Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to prove they have the mental strength to bounce back from a painful spell that wrecked their Champions League challenge and dented their Premier League title bid. Arteta’s side lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich on Wednesday as the German side earned a 3-2 aggregate quarter-final victory.
The end of Arsenal’s attempt to win the Champions League for the first time followed a damaging 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa in the Premier League. Critics said the Gunners’ stumble over the last week reflected a lack of character and toughness in Arteta’s squad.
But Arsenal can return to the top of the table by winning at Wolves today while leaders Manchester City are in FA Cup semi-final action against Chelsea. “It’s been an experience, not the best one,” Arteta said. “We’re fully focused on the times we have ahead of us with six games to go. The context is clear, if we win we go top of the league, you don’t need anything else to be motivated.”
Arsenal are without a win in their last three games, having drawn their quarter-final first leg against Bayern. Arteta claimed the first game against Bayern and the Villa clash could have produced different results if Arsenal had avoided key mistakes.
“It is what it is and we have to accept it. The Bayern one at home at the beginning, it could have been different,” Arteta said.
“Against Villa we were the better team, but in the second half we paid the price for the chances we gave them and we have to move on from there. Now it is about showing against Wolves what we are made of and turning the situation around.”
Chasing Arsenal’s first Premier League crown in 20 years after blowing an eight-point lead in the title race last season, Arteta knows the verdict will not be kind if his team finish empty-handed again. But the Spaniard refused to blame his players for their wobble as he told them to make a final push for the title.

Klopp tells Liverpool to push for title
Jurgen Klopp has told spluttering Liverpool they can still clinch the Premier League title if they recover from a dismal spell by winning the last six matches of his reign. Klopp’s side crashed out of the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday after a 1-0 win against Atalanta that failed to overturn the three-goal first leg deficit.
It was the latest blow for Klopp in the closing weeks of his nine-year stay at Anfield. Liverpool also bowed out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage after losing to a last-gasp goal at bitter rivals Manchester United.
United rubbed salt into Liverpool’s wounds by holding them to a draw in the Premier League on April 7, before Crystal Palace plundered a shock win at Anfield last weekend. Klopp’s men have gone from leading the table to sitting two points behind leaders Manchester City in third place.
But the German, whose team travel to Fulham tomorrow, has not given up hope on giving Liverpool a record-equalling 20th English title as a parting gift. “It’s not obviously in our hands, it is not about that. I think if we would win all our games there is a good chance we will be champion. If not there is a good chance someone else will be champion,” Klopp said.
“Maybe we only have to win five, but nobody knows. Who would have thought that Arsenal lose against Aston Villa? We all sit here and think ‘OK, yeah. City will win all their games’ and that’s happened quite frequently, but they have a lot of games to play and difficult opponents as well. We don’t think about that. We don’t think about them. It is just how can we make sure we start wining games again.”
Liverpool have had two seasons where the title race with City has seen them miss out by just one point after both clubs finished strongly.

Fixtures:
Saturday (1400 GMT unless stated): Luton v Brentford, Sheffield United v Burnley, Wolves v Arsenal (1830)
Sunday: Everton v Nottingham Forest (1230), Aston Villa v Bournemouth (1400), Crystal Palace v West Ham (1400), Fulham v Liverpool (1530)