“Pochettino tough situation, empathy and support”

“Chelsea deserve to beat every team. I sympathize with Pochettino's difficulties.”

Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta has expressed his sympathies for Mauricio Pochettino's crisis-hit Chelsea after the Gunners thrashed the Blues 5-0 on Thursday (KST).

The Gunners took advantage of an early first-half opener from Aubameyang and a brace from Ben White and Kai Havertz to cruise to a convincing victory and move back into second place at the top of the table behind Liverpool and Man City.

Chelsea, meanwhile, suffered back-to-back defeats in the FA Cup semifinals, losing 1-0 to Man City and then suffering a humiliating defeat to London rivals Arsenal in the league. It was Pochettino's 11th league defeat of the season, again casting a dark cloud over his career. The club slipped further away from the Europa League places and the pressure on his job increased again.

Arteta said he sympathized with Pochettino's difficult situation at Chelsea as a “colleague”. “I have all the support in the world for everything he's been through, everything he's doing,” he said, “I've been on the other side, but if you analyze the last six or seven games of this team, they deserved to win all the big games, all the games against big teams, and they deserved to beat all the teams.” “I hope things turn around and he gets what he deserves,” he added, a heartfelt message for his fellow manager in a sobering game.

But when asked if his empathy for Pochettino played a part in his enjoyment of the big win over Chelsea, he drew a clear line in the sand. “No, it doesn't. I like to win and I think he would have tried the same to win,” he said.

“When you show your support and empathy for someone and you're talking about someone you love and respect, it's clear: I want the best for him,” he emphasized.