What Arteta said about last season's Premier League race
The Arsenal manager revealed what the players were thinking as their title hopes were dashed
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is excited about the start of a new Premier League season.
The London club is spending part of its preseason in the United States, playing high-profile friendlies against European clubs such as rivals Manchester United this past Saturday at MetLife Stadium in New York.
“They give you a lot of information,” Arteta said of training sessions he’s conducted this summer. “You have to be able to take in that information.”
Arteta has gathered some information over the past week. The team’s 5-0 rout of the MLS All-Stars last week and a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United served as a decent sample size.
But Arteta also has to get the players over the psychological hump of how last season ended. After being first for much of the 2022-23 campaign, Arsenal’s form dipped. That allowed Manchester City to win the title once again — winning it by five points — and part of a historic treble that included capturing the Champions League and FA Cup.
At what point did Arteta know the title was lost?
“When mathematically it was gone,” he said. “Up until that point, we believed we had the chance to do it.”
Arteta said his players and staff never gave up.
“It was in our hands and we lost it, but there were still games to go,” he added. “Until that point it is not possible mathemtically, you should never give up because it’s football.”
Arteta offered little information about the current transfer window. He refused to say whether he would sign a player like Kylian Mbappe, who is currently embroiled in a contract dispute with French club Paris Saint-Germain.
“I don’t talk to players who are not part of our club,” Arteta said of Mbappe.
Arsenal will play Barcelona on Wednesday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The team flies back to England this week ahead of the start of the season with the annual FA Community Shield match on Aug. 6 against Man City.
Regarding the ghosts of last season, Arteta said he and the players are ready to move on. He did say this coming season will be “harder.”
“For sure the level will go up, the teams are getting better and the league is getting stronger” he added. “It’s only going to get harder. We know that and we are preparing for it.”