Arsenal star David Raya has insisted that they will be in the Premier League title race this season, despite falling nine points behind Liverpool already.
Mundo Deportivo cover comments from the Arsenal goalkeeper today made in an interview with EFE, in which he insists it’s time to put any excuses to one side.
Arsenal had expected to be firmly in the title race again this season after two straight years of pushing Manchester City at the top.
A big summer with expensive signings such as Ricardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino only added to an already talented squad and boosted Mikel Arteta’s options.
However, the first 11 games of the new season have been anything but easy for Mikel Arteta’s side as they’ve lost two and drawn four and suffered in big moments.
Injuries have played their part but so has a lack of discipline, as red cards have cost the team in crucial games and seen Arsenal drop points against the likes of Bournemouth.
They’re currently nine points behind leaders Liverpool as a result, a gap some believe will be impossible for them to make up in the coming months. Raya, though, is confident they’ll be in the fight and doesn’t want to hear any excuses either.
“We have shown last year and this season, although we have not started as we would have liked, especially the last two games due to the circumstances of the matches, with very difficult away games with one man less,” he said.
“We must not make excuses and we must move forward. We deserved more against Chelsea and Newcastle, but we will continue in the same vein, correcting errors and looking forward with a very good group that we can do anything. We will be in the fight to lift the Premier League.”