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Mikel Arteta says having no fans in the stadium is helping his Arsenal players


Mikel Arteta believes having no fans in the stadium is actually helping his Arsenal players as they prepare to face Leicester in a crucial Premier League clash.

Arteta’s side host the Foxes on Tuesday having won their last four games, after losing two on the bounce immediately following football’s restart.

Arsenal’s mini-resurgence has nudged them up to seventh in the table, and victory at the Emirates tonight would be a big boost to their hopes of qualifying for European football next season.

The fans’ discontent at The Emirates been palpable at times in recent years amid underachievement from the Gunners.

And while only one of Arsenal’s games since the restart has been at home – last week’s 4-0 thrashing of Norwich – Arteta reckons playing behind closed doors could be taking the pressure off his players.

Mikel Arteta says some of his squad are benefiting from playing in empty stadiums rather than in front of 80,000 fans

“When they play in front of 80,000 people it is much harder, mostly when they are on the ball or the ball is coming close to them,” said the manager.

“Others need that extra motivation, extra pressure, extra passion to perform better. Every player is different. But some of the players are not rushing what they do.”

Arteta’s side are currently on course for Europa League qualification in seventh, but their form since returning to action last month has given them hope that they could return to the Champions league.

The north Londoners are six points off Manchester United in fifth, which could be enough to clinch a place in Europe’s elite club competition if Manchester City ’s European ban is upheld.

The Gunners have only played at the Emirates once since the restart – in last week’s 4-0 win over Norwich

And with tonight’s opponents Leicester in third place, a victory for the Gunners would help open up the Champions League race further.

One player who appears to have benefited from Arsenal’s recent upturn is on-loan midfielder Dani Ceballos.

Ceballos faces an uncertain future as there is no obvious place for him at his parent club Real Madrid.

But after an up-and-down season at the Emirates which was blighted by injury, the midfielder is starting to play himself into Arteta’s thoughts and the manager would like him to stay.

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“I’m really happy with him — he’s becoming a really important player for us,” Arteta said in quotes reported by the Daily Mail.

‘We are talking to (Real), obviously we don’t own the player, he’s not in our hands so the clubs will need to have a communication and see what we can do.”

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