Mikel Arteta sends message to Mauricio Pochettino after Arsenal's 5-0 win vs Chelsea

Mauricio Pochettino is under further pressure after Chelsea’s 5-0 defeat to Arsenal (AP)

Mikel Arteta says he has ‘all the sympathy in the world’ for Mauricio Pochettino after Arsenal hammered Chelsea 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Two goals from Ben White, plus a double from Kai Havertz and an early strike from Leandro Trossard completed an impressive performance for Arsenal, who are now three points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea, meanwhile, were dealt another key blow to their season as the defeat to Arsenal dented their hopes of qualifying for European football next term.

Pressure also mounts on Pochettino’s position at Chelsea after another dismal display in their 11th Premier League defeat of the season.

Asked if he has sympathy for Pochettino’s situation at Chelsea, Arteta replied: ‘All the sympathy in the world with everything that he’s been through, everything that he’s doing, he knows that.

‘I’ve been on the other side as well and nothing. He’s doing a great job, if you look at this team and analyse six, seven games of them, they deserve to win every match they play big games, big teams and they deserve to beat all of them.

‘Hopefully things will turn around and be as he deserves.’

Mikel Arteta says he has ‘all the sympathy in the world’ for Mauricio Pochettino (Getty)

Asked if his sympathy for Pochettino has an impact on how much he enjoyed the win over Chelsea, Arteta replied: ‘No, I love winning and he will try to do the same.

‘When you talk about sympathy and someone that I love and admire, for sure I want the best for him.’

Pochettino, meanwhile, refused to blame his players for their inconsistency after delivering a more impressive performance against Manchester City in their FA Cup semi-final defeat just three days ago.

‘It’s true we did not compete. I cannot blame the players, as a team we are showing this inconsistency. That is why we are where we are, because we are capable of having an amazing performance, and three days later to be at the other extreme,’ Pochettino said.

‘When we have bad days, we are so bad. When we are good, we are capable of everything. But it’s another thing that we need to be aware that we need to improve for the future.

‘We cannot blame the players, I’m not going to blame the players. The circumstances are bigger than the performance of the players. We cannot blame young guys who came here and after suffering some circumstances, come here to fight against a team preparing to win the Premier League.

‘We cannot be unfair with our players. It is true we are disappointed with our performance, but I am not going to say something which is unfair to describe our team, our players, our squad.’

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