Arsenal -Manager Mikel Arteta has repeated his wish this season to “dig for gold” in the Premier League and believes that the club is ready to go to the next level.
The Spaniard enters his fifth full season in North London and wants to end the 22-year-old waiting of Arsenal for a title of the top after the second place in each of the last three years.
The Gunners, who organize Leeds on Saturday Live on Sky Sports, lost last season in three consecutive title races – twice to Man City and once to Liverpool – but started this campaign on a winning note with a grim 1-0 win at Manchester United.
Arteta spoke with Gary Cotterill from Sky Sports News: “We have found a lot of gold in recent seasons with many of the things we have done.
“Don't forget that. We didn't win the Grand Prix, but we have received many prizes in that trip and we all work here to bring the club where it is. Start matches that were not part of this football club for seven or eight years.
“So we didn't win the big ones, but we keep digging.”
When asked whether the second ended in the Premier League and making the semi-finals of the Champions League is like finding gold, he replied: “That's it, but we want a lot more. That's the ambition.”
In the last three seasons, no team has picked up more Premier League points than the Gunners – where Arteta often says that the only thing that is left for Arsenal is to win a trophy.
He added: “I think we show what we want is to go to the next level, go to the next step, to show the right level of ambition. We want to improve in every department, we want to improve the team, we want to improve facilities, we want to improve our way of playing.
“Everything we can be better at, we are going to do it. And I think the ownership, they have been incredible since I arrived here, to show that ambition, to push the boat forward and all gain a lot of trophies together.”
Arsenal has been busy in the market with six new signing sessions of a total of £ 200 million in transfer costs with Martin Zubimendi, Viktor Gyokees and Noni Madueke all secured, with Ebereechi Eze who also waited in a deal of Crystal Palace in the wings.
The team is now full of depth in every position, but does Arteta think that he has too many players?
“No, I don't think so,” he said.
“I think we have done what we should do. I think we should understand the background of certain players, the history of the players instead of availability, which has been a huge problem because we take four or five players with long -term injuries last season and we have to see.
“What the team looks like on August 22 is not important. It is September, October, November, February, March and especially April and May – we have learned that in recent years and that is where we want to get very strong with everyone who is in it and fit.