Football

Arteta praises defensive improvement but says Arsenal must remain ‘unsatisfied’

Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta hailed the improvements shown by his Arsenal team against Chelsea but insists they must remain “unsatisfied” if they are to continue to progress.

The Gunners comfortably beat London rivals Chelsea 3-1 thanks to a double from Martin Odegaard and a goal from Gabriel Jesus following a run of four games without a win.

Arteta’s side climbed back to the top of the Premier League table with the win, but their loss to title rivals Manchester City prior to the victory over Chelsea means Pep Guardiola’s side are in control of their own destiny because of their two games in hand on Arsenal.

But while Arteta says his side can be proud of this season even if they do not win the title, he insists those at the club must not be content with not winning trophies.

“We have four games to go, we are top of the league,” Arteta told Sky Sports.

“That was one of the things we talked about tonight, can we go back where we’ve been for many months and now we have to wait and see. It’s not in our hands, we know that.

“Regardless, what this team has done up to today has been remarkable. They fully deserve it, especially the players and the staff.

“We are really happy. We are going to have Champions League football after so many years and we did it with five or six games to go.

“But we have to be unsatisfied, and we cannot accept that this is good enough for this club and we have to push even further to see where we can get.”

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Arsenal were denied a clean sheet against Chelsea because of Noni Madueke’s second half-strike, but after conceding at least two goals in each of the previous four games, Arteta praised the defensive improvements shown by his side.

He also reserved particular praise for Jakub Kiwior, who replaced Rob Holding to start his first Premier League game since joining the club.

“We’ve conceded very poor goals but the performance against City was something very different to the other two,” he explained.

“Today we had to be back to being much better in many departments and I think we’ve done that, especially in the first 60 minutes.

“It was a big task for Jakub. He hasn’t started in the Premier League yet and to throw him in against those players, it was a big ask.

“But we believe he was ready. I think his partnership with Gabriel worked out really well and Jorginho as well gave us control and leadership in that midfield.

“I’m really pleased with them.”

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