Champions League? Where there’s a Will there’s a way
ARTETA ‘100 PER CENT’ SURE ARSENAL WILL BE A MAJOR FORCE AGAIN
MIKEL ARTETA has set his sights high for the coming season.
And that is even before Arsenal do all of their transfer business.
“It doesn’t matter who we have, we will challenge for the top, 100 per cent,” said Arteta with a sense of bullish confidence.
Arteta regards the Community Shield, the traditional season curtain raiser, as a chance to send a message of intent from an Arsenal team who finished on a high but can get so much better.
It is his first full season in charge, having taken over in December, and he has already set about stamping his authority on the club and squad.
They have brought in Willian on a free transfer from Chelsea, are on the brink of tying down PierreEmerick Aubameyang to a new contract and completing a £27million deal for Lille defender Gabriel. There will still be plenty more ins and outs this summer but Arteta’s infectious enthusiasm has already attracted players. Willian admittedArteta persuaded him to sign a three-year deal by promising that they can get back into the Champions League and win the trophy during that time. That might seem a lofty ambition – they were last in the Champions League in 2017 – but the top four is a game-changer for Arsenal both in financial terms and also getting back on the big European stage. When asked about the three-year plan he shared with Willian, Arteta said: “Well, it is the right spirit! I want players who are optimistic and willing and want to win for our club. “That is the feeling I got from the day I met Willian: he is not satisfied with what he has done in his career, which is a lot, and he will bring some special qualities for our team, and the attitude and mentality you just mentioned in your question. “Let’s see how we look like at the end of the transfer window. It just started and everything looks pretty
slow at the moment. Not many teams are moving aggressively so a lot of things will happen from now to October 6.” It was a challenging first season in charge for Arteta, below, which he turned around after inheriting a mess from Unai Emery. The FA Cup win was the passport to Europe and a much-needed financial boost. They beat Liverpool at the Emirates during the run-in, upset Manchester City in the FA Cup semis and then Chelsea in the final. Those results were huge for Arteta because they made his players believe in his vision as they prepare to face Liverpool in the Community Shield tomorrow. “It gave us a big platform of confidence and belief that we could challenge and play against the top teams,” said Arteta. The head coach talked about a clean slate for Matteo Guendouzi, who fell out of favour last season, while Mesut Ozil was also missing. But this summer will be more about trying to offload unwanted players to try to freshen things up to build an even stronger platform. Arteta talks a good game but his message to Guendouzi was exactly the same as to Ozil last season and he was ostracised. But his ambition is easy to see. Arteta added: “I’ve been really clear that everybody starts from zero all the time in football. What you did two weeks ago or two years ago doesn’t really matter. It’s what you can contribute now. “Everybody will have the same opportunities. They’ll have to show with their performances and attitude that they’re better than their team-mates or somehow contributing to what we want to achieve this season.”