Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta does not need reminding of his horrible record against Sean Dyche.

It’s one of those unusual quirks that is a nightmare to explain, but for some reason he struggles against Dyche’s sides.

Arteta has faced Dyche six times and has only won once
Getty

Those struggles will be on display once again this week as Arsenal take on Everton at the Emirates on Wednesday – and talkSPORT is the only place in the UK where you can follow along the live action with the match not being broadcast on TV.

Since Arteta became Gunners manager, he has come up against the 50-year-old six times and only managed to win once.

Something even more concerning is that his teams have managed to score just twice time in all of those fixtures.

Two games have ended 0-0 and Dyche has beaten Arteta on two occasions – once with Burnley and most recently with Everton.

That clash against the Toffees only took place on February 4, his first match in charge, and gave them a much welcome boost.

Arteta was quizzed on that record against his opposite number and said: “We have to improve.”

The numbers speak for themselves
Dyche got the better of Arteta once again in February


He said that while smiling, so it’s a blot on his record that he is acutely aware of.

In fact, the only manager who he has struggled against more is Pep Guardiola, losing seven of the eight meetings against his mentor and former colleague.

Dyche would give anything for a repeat of that 1-0 win as it could finally drag them out of the relegation zone.

The odds will be stacked against them, though, even with that unusual record and result only weeks ago.

Everton picked up a much needed win against Arsenal and could do with another one

Arsenal are still top of the league and have a chance to go five points clear, this time it is at the Emirates too.

Dyche is just four games into his Everton reign, winning two and losing two, but that has not changed the way Arteta will approach the game.

He said: “Obviously with Sean [Dyche] it’s quite clear what he’s done and where the success that they’ve had is coming from and tomorrow they will prepare the game in a similar game, I expect. 

“With every manager it’s the same, we have to look at certain matches, what they do to get the right tactics to beat them but as well the same mentality and expectation of what we demand in the game.”

It is set to be a blockbuster encounter and you can listen to it exclusively live on talkSPORT.

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