Mikel Arteta targets Champions League glory with Arsenal after quarter-final heartache - 'Success is to win it'
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Updated 19/09/2024 at 10:03 GMT
MIkel Arteta thinks Arsenal have to win the UEFA Champions League this season if they want it to be a successful competition. The Gunners' previous best run in the tournament came when they lost the 2006 final to Barcelona. Arsenal face Atalanta in their opening game of the league stage. "Success, I think, at this level is actually to win it," Arteta said.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and midfielder Jorginho at Gewiss Stadium before a press conference during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase
Image credit: Getty Images
Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal's UEFA Champions League campaign can only be considered a success if they win the competition.
The Gunners are in Italy to take on Atalanta in their first match of the 2024/25 tournament, which is live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Last year, they returned to Europe's top table after a six-year absence, and made it all the way to the quarter-finals before losing to Bayern Munich.
Confidence is high that they can have another good run this year, and Arteta told TNT Sports that he cannot wait to get going.
"I'm extremely motivated," he said. "It's a competition that we love playing, every player loves playing and here we are again.
"Success, I think, at this level is actually to win it. But we made some bigger steps [last season] I think. We learn a lot from the experience.
"We had some great moments, some other moments that we have to do better and improve. We have to put those learnings into this season."
It has already been an impressive start to the season for Arsenal, who finished as runners-up in the Premier League in 2023/24.
They have won three of their four matches in the top flight, including a 1-0 victory over Spurs in the North London derby on Sunday.
That means they sit just two points behind Manchester City, who are the only team in the division with a 100% record.
But continental football is the focus this week, as the Gunners start their quest for a first European trophy since lifting the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994.
Their best run in the Champions League was when reaching the 2006 final, when Arsene Wenger's side were beaten by Barcelona.
The tournament has taken on a new format for this season, with clubs now tasked with attempting to finish in the top eight of an overall league stage, as opposed to competing against three other sides in a group format.
Arteta would not be drawn on whether he was in favour of the change though, as he quipped: "We have to work three times more!
"Before, you have to prepare for three games, now eight. For the coaches, it's very different. Hopefully that extra work will be worth it for the people to enjoy, and for us again to have success.
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"We get along, whatever it is. At the end, if it is better for the people, who are the main protagonist, and we protect our players, and they are able to do that at the highest level, it's OK."
Arsenal will be without captain Martin Odegaard for the game, after it was revealed he faces a "significant" spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
That comes as a big blow for the Gunners, who also play Manchester City in the Premier League this weekend.
Arteta, though, is refusing to focus on that game just yet, as he continued: "We'll review what we did against Spurs and the reason we won the game.
"Then we'll prepare the best possible way. That's been the aim, the focus, all week: Manage against a team who are extremely motivated, with a lot of energy.
"It's a chance to play in a very special stadium against a team that we know their story and what they achieved last season in the Europa League."
Jorginho: 'We need to be careful'
That success for Atalanta came in winning the entire tournament, as they beat Liverpool en route to the final and ended Bayer Leverkusen's dreams of an unbeaten season.
As such, they have qualified for the Champions League for the fourth time, but they have never got past the group phase in three previous attempts.
Arsenal midfielder and Italy international Jorginho knows all about Gian Piero Gasperini's side, and he believes they are a team to be feared.
"We can't underestimate them, because it's a really, really strong and well trained team," he told TNT Sports.
"They know what they're doing, because they've been doing it for many years now.
"They're a really good team, and we need to be careful."
Jorginho, meanwhile, admits last year's quarter-final exit at the hands of Bayern Munich provides extra motivation to the team this year.
They drew the first leg 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium, before losing the return fixture in Germany 1-0.
"We were upset that we didn't go through, because we felt that we could have done," he continued. "It's burning inside, and we want to try and get more this season.
"[We learned] especially that the margins in this competition, it's so tiny, so small, that you can't give anything away.
"You can't concede anything, because there is more chance that the opponent will take it and punish you.
"The more of an advantage you have, you need to punish them as well. That's what we need to learn from last season."
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
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