Mikel Arteta makes confident Arsenal trophy vow ahead of Real Madrid clash

Arsenal have not won a major trophy since the 2020 FA Cup and are on course for their third successive Premier League runners-up finish, with a Champions League quarter-final coming up

Mikel Arteta is confident his Arsenal side will soon finally win the Premier League title. The Gunners have finished as runners-up in each of the past two seasons and are on course to again end up second this term.

Liverpool are now 11 points ahead having played a game less than Arteta’s side. Saturday’s draw at Everton was their latest slip up, with the Gunners having dominated the clash at Goodison Park.

But they had only Leandro Trossard’s first-half strike to show for their efforts, with Iliman Ndiaye equalising from the penalty spot. With the Premier League out of reach and having been dumped out of the FA Cup back in January, the Champions League is now all they have to play for.

But to win that competition, they will have to overcome Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. The first leg will take place at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, with Los Blancos also struggling in their own title bid.

The 2020 FA Cup remains the last piece of silverware Arsenal have won. And heading into Tuesday’s titanic game, Arteta has admitted he believes it is time for his side to add to their trophy cabinet.

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“We’ve turned it around, and now it’s time to win. The reality is we’ve made so many steps that it’s time to win. In the end, judgment is normal, because this is Arsenal; otherwise, we wouldn’t be Arsenal. People have to judge whether we win or not,” he told AS.

“If you’re close, it’ll be your turn at the end. If this league is the best in the world, it’s for a reason, and that’s because there are six teams that can win it. The title won’t be ‘they tried’, the title will be different, and I don’t want to use that word [laughs].

“In the end, we have to know where we are and what history we’ve had. This club hasn’t been to the Champions League quarterfinals twice in 15 years, which is a long time. But we have to create our own history, and that means reaching these knockout stages, winning them, and getting to the semifinals. That’s the next step we have to take.”

Arteta could not hide his disappointment with Saturday’s draw to Everton. He credited Liverpool for the way they have steamrolled their way to the title, but insisted his side should have made it more difficult for their rivals.

“Merit to Liverpool, the way they are winning their football matches. I’m talking about a reflection of what happened today, what was really relevant for the score and there is no question that, apart from that, they had nothing,” he said.

“But obviously that changes completely the momentum and the results. I think we deserved more, but that’s what we got at the end at a really tough place to come. What they do, they do it really well, constantly putting the balls into the last line, dealing with direct play and second actions.

“I think we haven’t conceded anything in the game, which was really positive. We were 1-0 up, had some big opportunities, going into spaces – we didn’t finalise the action in the second half. We didn’t start well, didn’t dominate the game, we had to be more aggressive, have more spaces.

We started the opposite, we gave the ball straight to the keeper, direct play, trouble. Again, direct play, and the referee decides to give a penalty. That changes the course of the game. We had two big chances to win the game, we didn’t convert them, so, we have to accept the point.”

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