Soccer-No panic at Arsenal, says Arteta

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Premier League – Arsenal v Burnley – Emirates Stadium, London, Britain – December 13, 2020 Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the match Pool via REUTERS/Catherine Ivill

(Reuters) – Arsenal slumped to their fourth defeat in five Premier League matches on Sunday after going down 1-0 at home to Burnley, and despite the club sitting just five points above the relegation zone manager Mikel Arteta is not pressing the panic button.

With 13 points from 12 games, Arsenal are off to their worst start to a season in almost 40 years and the pressure is building on Spaniard Arteta, who was brought in last season to turn around the North London club’s fortunes.

“I wouldn’t say there’s panic. I can see in training the way they try and the energy they put in,” Arteta said. “A team that is struggling normally you don’t see them play the way we were playing, and the way they played against Tottenham Hotspur.

“But we lost the game, we gave the opponents a chance and they scored and at this level it is all about winning football matches.”

Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka was sent off early in the second half before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored an own goal.

Scottish full back Kieran Tierney said the players had let Arteta down.

“We are not showing the manager what we can do and how much we believe in him,” Tierney said. “Every game there are signs we are doing a bit better but it is still not good enough.

“There are no excuses. There is nothing I can say that will make people believe a positive thing is going to come out of this.”

Arsenal host fourth-placed Southampton on Wednesday.

Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford