Arteta wants Arsenal to be more unpredictable

London — Arsenal have the squad depth that can help the team be more unpredictable, manager Mikel Arteta said, as the north London club look to open up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table when they host Everton on Wednesday.

Arsenal lead the league standings with 57 points after 24 matches, two points above second-placed Manchester City who have played a game more.

“The fact we have options right now, that we have players coming back from injury is going to be crucial because players cannot maintain the same level for 10 months, it is just impossible,” Arteta said on Tuesday. “We need to change and be more unpredictable and we have those options now.”

A win over Everton would take Arsenal’s tally to 60 points after 25 league games, making them just the third Arsenal side in history to achieve this.

“That means nothing,” Arteta said, adding that there would still be 13 games more to be played.

Arsenal have lost only three league games this season, including a 1-0 defeat at Everton on February 4. Arteta said his side would aim for a better performance this time against Sean Dyche’s team. “It is a case of doing things better than we played them a few weeks ago and earning the right to win the game,” he said.

Thomas Partey is unlikely to start against Everton after the midfielder came off the bench in their 1-0 win over Leicester City at the weekend, having missed two games due to a lower back injury.

“He has not trained much, he’s only had a session,” Arteta said. “He will train today. He was out for a few weeks, and he needs to get the rhythm.”

Dyche said Everton need to show a “strong jaw” away from home if they are to succeed in their bid to avoid relegation. The Merseyside club fell back into the bottom three after a 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa at the weekend.

Everton have not won on the road in the league since October 1 and Dyche knows that relying on their home form alone will be a risky strategy for survival.

“Most teams have stronger home forms for all kinds of scientific reasons but it’s about the consistency of performances home and away,” he said. “We want our players to have a strong jaw and an edge to their play away from home.”

Reuters