Arteta: ‘It’s great for the club’

Mikel Arteta’s side are not the only Arsenal team in the hunt for silverware this season.

Arsenal Women - who have already secured the Continental Cup – have the WSL title race in their own hands, and last week reached the semi-final of the Champions League for the first time since 2012/13.

Meanwhile, Jack Wilshere’s under-18s have a home FA Youth Cup final to look forward to, after grabbing a last-minute win against Manchester City in the semi-final at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

“It’s great for the club,” Arteta said. “That’s what we want, being on the front foot in every competition and having the chance to win prizes.

“What the women have done is remarkable, what Jack, the coaching staff and the players did the other night was inspirational. The way it happened at the end so late, I’m so happy because it’s very positive for the club.”

Jonas Eidevall’s side are currently third in the WSL, three points behind leaders Manchester United, but with a game in hand. We face both Chelsea and United during the run-in.

Later this month we travel to Germany to take on Wolfsburg in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, with the return leg scheduled for May 1 at Emirates Stadium.

Our youth team also have an Emirates Stadium date coming up, when we look to win the prestigious FA Youth Cup for the first time since 2009 (when Wilshere himself was in the team). The date of that game has not been confirmed yet.

We clinched our place in the final thanks to a 2-1 extra-time win over City. We’ll face West Ham in the one-off game – the Hammers beat Southampton 6-1 in their semi-final on Thursday.