Arteta backs Arsenal youngsters to cope with top-four pressure

[FILES] Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline during the English League Cup semi-final first leg football match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on January 13, 2022. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Mikel Arteta is confident that Arsenal’s crop of young stars can cope with the mounting pressure as they seek to seal a place in next season’s Champions League.

Arteta’s side is fourth in the Premier League with five games left as they fight to return to Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since 2016/17.

The Gunners, two points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham, have climbed into the top four thanks to a set of gifted players developed by Arteta including Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah and Nuno Tavares.

Now they must prove they can perform when the pressure mounts, starting on Sunday at London rivals West Ham.

“For most of them it is (their first experience) but it’s been like this for the last two or three months where everyone is talking about it,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.

“They can feel the importance of every match but this is what we want in April and May, for things to play for.”

Arteta has steered Arsenal back towards the top of the table after their worst start to a season for decades.

The Spaniard was facing calls for his sacking back in September, but he has been rewarded for keeping faith with the youngsters, as well as cutting ties with club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who made a January move to Barcelona.

“We have very different players in the squad and we have a very different environment,” Arteta said when asked to explain how he turned the tide.

“I think the unity that exists right now between the team, the staff,