Mikel Arteta has admitted life will be much harder for Arsenal this season as he opened up on the decision to spend heavily again this summer.
Kai Havertz joined from Chelsea for £62million, with Jurrien Timber arriving from Ajax for £40m. But the biggest deal by far has been the club-record move for Declan Rice, with the Gunners paying West Ham a fee of £105m for their captain.
Arteta could yet add to his squad further, with the Gunners’ summer spending already blowing past the £200m mark. But the Arsenal boss has insisted such a high level of spending was necessary, with the challenge from rival teams in the title race set to get even harder
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“It will be more difficult for sure, because the league is going to go to a different level again, which is already incredible. And obviously playing the Champions League, which we haven’t played in many years at the club,” he told ESPN.
“That’s why we need a different squad from what we had last year, I think what we’ve done this summer is related to that, and more quality as well, for sure. [Havertz] is a player I have admired for a long time and we had the possibility of bringing him to the club.
“We had a few chats about how he was feeling about it, and I was convinced he was the player and type of personality that we want in the team and to take us forward. [Rice] brings leadership, an aura and he brings special qualities that we didn’t have in our midfield.
“Obviously, he has good experience in the league, he’s already done a lot at 24 years old, but he has something – I saw that for a long time with him – he has that personality, that way of thinking, the way he plays for his teammates and the way he’s capable of controlling matches.”
Arteta is confident that the summer of spending can put the Gunners in a good position to win silverware this season. They last won a trophy in 2020, with the FA Cup, and Arteta knows the pressure is on to add to the trophy cabinet.
““We know that, but at the end it will be about playing better and earning the right to win every single match the way we play. In order to do that there are things we have to improve and work on in pre-season and that’s what we are doing,” the Arsenal boss said after signing Rice.
