Thomas Tuchel has jokingly suggested that Arsenal’s poor run of results might be down to Mikel Arteta winning the Manager of the Month award ahead of him.
Chelsea’s manager made the tongue-in-cheek comment in the build-up to tonight’s game against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
Arteta’s Arsenal announce themselves
Plenty is riding on this evening’s game and not just simply claiming the rights to the capital city.
Arsenal’s ambitions and needs are arguably greater than their hosts, as they attempt to regain ground on the Champions League pack.
The Gunners stormed through September into late November, remaining unbeaten in eight Premier League games before being humbled by Liverpool.
They then won four successive matches between mid-December and New Year’s Day, again falling short at the hands of England’s elite, Manchester City.
An unblemished start to 2022 was ended by Liverpool once more at the halfway point in March, however Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for Europe were becoming a reality.
Collecting nine points from a possible 12 handed Arteta the Manager of the Month accolade, beating the likes of Tuchel, Antonio Conte, Jurgen Klopp and Brendan Rodgers.
However, since picking up the individual prize, the Spaniard’s side have seriously struggled.
Have the Gunners shot themselves in the foot?
Defeats to Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton has placed a nervous cloud over their European desires.
Perhaps Arteta should’ve given his honour over to another of the coaching candidates, as to avoid the jinx seemingly cast over Arsenal.
“It’s their curse! You want to have it because it means you won games. That’s why you want to have it because it means you had a good run of results,” Tuchel humorously remarked when asked about missing out on the Manager of the Month trophy.
“But if we have the results and someone else has the results and they give it to the other person, that’s fine by me.
“I don’t look at the other results not so much, until the point we play them, then we start analysing.
“Actually, we want to be the team who makes their losing streak longer because we want to beat them.”
Chelsea will carry on fighting
Chelsea were triumphant in each of their three March fixtures, overcoming Burnley, Norwich City and Newcastle United.
Tuchel’s men endured a surprising humbling at the hands of Brentford in April, but bounced instantly back by smashing six past Southampton on the road.
Both results sandwiched the Champions League quarter-final first-leg disappointment against Real Madrid.
The Blues almost achieved a remarkable comeback at the Bernabeu, yet just fell short at the final hurdle.
Knocking Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup in the semi-final certainly softened the blow, as will getting one over Arsenal later today.
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