Mikel Arteta says he started picturing Arsenal lifting the Premier League trophy around March and April, long before the season was finished. He says the title feeling was already there in his head, and now he is pushing the club straight into the next test, the Champions League final in Budapest six days away. Arsenal reached the final without losing any of their 14 games.
Why Arteta is already talking about Budapest
Arteta was blunt about when the idea took hold. "Not from the beginning of the season, it was more around March, April when I started that. I knew that was the moment that was going to define the season," he said to skysports.com.
He was even clearer on the image itself. "It was a picture of myself lifting the trophy. That was it," Arteta said. "I think I had to believe in myself to be able to transmit that conviction and energy to the team."
That is the part worth taking seriously. Arsenal have already finished first in the Premier League with 82 points, 43 goal difference and a 25-7-5 record, so the league work is done. Their European run backs the confidence too, with eight wins from eight Champions League matches and only four goals conceded. If Arteta is demanding another level before Budapest, the numbers say he has reason to.
Arteta also stressed the next step in plain terms. "This is where we are right now, and now we have to go to the next level, and the next level is going to happen in six days in Budapest, to go and win the Champions League, and we know that," he said.
Arsenal's celebration is brief, and the scrutiny is not
There is still a small window for the league title ceremony. According to football.london, Martin Ødegaard will lift the Premier League trophy, Arsenal will change from their white away kit into the red home kit before the presentation, and Crystal Palace are due to conduct a lap of appreciation in their final home game.
Arteta has also drawn a hard line on how long the celebration lasts. "We had 48 hours to enjoy the success of winning the league. Now, we're going to prepare really well and we're going to now lift again our habits and the standards that we normally do things to be the best possible way to compete," he said.
That lines up with the mood around Ødegaard too. John Arne Riise pushed back on the criticism of the Arsenal captain, saying: "I'm shocked and surprised that he gets so much criticism from his own fans. When you see him coming on the pitch, yes, he has some baggage, everybody does, but he creates everything Arsenal does when he's on."
Riise also pointed to the way Ødegaard has changed his game, and the numbers in the brief back up the debate. Ødegaard has made 24 all-competitions appearances this season and has six goal contributions, while scoring once. He has passed 230 appearances for Arsenal, which is the kind of milestone that gets lost when the discussion narrows to one quiet scoring spell.
For Arteta, though, the important part is the next match in Budapest. The title is already in the bag, the celebration is already scheduled, and the bigger demand is to reset fast enough to chase another trophy.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 7 outlets. How we work →
