With five of our next seven Premier League matches taking place at Emirates Stadium, Mikel Arteta believes our home form could be a crucial factor in the title race.
We host Everton this weekend, looking to continue our strong form in N5, where we have lost just once in all competitions all season.
With a run of matches taking place in north London, Mikel is excited to be back in front of our supporters, having faced 11 of our last 17 in the road in all competitions.
He said: “I think at some stage we had four away from home in a row, some very difficult games as well. But that’s the calendar, that’s the beauty of it as well.
“Obviously, at home we have been very, very strong and using that in the right way can be the deciding factor.”
Our next opponents, Everton, have a strong away record, sitting only behind us in points collected on the road since the start of 2025.
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Mikel is familiar with the Toffees and their manager, David Moyes, having played under the Scot for six years.
Praising Moyes’ longevity in the game, Mikel said: “It’s just incredible. For me, that’s why he’s one of the greatest managers the Premier League has ever had because to maintain that level and that consistency in many different contexts and clubs is just so difficult to do and people have to appreciate it because it’s very rare and I don’t know how many times it’s going to happen.
“You need to have, first of all, some very, very strong values, an incredible work ethic, and so much passion for the game because he’s been through great moments and difficult moments and the way he’s navigated through them, he’s always conducting himself in the same way, and that’s a huge credit to him.
“We’ve spoken a few times (this season), especially we spent more time after we played each other in December.
“Obviously (we) have huge memories and a massive gratitude because he changed my career basically after my decision to go back to Spain and then he brought me to Everton.
“He really changed my career and me as a player as well and a lot of incredible things that we shared together.”
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