Mikel Arteta sends ‘harsh’ warning as Arsenal return to top four after West Ham win

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Arsenal convincingly beat West Ham United 2-0 at UAE soil on Wednesday, but coach Mikel Arteta is not ahead of himself, despite Arsenal climbing to fourth in the Premier League.

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In pictures: Arsenal – West Ham

Mikel Arteta warned his players against the “cruel” Premier League after Arsenal returned to the top four with their win over West Ham United.

Arsenal scored a 2-0 win over David Moyes Irons to jump them into the table on Wednesday in the UAE.

Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe’s goals sealed the victory and saved Alexandre Lacazette’s redness after a penalty saved by former Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Arteta is back again without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, after the striker was stripped of the captain’s armband before the match for once again breaching the bounds of discipline.

But the Gunners’ young team took the three points and will finish fourth after playing week in December for the first time since 2018.

Join the discussion! Will Arsenal finish in the top four? Give us your judgment here.

Arteta was pleased with his team

After the match, Arteta was asked if he was happy with the fourth place at this point and admitted: “No, because the league should end in May.

“It’s better than we were, but we want to be higher. This league is ruthless.”

The Spaniard continued:[I am] Really pleased with the performance; Attitude, commitment and quality that we showed in the game.

“It’s really important because it sets the tone for the team against a good team that is difficult to control.

“The players play for the club and the pride we expect from them.

Gabriel Martinelli has judged the Arsenal captain’s saga as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sacked ex-Manchester United side Alexis Sanchez in ‘advanced talks’ to return to Barcelona on loan.

“I was really happy from the start, because we knew we had to put in a really good performance today to beat West Ham.”

The result makes it Arsenal’s fifth consecutive clean sheet at home, something Arteta was also pleased with.

“As I said before, I think it’s a collective matter,” the Arsenal coach explained.

“When you have the front players doing the work now, it makes the process easier.

We’ve reduced a lot of individual errors that in the past have cost us a lot of points.”

Have your say! How did Arsenal shine against West Ham? Rate the players below.

Top scorer Martinelli told BT Sport: “It was a very good match, we needed to win. It was very important for the team.

“We know the potential we have. We are a young team but it was a great victory and I am very happy.

“We knew it was going to be a very difficult match, but as I said, we have a very good group, very good players and we won the match. We are very happy.”

Asked if Aubameyang’s position was distracting the team, the Brazilian added: “No, no, we are a team and we are together.

“It is up to Mikel and the whole team who will be the captain.”

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