Arsenal’s head coach Mikel Arteta, has sounded a note of warning to his players that they should not return for pre-season resting on the laurels of their FA Cup success.
The Spaniard also expressed confidence that the Gunners could return to be a major force soon if the right decisions are made.
The first-team squad is set to return to training this weekend to prepare for the new campaign, just three weeks on from their 2-1 win over Chelsea which saw them lift a record 14th FA Cup.
It was also Arteta’s first piece of managerial silverware, less than eight months into his reign at the Emirates Stadium.
However, as they prepare to return for training, Arteta wants to see the same drive and desire to add more trophies in the coming months.
“I have to look at the players, how they come from holidays, how they come after winning, I want to see that reaction,” he told Arsenal Digital.
“You know, are they going to be a little more relaxed because we’ve done something or are they going to come with ‘Okay, this is nothing that we’ve done. We have to go to the next level, we have to apply ourselves better, we have to improve in a lot of areas and we have to dominate many other aspects of the game that at the moment we cannot control?’.
“If that is the mindset, then I am very positive that we will be sitting here in a year’s time really happy. But I hope we take that road straight away.”
Although the club finished the season as FA cup champions, a lack of consistency in the Premier League saw them finish eighth – their worst position since 1995.
AFP