Manager urges leaders to carry on from where they left off when EPL resumes after World Cup break
\n LONDON
\nMikel Arteta has urged leaders Arsenal to carry on from where they left off by winning their first Premier League title since 2004 when English football\u2019s top-flight resumes after the World Cup break.
\nThe Gunners were in superb form, with 12 wins from 14 matches, when the league was paused in unprecedented fashion to allow for the first World Cup held in a northern hemisphere winter to take place in Qatar.
\nAll season long, fans and pundits have been debating whether the break will be a help or a hindrance to clubs\u2019 ambitions, with Arsenal now without Gabriel Jesus after he was sent home early from the World Cup with a knee problem sustained in Brazil\u2019s shock defeat by Cameroon.
\nArteta, however, was in buoyant mood ahead of his side\u2019s return to Premier League action against London rivals West Ham at the Emirates on Monday.
\n\u201cYou know, I want the team to play a certain way, and the more consistent we are on that the more we are going to win,\u201d he told Sky Sports.
\n\u201cThere is excitement, and we should be excited and we should be embracing the opportunity that we have ahead of us.\u201d
\nArsenal are currently five points clear of reigning champions Manchester City.
\nCity will be the last of the title contenders in action during the Boxing Day holiday round of fixtures when they travel to strugglers Leeds on Wednesday. Saudi-backed Newcastle, riding high in third place, are away to Leicester on Monday.
\nThe Magpies last won a major domestic trophy in 1955 and such is the northeast club\u2019s desire to end that drought, Howe used all five of his players who had been in Qatar during a hard-fought 1-0 win over Premier League rivals Bournemouth that secured a place in the last eight of the League Cup.
\nChampions League qualification also remains a real possibility, with Tottenham and Manchester United, fourth and fifth respectively, snapping at Newcastle\u2019s heels.
\nUnited, given their status, may be under most pressure to achieve a top-four finish, although manager Erik ten Hag said: \u201cI think also for the manager of Chelsea (Graham Potter), of Newcastle (Eddie Howe), all those clubs invest a lot in their squad. So for every manager it\u2019s a big pressure to get into the Champions League, that\u2019s clear.\u201d
\nTottenham travel to Brentford with manager Antonio Conte confident Harry Kane will have put his World Cup heartache behind him. Kane\u2019s missed penalty late on against Spurs team-mate Hugo Lloris was a key moment in England\u2019s 2-1 quarter-final loss to France. \u201cNo, honestly (I am not worried) because we\u2019re talking about a world class striker,\u201d Conte said.
\nLiverpool will try to kickstart their season again away to Aston Villa on Monday.
\nBottom of the table Wolves begin their quest for top-flight survival under new manager Julen Lopetegui when the former Spain and Real Madrid coach, who oversaw a midweek League Cup win over Gillingham, makes his Premier League debut away to Everton.
\n\u201cFor me, the only aim in front is the next match,\u201d said Lopetegui, who replaced the sacked Bruno Lage.
\nFulham\u2019s match against Crystal Palace on Monday will be their first game since the death of club great and England 1966 World Cup-winner George Cohen at the age of 83.
\nPremier League chiefs announced there will be a moment\u2019s applause before all top-flight matches between Boxing Day and December 28 in honour of Cohen, with all players and officials wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manager urges leaders to carry on from where they left off when EPL resumes after World Cup break LONDON Mikel Arteta has urged leaders Arsenal to carry on from where they left off by winning their first Premier League title since 2004 when English football\u2019s top-flight resumes after the World Cup break. The Gunners were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-303405","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n