Arteta's own words threatening to haunt him a month after £250m splurge

ON August 22, Mikel Arteta claimed that Arsenal’s summer business meant they were ready to be Prem leaders instead of chasers.

Ahead of their 5-0 thumping of Leeds a day later – where they would also unveil the £63m signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace – Arteta said: “We are showing the ambition that we are here to win major trophies.

4 Mikel Arteta needs to stop playing it safe if Arsenal want any shot at the Premier League title

4 The Gunners clinched a 1-1 draw against Man City on Sunday thanks to a last-gasp equaliser from Gabriel Martinelli Credit: Getty

“And we’re going to be in front, not just chasing or acting behind. We just want to be in front of it. Every decision that we make in every area of the club is to try to achieve that.”

Just over a month later, off the back of a statement-making £250m splurge in the market, those words are threatening to haunt Arteta and Arsenal.

Five games down in the Premier League and the gap between themselves and their faultless title rivals Liverpool stands at five points.

The chase appears to already be on.

As a result, with positive pre-season still a recent memory, Arteta has resorted to his defensive and prickly manner in press conferences far sooner than anyone could have imagined.

A stubborn and hard-to-read man, the Spaniard refused to give a reason for his cautious midfield selection that saw the Gunners need a 93rd minute Gabriel Martinelli equaliser to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City on Sunday.

When SunSport asked him post-match to explain his decision to start Martin Zubimendi , Declan Rice and Mikel Merino as a three – one that lacked any real attacking intent or spark – with Eze left on the bench, Arteta snapped back: “No, we don't have time for that, there's a lot of things to do that.”

Pressed further, he remarked: “Because I say it was the best one to start the game… the best one for the team. Nobody asked me about the midfield three in Bilbao, nobody.”

Indeed, that same trio started in their Champions League trip to Athletic Bilbao last week, another below-par performance that yet again needed Martinelli off the bench to inject some late energy and inspire a 2-0 victory.

It is becoming an unwelcome recurring theme, no matter how much Arteta raves about his “finishers” doing the business from the bench.

The same happened last year as Liverpool romped to the title, ultimately drawing too many games - 14 in total - and keeping the handbrake firmly on.

As he usually does, Arteta will no doubt point to several factors to explain why Arne Slot ’s Reds have built up a daunting head of steam this term with Arsenal trailing slightly behind.

Injuries – again. Bukayo Saka , Martin Odegaard , Kai Havertz , William Saliba and Ben White have so far spent time in the medical room, while Noni Madueke also hobbled off at half time against City with a worrying knee issue.

Does this argument or excuse still stand with Arteta currently possessing one of the strongest and deepest squads not just in the Prem but in Europe? No.

And in another universe, Liverpool would also have dropped points this season but for match-winning goals inside the final 10 minutes in four of their five Prem wins.

But therein lies the problem.

4 Noni Madueke became the latest Arsenal star to suffer an injury at the weekend Credit: Alamy

Slot’s men may be defensively questionable at times, their last-gasp shows surely unsustainable, but their attacking intentions can never be questioned, their desire to take risks in the big moments to win games is clear for all to see.

The opposite currently can be said of Arteta and Arsenal. They are a team currently paralysed by hesitancy and anxiousness to make the first move, to show their hand, despite having one of the strongest back-fives in the world right now – the perfect base to build from.

How can Arteta eradicate this?

To begin with, by fitting all of his fit, attacking stars into a starting line-up and letting it rip from the word go in games, especially with a now-crucial Prem clash at Newcastle on Sunday after an unwanted trip to Port Vale in the Carabao Cup tomorrow.

In the aftermath of the City draw, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher compared Arteta to Rafa Benitez – the ex-Reds boss who misused the incredible tools at his disposal thanks to a safety-first philosophy that fell short to Sir Alex Ferguson ’s rampaging Manchester United .

Arteta is in danger of leaving the same legacy at Arsenal.

4 Arsenal currently sit second in the Premier League table Credit: AFP