Mikel Arteta said he needs to raise standards further and bring ‘something’ to Arsenal that he has not yet done in order to win the Premier League title.
Manchester City pipped the Gunners to the title on the final day in May, and it has left Arteta hell-bent on ensuring the same does not happen this season.
Ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Manchester United in Los Angeles at the SoFi Stadium on Sunday (1am BST), Arteta said: ‘I think the message is clear – we need more from everybody. More from everybody includes me.
‘I need to raise the standards, I need to bring something I haven’t brought yet. Individually and collectively the same.
‘The more we do that, the better the chance it’s going to be to win the Premier League. This is what we want basically.
Mikel Arteta has set his team a target of 114 points – an impeccable record – to beat Man City
He demanded ‘more from everybody’ to bring a first title to the club since the 2003-04 season
‘Just work every day with that excitement and understanding the difficulty. And when those difficulties come, staying together and go through them efficiently.’
On what it would take to overtake Man City this time, he said: ‘114 points. If we do that, we win the league for sure.
‘This is the objective, from there we’ll see what we get. Earn the right to win it and have the biggest probability over the opponent.
‘When we have difficulties that we are still better than the opponents. That’s really the objective.’
Before addressing the press, Arteta and LA Rams head coach Sean McVay participated in a community event with kids.
The pair are friends and have previously discussed coaching methodology and tactics.
‘I know Sean quite well,’ he said.
‘We met a few times and we have the same ownership so that connects everybody – not only in terms of coaches, but in terms of organisation.
Arsenal will face Man United on Sunday in Los Angeles in their second pre-season friendly
‘There’s a lot of things that we can get from each other. It’s great to get things from each other. It’s not common, and it’s something we can get from each other in this organisation.’
On playing at the SoFi Stadium on Sunday morning, Arteta added: ‘It’s an opportunity to connect with our supporters. If they’re Arsenal supporters great, if they’re football supporters let’s try and get them to be Arsenal supporters.
‘That will mean that we’ve produced certain joy and excitement in them in the way we’ve played the game. That’s one of the objectives, but the main one is to win the game, for sure.
‘It’s great to be here and see all the supporters we have. We know it’s difficult with the time difference so to give something back that’s nice for us.’
