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Mikel Arteta: 'Don't blame Arsene Wenger for struggles'

Mikel Arteta says that individual mistakes and not Arsene Wenger are not to blame for Arsenal's recent setbacks.

Arsenal vice-captain Mikel Arteta is refusing to blame manager Arsene Wenger for the side's recent struggles.

The Gunners look likely to finish the season without any silverware yet again, having been knocked out of the FA Cup to Blackburn Rovers last weekend before losing 3-1 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League a few days later.

However, Arteta believes that individual errors are to blame and not the ways of the boss.

"If you see the result and people are watching at home and see that Arsenal lost at home against Blackburn and are out of the FA Cup, it's a disaster. But if you analyse how they won the game, it's unbelievable and it seems to happen to us. That's what we have to improve," Arteta told the Arsenal website.

"Sometimes [mistakes come from] a bit of a lack of concentration. Or if a teammate makes a mistake, the second one cannot be a mistake again. It seems to happen. For every small detail, the other teams are taking advantage and it's costing us a lot of points.

"Something good that we've got here is that we don't look at the other one and say 'look what you've done'. If someone makes a mistake, the team makes a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes during the game and you can't fault a player for that. If it's a lack of attitude, yes. I'm the first one to get him by the neck, because we can't accept that. If it's a mistake when you take a risk, that can happen."

Arsenal travel to White Hart Lane to face rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

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Matt Cotton
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Mikel Arteta celebrates his second penalty against West Brom on December 8, 2012
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