Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists the Gunners board now must “do what they need to do” in order for them to win the title next season.
Arteta’s side have had an ultimately disappointing season that will end without silverware again and next term is seen as crucial for the Arsenal boss’ future.
Although the Gunners are now guaranteed to be runners-up for a third consecutive season, Arsenal couldn’t get close to champions Liverpool in the second half of the season.
An impressive 5-1 aggregate victory over defending champions Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals had Arsenal fans dreaming of European glory but their journey ended against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
And now Arteta, new sporting director Andrea Berta and the Arsenal board are planning for next season with multiple players already linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta has revealed that “four or five players” will be leaving his squad and seemed to urge the Arsenal board to make sure it was a big summer in the transfer market.
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The Arsenal boss said after their 1-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday: “Obviously we need players because the squad is really short, and on top of that we are losing four or five players that are going to end contracts, and their loans are finished.
“So, we need to be sharp. Again, very disciplined in what we want to do, and make sure that we are strong in the next season.”
When asked how big the summer ahead is, Arteta replied: “Finish the season, go to the beach and make sure the ones upstairs (hierarchy) do what they need to do.”
Arteta refused to promise silverware next season but vowed to give his life in the pursuit of winning a trophy in the 2025/26 campaign.
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He continued: “What I can promise is I will do my very best. I will give my life here. I will give everything.
“I will get every drop of everybody there is, squeeze it, to get the best. But promise (silverware)? I cannot promise.
“Not any manager is going to promise, ‘Next season, I’m going to win the Premier League or the Champions League’.”
Declan Rice scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal beat Newcastle to get all three points on Sunday, reflecting on the win, Arteta said: “I’m really happy with the result, it was a really tough match. We knew that from the beginning they are in really good form and we had to wrap it up.
“It was a lot of pressure for both teams, for us to finish second and make sure that the Champions League was guaranteed. We have managed to do that in a really convincing way and now on to the last game and then summer plans, reset and go again.
“We had the highs and the size of the dream was put into delivering a big trophy. That was the aim at the start of the season and unfortunately we cannot deliver that, but make sure that chasing a dream doesn’t blur you, and doesn’t take all the incredible things that this football club is doing, the players are doing, the team is doing, because that’s the icing on the cake.
“We are really trying and we put the expectations really high. We’re going to do that the same, but with that enthusiasm, not just with: ‘yeah, but, if’ – no, we cannot play like this and we should not do that. We’re going to try to be better, I’ll be the first one, and go again and start the season in the manner that this football club deserves.”