Mikel Arteta sat down with Arsenal Media during the close-season training camp in Marbella to preview the upcoming pre-season in the USA and the 2024/25 campaign, which kicks off next month.
The Arsenal manager reflected on last season after going head-to-head with Manchester City for the Premier League title for the second consecutive season, missing out on the trophy on the season’s final day. Read what Arteta had to say below!
Reflecting on last season
“Well, looking back, the first thought is the last game against Everton and being there to the last 20, 30 minutes of the game thinking that we could still win the Premier League and we didn’t. So that pain is still there. I think it has to remain there and probably in any other context, we would have won the Premier League. That’s a big jump but it’s still not enough.
“We know the demands in this league. We know the competition that we are facing. So all the work that we’ve done in that resting period is just to find ways to get better, and how we’re going to help the players continue to improve, how are we going to improve the environment, and how we’re going to go now to the next level.”
On Arsenal’s mentality
“We’ve done it across the club, I think in every department, not only on the football side or the men’s first team, but when you look at our academy and women’s performances, and the men’s first team, the environment that we have created and our supporters, it’s different. It’s a different hunger and it’s a different look.
“We’re really showing our teeth because we want to win and we know that if we want to achieve that in a consistent way, and put the club in the position that we want, that’s going to be key.
“First of all, it’s about believing, we have to believe that we are good enough to do it and I think and I feel that belief, and the club is really hungry and we want more.
“I think there are small messages in everything that we do and we have to be very conscious of that because now we have a club, we have an image, we have created a brand that is very strong and very powerful. It’s incredibly connected to our supporters and everybody across the club and when you have that now, you have to take that power and that energy into the next level and that’s what we’re looking to do.”
On the summer transfer window
“It’s a very different summer with the Euros and the Copa America, it is different. I think you can tell that everything is a bit slower. I think the market and the new rules that have been put in place have caused clubs to be more aware and it’s a bit delicate to do business in the way we’ve done in the last few seasons.
“We have adapted to that, and we still want to deliver what we want in the transfer window to have a much more competitive team, and improve the squad in every area that we can.”
On what the pre-season looks like
“We have four different groups. One of the groups didn’t have any international football, so they had a period of five or six weeks where they could enjoy the summer, start preparing their bodies, but as well refresh mentally after that tough season. We’ve had a few weeks in Marbella now to start getting the engines back and physically and mentally start to get prepared for what’s happening.
“Then the international players that only played friendlies are joining us for a part here in Marbella. From there, we are going to move to the US, which were are really looking forward to, because it’s been like a home for us. I think what we have built up over the years with our supporters has been unbelievable.
“We have two huge matches against Manchester United and Liverpool and then we’re going to go back to London to play against Leverkusen and the Emirates Cup against Lyon. So it fits in really well with what we want to do, different kinds of opponents, different parts of the world, keeping our connection with our supporters and having the right preparation to be very strong at the start of the season.”
The post Mikel Arteta previews the upcoming 2024/25 campaign: appeared first on AFTV.
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