LUNCHTIME KICK-OFF? YOU'RE TAKING THE MIK adidas MA Arsenal Emirates FLY BETTER

Arteta unhappy with early start and insists fixture rules should apply to all... not just those in the CL

- MIKE WALTERS

MIKEL ARTETA has bigger problems than kicking off at Villa Park just 63 hours after the final whistle of Arsenal's defeat by Manchester City.

The psychological damage of the Gunners being knocked off their perch, after being No.1 in the charts longer than Band Aid, will take some repairing.

Coping with the bloated expectations of a fan base who had became accustomed to leading from the front will not be easy.

Restoring the confidence of striker Eddie Nketiah - four games without a goal, after scoring six in six deputising for the crocked Gabriel Jesus - will be essential.

And denying his predecessor at the Emirates, Unai Emery, now in charge of Aston Villa, a first instalment of payback - after he was sacked by Arsenal in November 2019 - might be the hardest part of all.

But Arteta has an axe to grind with the Premier League.