Gunners play rivals Chelsea and Tottenham in hectic end to the season
William Saliba believes Arsenal need to beat Chelsea and Tottenham this week to have any chance of overhauling Manchester City in the title race.
Arsenal moved back to the top of the table with a 2-0 win at Wolves on Saturday and can extend their lead over third-placed City to four points when Chelsea visit the Emirates on Tuesday.
The Gunners travel to Tottenham for the north London derby on Sunday at the end of what could be a decisive week in the title race.
“If we sleep, the title can be over, so we had to get back quickly because if we lose, or we draw again, we know it is going to be tough to win the League,” said Saliba.
“We have five games left — and if we want to win the Premier League, we have to first win our five games and wait [to see what happens].
“Of course, anything can happen in the last five games. If we want something at the end we have to win.
“If we want to put pressure on, we have to win, to win and keep going like this. It will be hard but we are prepared.”
Arsenal put a bad week behind them to respond at Wolves and they finished the weekend above Liverpool on goal difference after the Reds’ 3-1 win at Fulham.
“It’s really hard to come back after the two last games because we lost, but we knew how important this game was,” said Saliba.
“We came back with a win and a clean sheet. We are happy and we have to keep going like this. We have good experience from last year and this season, too. It can be up and down very quickly, so we are well prepared.”
Arsenal are feeling the impact of a busy schedule and tomorrow will be their sixth game in 21 days.
Saliba believes mental strength will be key during the run-in and has urged his team-mates to push through the pain barrier to achieve something special.
“It is a very big week,” he said. “I will have an ice bath, massage and do my best, but it is more mentally. Our legs are tired, but this is football. We play with our heads, that’s it. We have to push and give everything we have. We don’t have a choice, we have to play, it’s the end of the season.
“We have to push for the last five League games and we will rest after. That’s why we are top — we have good players who don’t give up and sprint even at the last minute.”
Arsenal were without Takehiro Tomiyasu for the win at Wolves after he suffered a knock during the defeat at Bayern.
The Gunners are hopeful it is not a serious issue and the Japan star was being assessed today to see if he can play against Chelsea
