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Mikel Arteta has said Arsenal must “be like a hammer” to hunt down Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal travel to Brentford on New Year’s Day aiming to move above second-placed Nottingham Forest with a win that would take them within six points of leaders Liverpool.
Arne Slot’s side have lost just one league game this season and when asked how hard they would be to chase, Arteta said: “I don’t know and it doesn’t depend on us. We have to continue to be like a hammer: be there every day, every day and if someone wins all the matches then congratulate them and go to the next season.
“But if they don’t — which in history it hasn’t happened — then we will be there.”
Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury — which is expected to keep him sidelined until March following an operation – has created an opportunity for Leandro Trossard to make an impact.
“He’s a really good character,” Arteta said of the Belgium international who has started just 11 games this season.
“They all want to play, always want to play.
“Leo has shown a lot more consistency in the last 12 months, he’s deserved that. He’s had a lot of competition in his position. That’s it. Raise the level. If he plays at that level then he will play like anyone else. He has the capacity to do something special in the final third.
“Leo naturally is a bit of a moaner but I like that because he’s very competitive and you have training sessions, he’s always busy with the referee’s decision, because he wants to win. That’s what I love.
“He always wants to be the best and when he’s not there, he’s not happy. But that’s what pushes him. That’s where he comes in the pitch, he can make an impact because he’s got that drive, that anger which says ‘I’m gonna show you.'”