Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta empathises with under-pressure Graham Potter - 'You cannot destroy your life'
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Updated 28/02/2023 at 16:19 GMT
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he understands how Graham Potter will be feeling after a run of difficult results for Chelsea. The Blues have won just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions and Potter has taken “full responsibility” for the poor form. Next up for Chelsea is Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the Premier League.
“You can’t destroy your life” - Arteta empathises with under-pressure Potter
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has stated managers “cannot destroy” their lives due to football as he empathised with the pressure his Chelsea counterpart, Graham Potter, is currently facing.
Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday meant the Blues have failed to win their last eight away games in the Premier League for the first time since 2001.
The result has left them 10th in the Premier League table, with Potter’s side closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
Following the match, he referenced Arteta after watching Arsenal’s All or Nothing documentary.
“Two years into Mikel’s reign he’s close to getting the sack and people are wanting him out and it’s a disaster,” Potter said.
“Now things have changed a little bit and that’s just the way it is.”
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Potter: 'I haven't done enough to have too much good faith'
A poor start to last season saw Arteta come under pressure at Arsenal and now he has led his side to the top of the Premier League.
The Spaniard understood what Potter, who signed a five-year contract in September, will be going through.
“We are colleagues and we all know the pressure, the demands and the uncertainty that this industry has,” said Arteta.
"You can have difficulties in your job and challenges, which we do, especially when you lose, but when you are winning as well because this job is so demanding.
"You cannot destroy your life because of that. Your family, your friends, your loved ones, the people around you, don't deserve to have their lives affected in such a negative way because you don't win a football match.
"So that balance I think in my case was critical. But you need some help, someone to paint that picture in front of you because sometimes when you are in that position it is not easy to see."
Asked if he had empathy for Potter, he added: “Absolutely.
“The fact is the ball has to go into the net and there are many factors that prevent that, that you cannot control so of course you empathise because you suffer and you know how it is when he is going through those moments.”
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