Arteta urges desire and ambition for title defence and confirms Lewis‑Skelly will stay
Mikel Arteta told his Arsenal squad on the eve of the new Premier League season that they must show the desire and ambition to defend their title, and he reiterated that Myles Lewis-Skelly will not be leaving in this transfer window ahead of Friday night’s opener against Coventry.
Arsenal begin their defence against Coventry on Friday night as they attempt to retain the championship for the first time since the 1930s. The club have won 17 of their past 18 matches against promoted teams and have not been beaten at the Emirates Stadium by one since November 2010, a run of 45 matches. Following an impressive win over Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday, Arsenal are heavy favourites to start with a comfortable victory but Arteta said the team must adapt to a different challenge this season. “We need to take this organically because it’s going to be a long marathon,” he said. “What we need to show is that desire and ambition to be better than we were last season, a month ago, or a week ago when we played Man City. We have the ability to improve, to evolve, and that’s what I sense and I feel around the club and especially around the players.”
Asked whether Arsenal begin the season with a target on their backs, Arteta replied: “Today, no, because we start from scratch and we’re going to have to prove we have the level to go back to that position again. “But that happened in the last three seasons – at some point we were first, at some point we were chasing it, and you never know what’s better. “You give me the choice, I want to be first, I want to be hunted, and I want to be in control of our future, rather than depending on somebody else.”
It is understood Myles Lewis‑Skelly was offered to Manchester United and Chelsea as Arsenal attempt to raise funds after the £75m purchase of Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle. The 19‑year‑old academy graduate was outstanding in midfield against City in Cardiff and had also started in that position in the Champions League final last season against Paris Saint‑Germain. Arteta said he is “100%” confident Lewis‑Skelly will remain at Arsenal.
On the club’s approach to academy graduates, Arteta said: “The players that have been raised in our system, and they feel that love and that connection with the club, bring something else, there’s no question about that. “We need to look after them in a really special way because they bring value that is very difficult to find. That’s why, when we can, we want to protect those assets as much as possible, develop them and make them extremely important for the club.”
Arsenal’s immediate task is Friday night’s Premier League opener against Coventry, the fixture that follows the Community Shield victory and the comments Arteta made on the eve of the new season.