Mikel Arteta not focussing on top four just yet
Mikel Arteta has revealed that he would prefer to improve his Arsenal team than to target a top-four finish after the Gunners beat Newcastle United 4-0.
The Gunners’ win over the Magpies was only their second league win under Arteta and it brought back the conversation about the Gunners securing a top-four finish.
Despite their huge win, Arsenal remains a long way from the top four and stay rooted to the tenth position.
Arteta was brought in to steady the Arsenal ship but now that he seems to have placed the club in better shape, fans will be expecting European football next season, but Arteta remains focused on making his team a better side before thinking about finishing the season in a European spot.
Arteta said per Arsenal.com: “The ultimate target now is to improve as a team and win against Olympiacos on Thursday and improve on today’s performance.”
Manchester City has been banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons, but Arteta isn’t focused on that to help his team’s chances.
When asked if he thought Manchester City’s ban would make it easier for Arsenal to qualify, he said:
“I don’t know. A week ago before we went to Dubai and we drew at Burnley everything looked like it was too far and it’s going to take an incredible run to do it, but it feels a little bit closer. But it’s going to depend on us and we need to improve as a team and be more consistent over 90 minutes.
“If we’re able to do that, performances will lead to much better results and if that’s the case, we will be in the mix for the last few games of the season.”
Arteta is saying all the right things but he knows that a top-four or even top-five spot is within reach providing the lads replicate the win over Newcastle on a regular basis.
