Mikel Arteta has reaffirmed Arsenal’s commitment to winning every match, even as their hopes of securing the Premier League title appear to be over as they shift focus to advancing further in the Champions League.
The Gunners, who currently sit in second place as they trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by 15 points after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United, extended their winless league run to three matches.
It is a crushing disappointment for Arsenal, who have finished as runners-up to Manchester City for the past two seasons.
Arsenal, who have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after their 7-1 first-leg away win over PSV Eindhoven last week, host the Dutch side at the Emirates in Wednesday’s reverse fixture.
“We are going to carry on fighting to win every game,” Spanish coach Arteta said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“There are the demands we put on ourselves in every competition. We are very much conscious that the demands for this football club are to reach the highest level and to win football matches.
“There’s always improvement. We have talked about what we can do better, it’s about execution. My job is to give the players as many tools so we can deliver again.”
Despite missing injured forwards Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, Arsenal had six different scorers in their crushing victory over PSV.
The Gunners, who have never won the Champions League, will face the winners of the tie between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the next round should they advance, as expected, on Wednesday.
“It’s a competition that we have a lot of enthusiasm for. We have been very consistent and tomorrow can put us in an exciting position,” Arteta said.
France international defender William Saliba is keen to help guide his side to their first trophy since Arsenal’s 2020 FA Cup triumph against Chelsea.
“I think we are very close, we need to keep going,” Saliba said, referring to Arsenal’s trophy ambitions.
“We can’t stop working. When you’re close and don’t win trophies it’s sad. With work we will make a big step and I am sure we will arrive there.
“Everyone wants to win the Champions League, it’s a competition that’s hard to win, anything can happen.”
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