Mikel Arteta says Arsenal want to be champions as he downplayed their hard-fought victory over Brighton on Saturday.
Arsenal’s 4-2 win at Brighton proved that they have the credentials to be champions for the first time since 2004.
Arteta’s side entered the new year with a seven-point lead over second-placed Manchester City after a fifth successive league victory.
But Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his side has room for improvement following a wobble when leading 3-0.
He said the gap at the top of the table “means nothing” if Arsenal slips up, and “our only focus is again to improve”.
“I think we have enough desire to be champions. We know the other results, but we know our success will be from what we do.
“This is what we want to continue, to improve as a team and play better, to dominate all the areas like today. We had to suffer but we show we could manage the game.
“We had to have a big performance to win against a really good Brighton side. We had to dig in as well.
“You can’t expect to not concede anything with the way they play. It’s a big test for us, but we win two in a row after the break and now on to the next one,” Arteta said.
Going into the last fixture of 2022, Arsenal was buoyed by the knowledge that City had drawn with Everton earlier.
“We knew the result, but the boost is we have to come here and win, and to do that we have to perform at the highest level in this league,”
Arsenal and City have played 16 games each so far this season. At the same stage in 2021-22, the Gunners trailed City by 12 points.
