Online Reporter
MIKEL ARTETA has urged his Arsenal players to take the club to a “different dimension” this season, warning that success is the “new standard”.
And the Gunners boss has claimed that will “require a better squad and better individuals”, amid their ambitious swoops for Vinicius Junior and Bruno Guimaraes.
Arsenal ended a 22-year wait for the Premier League title last term and boss Arteta is adamant that the trophy is just the start of what his team can achieve.
Speaking to the Arsenal App, he said: “This has to be the start and this has to be the standard.
“Excellence has to be our standard and this has to drive us to attack the future. The way we behave daily with more and more determination and ambition because we’ve shown that we’ve got it. Now we have to show that we belong to this level and we want to increase and take this football club to a different dimension.”
Arsenal are favourites to lift the Prem once again this term and will also be hoping to go one step further in the Champions League after their penalty shootout heartache against PSG in last year’s final. Arteta called for the club to be “ambitious” in the transfer market after that defeat, setting his sights on the next level. The Gunners are exploring a sensational deal to sign Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid this summer, should the Brazilian not extend his current terms in the Spanish capital and be allowed to leave.
Vinicius is locked in talks with Madrid chiefs about a new deal, but has just one year remaining on his existing contract. Arteta is also looking to strengthen his midfield options and the club has been working on a deal to sign Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes. The Gunners chief is well aware that he needs to bring in top players if he wants his side to step up another level.
He added: “We all know about the context of this transfer window.
“From ownership to the board, the sporting director and myself, we know that we want to take this club to a different level. That is going to require a better squad, better individuals.
“We have identified where we have opportunities to grow and to improve and to evolve our game and what is going to be needed to achieve that.
“Hopefully very soon we can start to put things in a very concrete way.” Christos Tzolis has already arrived in a £34m transfer from Club Brugge this month, while the North Londoners snapped up goalkeeper Illan Meslier on a free transfer following the expiration of his deal at Leeds.
Arsenal kick off their pre-season preparations this Saturday with a friendly against second tier Spanish side Girona. However, Jurrien Timber has had to leave their warm-weather camp in Spain to return to London due to an ongoing groin issue.
The Dutch international jetted back to the capital for a pre-arranged appointment for the injury.
Timber sustained the injury in March and spent ten weeks on the treatment table before returning in time for a substitute cameo in last season’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. However, he was later forced to pull out of Holland’s World Cup squad this summer, with the Dutch FA claiming he had “not recovered sufficiently.”
The full-back is expected to return to Arsenal’s training camp, where the medical team will continue his rehabilitation plan as scheduled and keep a close eye on his injury. —Sun.
