- Mikel Arteta has achieved a record haul of points which he believes Arsenal will need
- The Gunners lost the Premier League title on the final day of the 2023-24 season.
- Arsenal will face Manchester United in their second pre-season friendly
Mikel Arteta has said he needs to raise his game even further and bring “something” to Arsenal that he hasn’t yet done to win the Premier League title.
Manchester City pipped the Gunners to the title on the last day of May, and Arteta is determined to ensure the same does not happen again this season.
Ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Manchester United in Los Angeles at the SoFi Stadium on Sunday (1am BST), Arteta said: “I think the message is clear: we need more from everyone. More from everyone, including me.
‘I need to raise the level, I need to contribute something that I haven’t yet contributed. Individually and collectively it’s the same.
“The more we do that, the more chances we have of winning the Premier League. That’s basically what we want.”
Mikel Arteta has set a target for his team to add 114 points, an impeccable record, to beat Manchester City
He demanded ‘more from everyone’ to achieve the club’s first title since the 2003-04 season
“Working every day with enthusiasm and awareness of the difficulties. And when those difficulties arise, staying together and overcoming them efficiently.”
On what it would take to get past Manchester City this time, he said: “114 points. If we do that, we’ll win the league for sure.”
‘That’s the goal, from there we’ll see what we can achieve. Earn the right to win it and have the best chance over our rival.
“When we have difficulties, we are still better than our opponents. That’s really the goal.”
Before addressing reporters, Arteta and LA Rams head coach Sean McVay took part in a community event with children.
They are both friends and have previously discussed training methodology and tactics.
“I know Sean pretty well,” he said.
‘We meet a few times and we have the same ownership, which connects everyone, not only in terms of coaches, but in terms of organization.
Pep Guardiola has won six Premier League titles in eight seasons at the Etihad Stadium
Arsenal will face Manchester United on Sunday in Los Angeles in their second pre-season friendly
“There are a lot of things we can learn from each other. It’s great to learn things from each other. It’s not a common thing and it’s something we can learn from each other in this organization.”
On playing at SoFi Stadium on Sunday morning, Arteta added: “It’s an opportunity to connect with our supporters. If they’re Arsenal fans, great, if they’re football fans, let’s try to get them to be Arsenal fans.
“That will mean that we have generated some joy and excitement in them with the way we played the game. That is one of the objectives, but the main one is to win the game, without a doubt.”
“It’s great to be here and see all the fans we have. We know it’s difficult because of the time difference, so we want to give back something that’s good for us.”
