London — Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has told Graham Potter not to let pressure "destroy his life" as the under-fire Chelsea boss battles to avoid the sack.
Chelsea are languishing in 10th place in the Premier League after losing to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and sit 26 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Potter's team have won just nine of 26 games in all competitions since he replaced the sacked Thomas Tuchel in September.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion boss revealed last week that he and his children have received death threats from angry Chelsea fans.
Talking about the need for patience from supporters and Chelsea's owners while he rebuilds his team following a huge January spending spree on new signings, Potter recently referenced Arsenal's improvement under Arteta this season.
Potter revealed he had watched the Amazon “All or Nothing” documentary which was filmed during a difficult season for Arsenal when they squandered a chance to finish in the top four.
"Two years into Mikel's reign he's close to getting the sack and people are wanting him out and it's a disaster," he said.
"Now things have changed a little bit and that's just the way it is."
Arteta, whose team can go five points clear at the top of the Premier League if they beat Everton on Wednesday, conceded things were not so smooth earlier in his tenure.
The Spaniard rebuffed a question on whether he had received death threats like Potter, saying: "I prefer not to talk about that", he did admit he knows what the Chelsea boss is going through.
"Absolutely," he replied when asked if he had empathy for Potter. "We are colleagues and we all know the pressure, the demands and the uncertainty that this industry has.
"The fact is the ball has to go into the net and there are many factors that prevent that, that you cannot control so of course you empathise because you suffer and you know how it is when he is going through those moments.
"You can have difficulties in your job and challenges, which we do, especially when you lose, but when you are winning as well because this job is so demanding. But you cannot destroy your life because of that.
"And your family, your friends, your loved ones, the people around you, doesn't deserve to have their lives affected in such a negative way because you don't win a football match.
"So that balance I think in my case was critical, but you need some help, someone to paint that picture in front of you because sometimes when you are in that position it is not easy to see."
AFP