Like him or loathe him, Mikel Arteta is absolutely desperate to succeed at Arsenal.
Despite winning an FA Cup title in his first half-a-season in charge last year, Arteta remains a divisive figure among some Gunners fans.
That’s because Arsenal finished eighth in his first full season back at the Emirates and now sit ninth in the Premier League table after seven games.
Signs of progress are growing harder and harder to see from the Spaniard, but he does certainly intend on being successful in North London.
Arsenal haven’t had Champions League football since the 2016-17 campaign and having finished four places adrift of the top four last term, there’s a lot of work to do.
But the 39-year-old coach has admitted he is dreaming of getting his side back among Europe’s elite, saying that just hearing the competition’s famous anthem gives him stomach pain.
He told The Guardian: “I want to be playing in Europe and I want to be competing there, and every time I see the Champions League music my stomach hurts. It’s not something that I enjoy.”
It’s quite a sad admission from the Arsenal boss, it has to be said.
For all the criticism that comes his way, he is clearly deeply invested in restoring some level of prestige at Arsenal and his comments about the Champions League prove as much.
As mentioned, there’s still a lot of work to do before the Gunners are ready to rub shoulders with Europe’s best and brightest again, having not even qualified for the Europa League last term.
But that could also work in Arsenal’s favour because the lack of distraction regarding European football this time around allows Arteta to focus most of his efforts on the Premier League.
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