Mikel Arteta will use Arsenal's winter training camp in Dubai to get his team fired up for a Premier League title challenge, Ray Parlour says.
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Arsenal have just one win in seven gamesDropped to five points behind league leadersParlour believes team will hold serious talksWHAT HAPPENED?
Arsenal have lost their last three matches and won just one of their seven in all competitions, putting a dent in their hopes of winning the Premier League. The Gunners will hope to regroup while they take in a break in Dubai and Parlour, who won three league titles and four FA Cups with the club, believes Arteta will use the opportunity to banish the negativity affecting his side.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT RAY PARLOUR SAID
"This is what football does for you. You get spells in seasons, suddenly you get a couple of bad defeats," he told . "We had it in our teams and we ended up being successful. We always had it in November where we had a really bad November and we had to really regroup and all get together again and go again. This little break might have come at a good time after that defeat. I think they’re going to go away for warm weather training, train hard, and try to get a few more players fit. Partey, Zinchenko, Vieira and people like that and then go again. This little break is all about having meetings and getting together with each other and saying: ‘Look, come on, there’s still a long way to go in this season. Let’s not throw it away now. We’ve had a decent start. We know we’ve had a couple of bad results, West Ham, Fulham and Liverpool, but there’s still a long way to go and let’s regroup, try and get that next win and go again'."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Arsenal are five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool after losing consecutive matches against West Ham and Fulham. The north London team have not won the league title since 2004, when Parlour was part of the team, and Arteta's team will hope to get back in the title race in the second half of the season.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?
Arteta's team have crashed out of the FA Cup earlier this month and had already been eliminated from the Carabao Cup. That leaves them with just the Premier League and Champions League to fight for and they return to domestic action on January 20 with a game against Crystal Palace.