Mikel Arteta has stated that Arsenal, who are currently in pursuit of the title, have gained valuable lessons from the previous season.
They will be aiming for their fifth consecutive Premier League victory when they face Burnley on Saturday.
Currently positioned third in the league, Arsenal are only two points behind the leaders, Liverpool, and are on par with Manchester City, who are in second place.
Last week, Arsenal showcased their strength with an impressive 6-0 triumph over West Ham.
Despite leading for a significant portion of the previous season, Arsenal stumbled towards the end, allowing City to surpass them. It has been 17 years since Arsenal last won the Premier League title in 2004.
“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,” Arteta told his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“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 Spaniard emphasized the importance of having a fully fit squad during a crucial period for his team. They will be playing against Porto next week in the Champions League last 16.
“For me, that is requirement number one,” he 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 requirement number one. The second, third, and fourth—if we don’t have that one, it’s going to be difficult. I think we have a good chance.”
The Arsenal manager is expecting a difficult match against Burnley, who are in danger of being relegated.
Vincent Kompany’s team is currently seven points away from safety and has struggled in their first season back in the Premier League.
However, Arteta expressed his admiration for the Burnley manager. Arteta had previously worked with Kompany when he was an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City from 2016 to 2019.
“We know each other really well, and I have huge respect for him,” he said. “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 possibility of Arsenal signing Kylian Mbappe, the captain of France, who has expressed his desire to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season.
Arteta stated that acquiring Mbappe would align with the club’s goal of becoming the top team. However, he acknowledged that it is improbable as the player is heavily linked with a transfer 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.
