Premier League
‘We Have Learnt Our Lessons From EPL Pain’ – Says Arsenal Coach Arteta Ahead Of Crucial Match
The head coach for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, has asserted that the Gunners have gained valuable insights from the previous season.
SportXparte reports that Arsenal is aiming for their fifth consecutive Premier League triumph when they face Burnley on Saturday.
Currently positioned third in the standings, the Gunners are only two points adrift of the table-toppers, Liverpool, and share the same points as Manchester City, who are in second place.
Despite leading for a significant portion of the previous season, Arsenal stumbled towards the end, allowing City to surpass them.
In a pre-match conference on Saturday, Arteta said: “We want to be there and that means that we’ve done a lot of things right during this season and we have learned a lot of things from last season.”
“We’ve shown a big level of consistency and good things in the team and now we want to go another step forward and maintain that consistency, continue to play the way we are playing and perform and let’s see where we get.”
The Spanish coach emphasized the importance of having a fully fit squad during this crucial period, as his team prepares to face Porto in the upcoming Champions League last 16 match.
“For me, that is requirement number one,” Arteta said.
“And at the moment, we don’t have it. And we’re going to have to have it and we are working really hard to have it.
“This is the requirement number one. The second, third, fourth, if we don’t have that one, it’s going to be difficult. I think we have a good chance,” he added.
Arsenal is preparing for a challenging match against Burnley, who are currently in danger of being relegated.
Vincent Kompany’s team is currently seven points away from safety and has faced difficulties in their return to the Premier League. However, Arteta expressed his respect for the Burnley manager.
During his time as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at the Etihad Stadium from 2016 to 2019, Arteta had the opportunity to work with the former Manchester City captain, Vincent Kompany.
“We know each other really well and I have huge respect for him,” Arteta said at the pre-match conference.
He added: “We had a really good relationship when we worked together.
“I have a huge admiration for him when he was a player and he has a special aura around him. He has great ideas and a vision of how to play the game.”
Arteta was questioned about the potential interest of the club in acquiring the services of Kylian Mbappe, the esteemed captain of France, who has expressed his desire to depart from Paris Saint-Germain at the conclusion of this season.
He expressed that securing the signature of Mbappe would align with the club’s aspirations of becoming the “finest team,” albeit he acknowledged the unlikelihood of such a transfer, given the prevalent speculation linking the player to Real Madrid.
“When there is a player of that calibre then we always need to be in the conversation but it looks like (his future) is in a different way,” he added.
