do something special.

"To win this Premier League with the circumstances we have you have to do something that nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League."

Arsenal travel to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, while Liverpool host UEFA Champions League-chasing Newcastle United at Anfield.

Arsenal will be without defender Myles Lewis-Skelly for the game against Forest after he was sent off in the loss to West Ham.

The red card was the fifth of the season for Arsenal, which is two more than any other side.

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"It’s a big problem, not about discipline," said Arteta. "A lot of factors have contributed to that."

Asked about what factors, Arteta replied: "In terms of the different kinds of red cards that we had."

Arsenal have had two red cards this season for players kicking the ball away.

Arteta added: "If someone tells you at the start of the season by this time you have played five times with a red card, over 30 minutes in each of them games and you have lost this amount of players, what’s the bet you are in the middle of the table at least and you’re out of the Champions League? That’s not the situation."

The Gunners have been hampered by injury issues over the last few months and against West Ham played with Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker.

Arteta says Ethan Nwaneri should be "fine" to play against Forest after cramping issues at the weekend, but Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli will remain out.

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Arteta also defended the form of captain Martin Odegaard, who has just two goals in the Premier League this season after scoring eight last term.

Odegaard suffered an ankle injury earlier in the season but Arteta does not think that is a factor in his current form.

Arteta said: "We don’t know. The answer will probably be no because he came back in such a strong way and performed at a very high level.

"Then there’s sustaining that over a period of time, which is what we demand from the players constantly, especially the creative players. It’s very difficult.

"His attitude and how willing he was the other day with 10 men, how he takes responsibility and how he wants to drive the team, it’s remarkable and that’s what I demand from the players - that will to continue to make things happen. Martin certainly is trying more than anybody else."

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