Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to build on the foundations laid this season
The Independent Mikel Arteta has challenged Arsenal to improve and show they are the real deal again next season.
The Gunners ended a campaign of obvious progress with a 5-0 thrashing of Wolves on the final day, which meant they finished only five points behind champions Manchester City.
Arsenal had been top of the Premier League for 248 days before a run of two wins in eight fixtures during the closing weeks of the season saw their title quest end on the penultimate weekend.
Finishing as runners-up behind City means Champions League football will return to the Emirates for the first time since 2017 and, while Arteta was delighted to achieve their initial goal this season, he is well aware of the work required to kick on this summer.
We wanted to bring the club back to the Champions League, that was the main target, he said.
That was obviously a big demand in the summer before we did certain things and before we managed to keep some of our players.
Then the journey started and day by day, you start to have a feeling that the team is moving in the right direction and the energy and spirit is really good. Then you start to generate some belief.
