Mikel Arteta sends 'over my dead body' warning ahead of Nottingham Forest v Arsenal showdown

Mikel Arteta has made clear Arsenal are not giving up on the title as they prepare to take on Nottingham Forest in a mouthwatering midweek clash.

The City Ground will play host to a huge Premier League game on Wednesday (7.30pm kick-off) as both teams look to bounce back from disappointing results. And there is plenty at stake for both Reds head coach Nuno Espirito Santo and counterpart Arteta.

Forest suffered a second straight away defeat in the league on Sunday when they fell 4-3 at Newcastle United. They remain third in the table but will be looking over their shoulder as rivals close the gap in the race for Champions League qualification.

Meanwhile, the second-placed Gunners lost 1-0 at home to West Ham United the day before, and they are now 11 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, but Arteta is expecting a response from his team Trentside.

“I'm not going to stop, over my dead body, to increase the probability of us winning,” he said in his pre-match press conference (via Football.London). “We have been extremely consistent. We have generated that momentum and it was that weekend that we had to do what we had to do and we got that defeat.

“On top of that, they (Liverpool) win. You cannot control that; at the end you have to set the certain amount of numbers. We're certainly going to continue to try.

“It's been incredibly satisfying to work with the players and the staff to overcome certain situations. If you said that you play five times with a red card, or lose this amount of players, you think you'd be in the middle of the table.”

The gap between Forest and Arsenal stands at six points, but the focus for Nuno’s men will be on keeping those below them at bay. The Reds have been in mixed form of late and have picked up two wins in their last seven league matches. After taking on the Gunners, they have a home clash with Manchester City to come after an FA Cup tie against Ipswich Town on the banks of the Trent.

What is your prediction for Wednesday's clash? Click HERE to have your say

Get breaking Forest news sent direct to your phone

Join our Nottingham Forest WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the NottinghamshireLive Reds writers.

We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Reds stories. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can click here to read our Privacy Notice.