Those who follow Arsenal home and away will have covered a fair share of miles by the start of next week.
Following a local derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, we flew over to Italy for our UEFA Champions League opener against Atalanta before this weekend’s trip up north to Manchester, where we’re expecting 3,000 supporters to join us at Etihad Stadium.
Speaking just hours after landing back in the United Kingdom on Friday morning, Mikel Arteta spoke about the gratitude he has for the supporters and the commitment they show to follow the team.
“It’s great to give back because you know individually how much people invest - the time, money, effort and travel,” he said. “When you are able to give something away from home it becomes really special.
“That’s why it’s a special atmosphere when we play away from home and have our supporters living the game. I’m really pleased that consistently we’ve been able to give a lot back.”
There were jubilant, passionate celebrations in the north London derby when Gabriel headed in the only goal of the game, and after the full-time whistle as the three points were wrapped up. It extended our incredible unbeaten away record in the Premier League in 2024.
This weekend, it’s going to be another intense atmosphere.
“We’re expecting a really competitive one,” Mikel added. “We go to the home of the champions, the team that I think in Premier League history has been the most consistent ever, not only in terms of results but in terms of dominance and consistent top performances.
“This is the challenge, we have to go there and prove that again we’ve made another step and we can compete.”
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