Mikel Arteta: 'Aggressive' summer transfer spending has given Arsenal 'very best chance' of trophy success ahead of UEFA Champions League opener

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Arsenal are looking to win the Premier League title for the first time since 2003/04 after a summer transfer window which saw them spend around £250 million. Manager Mikel Arteta has spoken about the expectations at the club and desire to land silverware in a special extended interview with TNT Sports expert Ally McCoist in the latest edition of Ally's Social Club.

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Mikel Arteta says Arsenal’s "aggressive" summer spending has given them the "very best chance" of winning silverware this season.

The Gunners spent around £250 million in the recent transfer window in a bid to bolster their Premier League title ambitions.

The biggest additions were striker Viktor Gyokeres, wingers Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze, and central midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

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Arsenal have not won the league since 2003/04, but there are hopes their spending can push them to the next level after three successive second-place finishes.

Ahead of playing Athletic Club in their UEFA Champions League opener on Tuesday, September 16, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, Arteta praised sporting director Andrea Berta for being "so aggressive in the market".

He told Ally McCoist in Ally's Social Club - which will be broadcast on September 16 on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ at 16:30 UK time - about the summer outlay: "It’s been excellent for what we needed, and what we wanted to achieve.

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"We are very lucky players want to come to Arsenal now and they prefer to go to Arsenal than somewhere else, and this is an unbelievable power as well that we have built and gives us our very best chance.

"We talked last year about the Premier League and we’ve been three years there with the amount of points that normally you are the Premier League winner, but the level is somewhere that has never been before which is great.

"In terms of recruitment, we’re in a much better place in terms of the squad last year. We’re trying to do everything that we can."

When Arteta was appointed as Arsenal manager in December 2019 the club were 10th in the Premier League table and were far from looking like title contenders.

But Arteta has revitalised the Gunners and forged them into title challengers again. Although that now brings it with increased expectations of winning silverware, Arteta says that was the goal when he started out.

"I think we built those expectations, from where we were and everything that we built, that was the aim," he added.

"That was the project and what we want to do - winning major trophies consistently at the elite level.

"Winning is winning trophies and a lot of things we won throughout this period, changing the culture, making a very clear identity and philosophy of the football club, transmitting an unbelievable feeling to the rest of our supporters, being in the Champions League, working towards the major trophies, winning some trophies… that’s a lot of things.

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"But now we want this, from being second three times, there is only one thing which is to win it, and that’s the expectation.

"And we have to thrive that with enthusiasm, with an empty tummy, because we don’t have it and we really want it.

"But understanding that we have to do that by enjoying every single day what we do and how we want to achieve, we can never forget what is going to take us there.

"It’s about understanding the reason why we do it and what it’s going to give us the highest probability actually to achieve it and do our very best to achieve that."

As well as coming close to winning the Premier League under Arteta, Arsenal enjoyed a run to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals last year.

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The Gunners pushed eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain before losing 3-1 on aggregate.

Arteta says things might have been different if Arsenal’s squad had been in better shape.

"We got to April with a lot of injuries and major problems and all the teams, historically other teams that have won Premier League, Champions League or World Cups, the best players have to be there at their best in those moments to shine," he said.

"Because at the end it’s going to be about probably an action that is going to define whether you win it or not.

"If we have Gabriel, we have Kai [Havertz] and we have Gabby Jesus and we have Bukayo Saka, and we have other players to win it, maybe, but everything has to go your way now because the level is so high."

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How to watch Athletic Club vs Arsenal

Athletic Club vs Arsenal will be live on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and discovery+.

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Here is the TNT Sports schedule and TV guide. And for the full Premier League schedule, click here.

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