Mikel Arteta has admitted that he 'always looks' over his shoulder as Newcastle United bid to move within five points of his Arsenal side.
Second-placed Arsenal had the chance to open up a sizeable gap on the teams below them on Wednesday night, with just a handful of games to go, but the Gunners twice threw away a lead to draw 2-2 against Crystal Palace at the Emirates. Arsenal, who have had an eye on progressing in the Champions League in recent weeks, have now won just three of their last nine top-flight fixtures.
For context, even after a bruising defeat at Aston Villa, Newcastle have won twice as many league games in the same period and it was just last week that Arteta paid tribute to the Carabao Cup winners 'for the form they are in and the way they have been playing'. Newcastle have the chance to leapfrog champions Manchester City into third by beating Ipswich Town at St James' Park on Saturday as the Magpies look to chase Arsenal down.
Martin Keown felt his former side were 'looking over their shoulder a little bit', having noted how Arsenal still have to play Newcastle next month, and Arteta was asked if he was concerned about the hunters below his side in the table.
"We always look because we know how tough it is to win football matches in the Premier League," he told reporters. "With the amount of numbers and the amount of games that we have, we are going to have to be really good in both competitions to earn the right to be where we end up. We will see where we finish. We have to do everything we can game by game."
