When asked lately about his favorite football player to watch, Arteta, speaking to Sky Sports, was all praise for Messi.

“It’s always been Lionel Messi,” he declared. It’s the same for my three sons. Being able to witness the greatest player of all time is truly a blessing. He is the finest of all time in my opinion.

After the Gunners lost out on winning the Premier League the previous season, Arteta is currently working to lead the team to the pinnacle of English football.

His hopes of playing in the Premier League, though, were dashed on Sunday afternoon when they lost to Aston Villa 2-0.

“We had one of the best performances that we had this season in the first half against a really good team, it should have been three or four or more,” he stated in a post-match statement. We were unable to maintain the same level of control and production as we had in the first half as the second half saw a reversal in momentum.

“We battled, gave up two really bad goals, and lost the game. Congratulations to the opposition, and now is the time to step up as a leader and a person to make an impact because it’s very easy to do so when you win, win, win, and win for four months.” The time is now.

“There are no other options; you have to take action if you want to win titles and be in the Champions League during these special moments,” Arteta continued. If not, it indicates that you lack a very important characteristic, and this is a crucial test for us right now.

On Wednesday night, Arsenal will return to action as they play Bayern Munich in the second leg of their quarterfinal Champions League match.