Arteta steers Arsenal towards Fulham showdown with eyes on Premier League crown

Arsenals drive for a maiden Premier League championship in over 20 years has reached a nail biting conclusion, as Mikel Artetas squad seeks to shatter a barren spell stretching back to the invincible 2003/04 season that saw them go undefeated.

Concentrate on Fulham. Plus desire. Desire to feature, desire to battle, desire to triumph, desire to edge nearer to fulfilling our ambition the manager from Spain remarked to journalists on Friday.

We are competing to claim the Premier League. This is precisely the position we aimed for. Four matches remaining. This is the second one. Prepared to proceed.

After topping the table for large portions of the season, Arsenals sporadic failures to secure maximum points have enabled the reigning title holders Manchester City to narrow the distance, with Pep Guardiolas team ramping up the pressure through a run of successes in the closing stages.

The difference between table toppers Arsenal and runners up Man City stands at three points, although City hold an additional fixture to play.

We now face just four encounters, and all is on the line, so nothing surpasses this excitement Arteta commented.

The head coach verified that forward Kai Havertz and defender Jurrien Timber are set to sit out the encounter with Fulham. Havertz got hurt in the recent match versus Newcastle United, whereas Timber has been absent since March.

Arteta noted that Havertz might return for the upcoming tie against Atletico.

He has been a significant absence. We discuss one of our key offensive contributors, sidelined for seven or eight months Arteta stated.

He misses this outing, yet we hope he features against Atletico. He is straining at every limit to make it happen.

Fulham occupy 10th spot on 48 points, trailing sixth placed Brighton by two, one adrift of Bournemouth, and tied with Chelsea and Brentford amid the escalating fight for spots in Europe.