LONDON (Reuters) – Arsenal must step up to another level this season if they are to win the Premier League after two agonising near misses, manager Mikel Arteta said ahead of his team’s Premier League opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Arteta’s side ended with 89 points last season and scored more goals and conceded fewer than in the previous campaign but once again finished runners-up behind Manchester City.
“Break more of those records again and win more points that’s for sure,” the Spaniard told reporters on Friday when asked what Arsenal need to do this season to win the title.
“It won’t be enough (last season’s levels). With the level we are competing with, and every season is getting harder, we are going to have to improve again that’s for sure.”
Arsenal took the race to the final day last season and are strongly tipped to end City’s dominance this time and prevent Pep Guardiola’s side winning a fifth successive title.
“Since the last day I think we had a gathering together with all the club players and the players said to me we’re going to do it, we want more, we’re not going to stop here and we want much more,” Arteta said.
New defensive signing Riccardo Calafiori will be in line for his debut against Wolves while Dutch fullback Jurrien Timber is also available for the north London club after missing almost a year with a knee injury.
Arsenal will be without defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney though.
Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has had to deal with the sale of two players in the summer, with winger Pedro Neto going to Chelsea and defender Max Kilman to West Ham United.
“We knew fairly early that Max and Pedro would leave in this window. We’ve worked really hard in identifying what happens from there, and that’s currently being worked on,” he said.
“My focus is solely on the players that I have, building and working my socks off to get the most out of them and give them the best opportunity to show what they are.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
