Arteta believes Arsenal are very close to winning the title and can finally strike title gold if they ‘keep digging’.
Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal can finally strike title gold if they ‘keep digging’.
As Arsenal begins its quest to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004 with a trip to Manchester United on Sunday, Mikel Arteta has convinced that if they “keep digging,” they will hit gold.
Before winning the title in 2001–02, Arsenal finished second in three consecutive Premier League campaigns in May, matching the club’s record from 1998–99 to 2000–01. This summer, they have spent about £200 million on players. Against United, Viktor Gyökeres is anticipated to start at the top of the lineup, while Martín Zubimendi, a midfielder, is also slated to make his debut.
Arteta’s team has a difficult run ahead of them, as they travel to the champions, Liverpool, for their third game before hosting Manchester City on September 21. However, the management of Arsenal maintained that they could use their past performance to win.
“You keep digging, digging, digging and you have to be digging because one day the gold is going to be there,” he said. “That’s all the time. When I’ve been taught, when I’ve been educated, that’s it. For three seasons we’ve had more points than any other team in this league, which is incredible. That’s how you have all the consistency. Now we have to do it in a season to have one more point or the same amount of points and more goals different than any other team. That’s the objective.”
In fact, during the last three seasons, City has amassed four more points than Arsenal (247). Although those teams have spent comparable sums of money this summer, Liverpool has surpassed them and may be able to expand their roster. Despite interest in Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, Arteta acknowledged that Arsenal was also seeking to add players, but he still thinks they can compete.
“I think we have great versatility, very different qualities in relation to the opposition as well,” he said. “We can manipulate that and have some great cohesion within those units so we are very happy with that.”