Arsenal Manager Rejects ‘Bottlers’ Label as Title Race Tightens

Arsenal's Mikel Arteta pushed back against criticism calling his team 'bottlers' as their Premier League title hopes face pressure. The Gunners have struggled recently with just two wins in seven league matches, allowing Manchester City to close the gap.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta pushed back against critics using the term ‘bottlers’ on Friday, as his team prepares for Sunday’s crucial Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur while facing mounting pressure in the title race.

The Gunners have struggled in recent weeks, managing only two victories in their past seven league matches. Their recent stumbles include consecutive draws against Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers, allowing Manchester City to narrow the gap to just five points while holding a game in hand.

This marks another challenging period for the North London side, which has finished second in the league during each of Arteta’s last three seasons as manager.

When reporters questioned Arteta about the ‘bottlers’ criticism surrounding his team’s latest title race struggles, he firmly rejected the characterization.

“It’s not part of my vocabulary and I don’t see it like this because I don’t think anybody wants to do that as an intention,” Arteta stated during Friday’s press conference.

The Spanish manager acknowledged the disappointment while emphasizing his focus on moving forward.

“That’s individual opinion, perspective. You have to respect that. That’s what I said after in the press conference. You lose two points against Wolves in the manner that the game played out, you have to take it on the chin. It’s part of our role,” he explained.

“What I’m very interested in is the next one, what we are made of, what we love about this and how we write our own destiny from here,” Arteta added.

Despite their league struggles, Arsenal remains active across multiple competitions, having advanced to the League Cup final while still competing in both the Champions League and FA Cup round of 16.

Sunday’s opponents Tottenham present their own storyline, currently sitting in 16th place in the Premier League table. The Spurs will be led by recently appointed manager Igor Tudor, who took over the position last week following Thomas Frank’s departure.