Mikel Arteta says title-chasing Arsenal have “learned a lot of things from last season” as they chase a fifth straight Premier League win against Burnley on Saturday.
The Gunners are third in the table, two points behind leaders Liverpool and level on points with second-placed Manchester City following last week’s impressive 6-0 victory at West Ham.
Arsenal, without a Premier League title since 2004, led for most of last season but faltered in the final stretch as City overtook them.
“We want to be there and that means that we’ve done a lot of things right during this season and we have learned a lot of things from last season,” Arteta told his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“We’ve shown a big level of consistency and good things in the team and now we want to go another step forward and maintain that consistency, continue to play the way we are playing and perform and let’s see where we get.”
The Spaniard said his side, who play Porto next week in the Champions League last 16, were facing a defining period and it was vital to have a fully fit squad.
“For me, that is requirement number one,” he said. “And at the moment, we don’t have it. And we’re going to have to have it and we are working really hard to have it.
“This is the requirement number one. The second, third, fourth, if we don’t have that one, it’s going to be difficult. I think we have a good chance.”
The Arsenal boss is anticipating a tough battle against relegation-threatened Burnley.
Vincent Kompany’s men are seven points from safety and have struggled in their first season back in the English top flight but Arteta spoke of his admiration for the Burnley boss.
The Spaniard coached the former Manchester City captain when he was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at the Etihad Stadium between 2016 and 2019.
“We know each other really well and I have huge respect for him,” he said. “We had a really good relationship when we worked together.
“I have a huge admiration for him when he was a player and he has a special aura around him. He has great ideas and a vision of how to play the game.”
Arteta was also asked whether the club would be interested in signing France captain Kylian Mbappe, who has told Paris Saint-Germain he intends to leave at the end of the season.
He said signing Mbappe would match the club’s ambitions of becoming the “best team”, though he admitted it was unlikely, with the player widely linked with a move to Real Madrid.
“When there is a player of that calibre then we always need to be in the conversation but it looks like (his future) is in a different way,” he added.
