Mikel Arteta reflected on what was another season of progress for Arsenal, after pushing Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title race. However, The Gunners ultimately fell two points short in a trophyless season. The Spaniard highlighted the need to keep striving for success and believes the North Londoners are not far away from delivering a first Premier League title since 2004.\
‘A title will happen’ – Arteta backs Arsenal to push for glory again.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insists he has “no regrets” after narrowly missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City last season.
The Gunners pushed Pep Guardiola’s men all the way until the final day of the season, when a 3-1 victory over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium sealed City an unprecedented fourth consecutive title in a row.
Arteta’s side finished two points adrift in second place and means their wait to win the title will extend to at least 21 years, but the Spaniard remained upbeat in his assessment of the season.
When asked if he had any regrets from the campaign, he replied: “No regrets,” in an interview with CNN.
“You look at moments in the season, but this season’s been almost perfect. To make the amount of points that we made – both us and City – in this competitive league. We cannot compare this league to what happened two years ago, three years ago, five years ago.
“Those numbers … it won’t happen. The level of the league – it’s [at] a different stage now.
“Now [it’s time to] recharge, try to be stronger, seeing where the margins are and go again next season.”
picture
Madrid celebrate with fans after Champions League triumph, Fenerbahce welcome Mourinho
Arsenal have not tasted domestic supremacy since Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ side swept all before them in the 2003/04 campaign.
Arteta is confident that the gap can be closed, with just the finer margins falling in City’s favour over the 38-game season.
“We have to better them. We are closer. When you see all the metrics we are right there. We’ve been the best team in the league in almost every metric,” he added.
“But there is a margin there that somehow we didn’t control well enough and the league is gone and that’s the level.
“It’s very challenging but it’s very inspiring to have a team with such a quality and such a consistency over the last seven, nine years, to try to be better than them. And our focus is, how we can improve.”
The Gunners boss also hinted that there is unlikely to be a repeat of last year’s big summer of spending, with the likes of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz both arriving for £105 million and £65m respectively, while Jurrien Timber had an injury-plagued campaign following his £38m arrival from Ajax.
“[We] look again. All the margins, squad-wise, the process that we have at the football club, our methodology, especially on how we can make our players better, more competitive, more consistent and cause them to raise the level and be better than the previous season,” Arteta explained.
“I think our focus has to be with what we have already in house. ‘How can we be better?’
“There are margins and there are players that can still develop and be better and that’s the objective that we have.
“Every decision we’re going to make is to be better, without losing who we are and everything that is taking us in the position that we are now as a football club, as a team.
“The ambition is there. The players, the staff. You can sense it. They want much more. They want to start lifting trophies and that’s the next step.”