Arteta reveals squad's hunger to start new season

With the new Premier League campaign just a day away, Mikel Arteta is hungry to find the improvements on and off the pitch that can take us to new levels in our quest for the title.

We’re back home in N5 for the visit of Wolves on the opening day, looking to get the campaign off to the perfect possible start with three points.

And Mikel revealed that after a superb run of form that saw us win 16 of our last 18 league games, his players have been desperate to kick off a new season since the final whistle blew at the end of our victory against Everton last May.

“We are really excited,” Mikel said. “We’ve been missing the competition for many weeks, it’s too long for us. We are so willing to start and so enthusiastic about it.

“On the last day [of the season], we had a gathering together with all the club players and they were coming to me and saying: ‘we are going to do it next year, we are going to be better, we want more.’ And when you see that you accept they’re the ones driving that ambition so that’s always possible.

“It’s like you’re trying to climb the highest mountain. It’s the most difficult league in the world and you feel surrounded by a lot of people who have the same ambition every single day to achieve it. We’re certainly going to try.”

Last season saw us break numerous club records as we pushed Manchester City all the way to the final day, including hitting a new height for Premier League wins, recording the most clean sheets in the divisions and assassin our second-best points tally.

Despite that, silverware proved to be tantalisingly out of reach, and this time around Mikel is pushing everyone to their maximum to hit new milestones and squeeze every last bit of talent and potential out of them to finish on top of the pile in 2024/25, and is thrilled his squad want to do just that.

When asked about what we need to do to become champions, he suggested: “Break more of those records again and earn more points because it won’t be enough. With the level that we are competing with, every season is getting harder. We are going to have to improve again for sure.

“I don’t know what perfect is, but it has to be very close to the numbers we’ve seen in recent years. The demands that we put on them internally have to be much higher than anyone can put on us in any position that we feel the pressure. That’s the level that we have to hit every single day here - if we do that then our levels will increase and everybody will benefit.

“When you see everything that we are doing and everybody is so enthusiastic about it, that willingness to improve, to get better, to keep pushing each other, to look for higher ceilings. What I think everybody needs is motivating every day, something new to look. We have created that culture and I want to keep going.”

As well as asking his players to step up another level this term, Mikel’s message stretches to everyone around the club, including our supporters. Emirates Stadium has developed into one of the most passionate arenas in the country over the past couple of campaigns, with support pouring down from the stands and transferring itself into fuel for our players.

The boss doesn’t want our Gooners to rest on their laurels though, and has urged them to ramp us the passion and noise right from the opening day to help maintain the ground’s fortress-like feel, and after experiencing the backing in our two recent home friendlies, he is confident north London is ready.

“We need to make another step and this season has to be better than last season,” he added. “From day one, if we can create that then we have to give them a lot of reasons to feel that way and hopefully the team will do that. I am sure they’re going to respond. It was unbelievable the other day against Lyon already so I expect a big one tomorrow again.

“We’ve had the last two games at home against Leverkusen and Lyon and it was amazing, so I expect another level again. That’s going to be a huge boost for the team.”