Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted his team need to “upgrade everything” to give themselves a fighting chance against Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal Are Manchester City’s Primary Adversary In Premier League Hunt
Since taking the Arsenal job in December 2019, Arteta has slowly but steadily turned them into serious Premier League title contenders. Despite lacking firepower, the Gunners have come agonizingly close to winning the title, with their dearth of experience letting them down in the business end of the season.
In the 2022-23 season, Arsenal finished five points behind table-toppers Manchester City despite leading the race for the majority of the season. They came even closer in 2023-24, missing out on the title by a mere two points.
Mikel Arteta Believes Gunners Must Upgrade Squad To Win Title
Arsenal will aim to take the final step this season and bring the title back to north London after 21 long years.
Revealing what it took to attain Premier League glory, Arteta told the media at a pre-season press conference (via ESPN):
“Perfection in this league requires different standards to relate that word to winning the Premier League. That’s what we need to do, we need to upgrade everything we’re doing and improve in every area. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“We are so close. There are moments where we had really fine margins. We have earned to be there, and obviously, we want much more and we are going to try to get it.”
Discussing what the Gunners’ expectations were from the transfer window, Arteta added:
“We know there are certain positions that we want to improve and give the squad better resources, especially in terms of numbers where we are very short.
“We will try our best but the main thing is to focus on falling in love with the players we have and make them better.”
Arteta and Co. have only done one deal this summer, permanently signing David Raya from Brentford after activating the purchase clause in his loan contract. They are also expected to sign Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna, but the two clubs have not yet reached an agreement over the transfer fee.
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