Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side have begun to show what they are capable of in the Premier League under his stewardship, currently sitting fourth with the cards in their hands for a Champions League place next season. Add to those results some impressive performances along the way as well as young, up-and-coming talent showing their ability and it makes for the perfect storm.
The likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Takehiro Tomiyasu joined last summer and have added to the impact felt by Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe improving week on week. It leaves the Gunners three points ahead of north London rivals Tottenham in fifth with a game in hand over them, with a clear advantage, though they do still have to face one another this season.
However, despite their position, Arteta has remained coy when discussing the chances of finishing in the top four. Following the Watford game in early March, he said: “I don’t like to look at the table a lot because we have games in hand, we’re going to play different fixtures and I know the objective and it’s only one, to try and improve tomorrow on what we’ve done today and go into the next match and that’s it. I cannot control results and I cannot predict which matches we are going to win, draw or lose, it’s impossible. If I start to do that I think we’re going to lose focus in what we want to do.”
