Mikel Arteta is excited by what is to come in the Champions League
Mikel Arteta is still searching for success with Arsenal
Mikel Arteta has told his players they are six games from Champions League glory and promised: “The most exciting part is coming up now.”
Although the social media knee-jerk tendency fears Arsenal ’s season is destined to peter out, Arteta’s rallying call ahead of Wednesday night's formalities against PSV Eindhoven is a far cry from their doomed title challenge.
Gunners boss Arteta walked out of his post-match TV interview with Sky Sports after the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday when he was asked if the 15-point gap to runaway leaders Liverpool was “too much” to bridge. But he was in a more upbeat mood as he relished the prospect of a quarter-final against holders Real Madrid or Atletico if Arsenal can cling on to their 7-1 advantage against PSV from the first leg at the Emirates.
Arteta insists Arsenal fear no-one in the Champions League and he said: “We’ve done a lot in this competition and the most exciting part is still to coming up now. That’s why we have to make sure we finish the job tomorrow night to put ourselves in a great position.
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“We have been extremely consistent, very efficient, and now we have to continue to do it. I have full belief that we can compete against any team left in the competition, get the best out of ourselves in every detail and define the moment to go through.”
Arteta can afford the luxury of wholesale changes for the second leg, with the likes of Ben White and Gabriel Martinelli likely to start as they step up their recovery from injury. But he will not be taking another goalscoring glut for granted, saying: “It is unique but as well we have to understand how the game was played a week ago and the fact that everything went in the right direction for us from the beginning.
“We're going to have to earn the right to go in the same direction, so we are fully focused on that. From the start it's a competition where we have (invested) a lot of enthusiasm, put in a lot of energy, and winning tomorrow puts us in a very good position.”
Mikel Arteta in Arsenal training
Mikel Arteta is excited by Arsenal's Champions League chances
Raheem Sterling is in line to make a rare start, with the on-loan Chelsea forward’s solitary goal this season coming against Bolton in the League Cup six months ago and his barren trawl having the look of a player with a bright future behind him. Arteta was Pep Guardiola ’s assistant at Manchester City when Sterling was in his prime, but since then the former England winger’s career has gone into sharp decline.
The Gunners boss said: “The time in football flies. Things move and change and you have to do it again. Raz has been incredibly consistent in the last 10 years for the things he has done and now it’s about doing it again.
“What has changed? On a personal level, not so much. But obviously it is different because of the role that he has right now and what we demand from each other. “What Pep used to demand from him is different because now I’m the person who makes the final call.”
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