Arsenal finished second in the Premier League, two points behind Manchester City, who claimed the title for the fourth straight season. Despite another campaign which ended in heartbreak, the club are sure they are making progress, having accumulated five points more than the previous season.
The £105million signing of Declan Rice from West Ham last summer made a huge difference and the Gunners will attempt to use the transfer window to strengthen their squad once again. Jurgen Klopp has stepped down as Liverpool manager and Pep Guardiola is reportedly set to leave City next summer when his contract expires.
The end of eras at Arsenal’s rivals could coincide with Arteta reaching his peak, with the Spaniard gaining experience since arriving in December 2019. He claimed the Premier League’s Best Coach Award at the Global Soccer Awards European Edition on Tuesday and was in a buoyant mood when assessing what lies ahead.
“Win, win and win, that’s what we want,” Arteta said. “We built for a few years. Right now, we have a team that is full of enthusiasm and so hungry to win trophies. We know the competition, but we believe we can do it, so we are going to give it a real go.
“I feel extremely proud, because when I decided to stop my career as a football player, I thought that all the joy and the best moments of football were gone. And I was totally wrong, because when I started my coaching and managerial career, I am loving it even more.
“I feel so passionate about it and I have to thank all the players, the coaching staff and everybody involved at the football club to make my days so enjoyable, so inspiring and for supporting me in this journey that we started four years ago, that is hopefully going to take us right to the top to win many trophies.”
Arteta has one year remaining on his current contract with Arsenal, but unlike Guardiola, he will extend his stay at the club when the time is right. He is currently working with sporting director Edu on the club’s plans for the summer transfer window.
"You can’t sign for the sake of signing. This has to be a process that takes weeks and weeks,” Edu explained recently. "On my table, I have reports with over 180 pages of a player. It is really detailed. Physical, technical, mental profile – if you have experience of Premier League, if you will be able to adapt. It has it all.
"We analyse our shortcomings, where we can improve, where we can invest and from there we go in search of this new name. What I am going to do now, we have been discussing since January. It is not my decision or Mikel. It’s from a whole group."
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