Arteta faces trust issue as he bids to get tired Gunners firing again

MIDNIGHT was turning into the early hours of yesterday morning by the time Arsenal finally left the Allianz Arena after their painful Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich.

- Simon Collings

Such is the hectic nature of their schedule, that even then Mikel Arteta’s mind was already turning towards tomorrow’s game at Wolves.

Arsenal’s Champions League run is over, but the title race is not. The Gunners are two points behind Manchester City with six games to go and victory at Molineux would send them top.

Crucially, it is the first of two matches Arteta’s side have before City play again in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s men face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals tomorrow and Arsenal take on their London rivals at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. Two matches in four days gives them the rare chance to apply some pressure by opening up a four point gap with two victories, but the concern is whether they have enough fuel in the tank to do so.

The Bayern defeat came on the back of a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa last Sunday that handed City control of the title race. In both games, Arsenal showed signs of fatigue and that was particularly the case towards the end of Wednesday’s loss in Munich.