After being edged out by City to the Premier League title on the final matchday of the 2023-24 campaign, Arteta looked more determined than ever to stop Pep Guardiolla's troops from conquering England for a record fifth successive time. He emphasised the need for everyone at Arsenal, including himself, to elevate their standards and acknowledged that to win the Premier League, he must introduce elements to the team that have been missing so far.
WHAT ARTETA SAID
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s friendly against Manchester United in Los Angeles at the SoFi Stadium, Arteta said: "The message is clear – we need more from everybody. More from everybody including me. I need to raise the standards, I need to bring something I haven’t brought yet. Individually and collectively the same. The more we do that, the better the chance it’s going to be to win the Premier League. This is what we want basically. Just work every day with that excitement and understanding of the difficulty. And when those difficulties come, stay together and go through them efficiently."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
When Arteta was asked what it would take to beat City to the title, the Arsenal manager revealed that he is targeting perfection.
"114 points"! he claimed. "If we do that, we win the league for sure. This is the objective, from there we’ll see what we get. Earn the right to win it and have the biggest probability over the opponent. When we have difficulties that we are still better than the opponents. That’s really the objective."
If Arteta's troops indeed go on to achieve the target, then they will break several records in the process and would also become the second Arsenal side to remain invincible after Arsene Wenger's squad in the 2003-04 season.
WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?
Arsenal have commenced their pre-season preparations in the United States and will next face Manchester United in Los Angeles on Saturday. Following this, the Gunners will play against Liverpool at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on July 31, 2024.
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