Arteta says Arsenal held meeting after United loss to 'take the temperature down'

Mikel Arteta has revealed Arsenal held a team meeting after their defeat against Manchester United on Sunday “to take the temperature down”, and said the league leaders must “play with enjoyment” to win a first Premier League title for 22 years. A late goal from Matheus Cunha inflicted Arsenal their first home defeat of the season, with their lead at the top of the table remaining at four points after weekend victories for Manchester City and Aston Villa.

Arteta’s side have finished as runners-up in the past three seasons and Arsenal have now spent 884 days at the summit since Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles were crowned champions in 2004. After the meeting, Arteta said: “The reaction has been excellent … We took a moment to bring the temperature down, to pause and to reflect and ask two questions.

One is: ‘How do we feel, and how do I feel myself?’ And then: ‘How are we going to live the next four months?’” Asked whether anxiety from the home crowd had affected his players, Arteta said: “That’s why I encouraged them to jump in this boat because it’s going to be fun. Because the excitement, that conviction, that energy, that will is the way you have to live when you want to achieve a dream.” Arsenal’s co-chair, Josh Kroenke, is in London for the Champions League meeting against the Kazakh side Kairat on Wednesday, when the hosts will bid to become the first club to win all eight matches in the new league phase format.