Mikel Arteta urges Arsenal players to return from international break with same 'hunger'

Gunners sign off latest Premier League game week with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace to move eight points clear at the top

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has urged his players to look after themselves while away on international duty before returning for the Premier League run-in. AP Photo

Mikel Arteta has urged his Arsenal players to "look after themselves" and return from the international break fit and hungry to continue their Premier League title bid.

A 4-1 victory over managerless Crystal Palace at home on Sunday sent the Gunners eight points clear in the title race.

One of Arteta's players sure to feature for his country is winger Bukayo Saka, who has been called up for England's upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.

Saka once again starred as he scored twice and set up the opener for Gabriel Martinelli, becoming the first Premier League player this season to reach double figures for both goals and assists.

“I want to think positively. Touch wood, but I want to think positive,” Arteta said. “They’re going to have to play games, they have to do it in the way that they do it here or possibly even better with their country.

“We are in contact with all of them, they know how to look after them and hopefully it will all work out.

“[My message is] that they really look after themselves in this period. We will look after the players that are with us here.

“That they come back with the same mindset and hunger from before to go into Leeds which is the only important game right now. We know it.”

Saka himself admitted the team will continue to give everything they can as they got back to winning ways despite crashing out of the Europa League after a shoot-out loss to Sporting Lisbon three days earlier.

“Of course we are humans and we get tired,” he said. “It is difficult sometimes but the prize at the end is worth giving everything, giving all our energy for.

“Today sometimes you can feel and see the tiredness in our bodies after playing 120 minutes and then you have to come again three days later to play here.

“But we have the belief and the desire that we want to do this this year and nothing can stop us. Especially not us being tired.”

Palace remain in a relegation fight as Paddy McCarthy took charge of the Eagles for the first time following Patrick Vieira’s sacking on Friday morning.

They are without a league win in 2023 and Jeffrey Schlupp’s goal ended a run of nearly seven hours without a goal.

“It was hectic,” admitted McCarthy.

“You get called into action and you have two days. The boys gave it their all and I can’t fault their effort. They’re a great group of lads, they are great people and I definitely believe they have more than enough to get themselves out of this situation.”

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