After our stunning European form sees us on the brink of a top-two finish in this season’s Champions League, Mikel Arteta wants us to secure it by beating Inter Milan.
One more draw from our final two games will be enough to secure a top eight spot and automatic qualification to the last-16, however having secured six straight wins in the competition, Mikel is now eyeing up first or second in the table to gain home advantage in the second leg right throughout the knockout stages.
Victory in Italy would seal that before our final match against Kairat Almaty next week, but Mikel isn’t taking anything for granted and wants to see us sew up the best possible outcome as soon as possible.
“In the Champions League, when you have the opportunity to achieve something, you have to grab it,” he said. “Tomorrow we’re really going to have to earn it against a top, top side.
“[Finishing in the top eight] is massive, we know that, and if we win tomorrow, we know that’s going to be the case. So, let’s make it happen.
“We keep tricking the players – saying the next one is the most important [game] this season, and then three days later it’s the same! That’s the demands, that’s the expectations that we have, that’s the standard that we have set as well as a team and as a club, and we are living with that, with joy, with enthusiasm and with a lot of energy.
“So, go game by game and enjoy the journey that we are in, because it’s great. Go for it every single game and let’s see what the next one brings.”
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Last season’s Champions League draw handed us an away game against I Nerazzurri which saw us beaten 1-0 thanks to a controversial penalty. Since then, Inter have reached the final and seen a change of manager, with former defender Cristian Chivu replacing Simeone Inzaghi in the dugout.
They still remain one of Italian football’s dominant forces and sit three points clear at the top of Serie A, but having seen us right plenty of wrong results last term when it comes to the Premier League, Mikel wants us to learn from last season once again and ensure we come away from the San Siro with our 100% record still intact.
Analysing what we expect from our opponents, Mikel suggested: “In the first phase, they’re aggressive. Where they lose the ball, they’re more aggressive in getting it back. Then they have the talent, the ability, the mentality.
“We are very clear about what we have to do to play the game we want to play, and then you deserve it. It has to be when we have the opportunity to score the goal, and then dominate these things, which are vital.
“They have some different players in the team, a different coach as well. I think the task is going to be equally difficult, but I think we had, watching it back, a really strong performance here. The margin that we lost the game by was a penalty – obviously we all saw what happened there, and were very disappointed. We’re going to know tomorrow how they set up. We have a very clear idea of what we have to do to win the game, and what we need to apply to be better than them.
“Performances and results have an impact emotionally on the team and build a level of confidence. We know that the match tomorrow is to go in and win the game. That’s a step that we didn’t do last year, and we have to show that we are better than last year.”
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