Mikel Arteta has returned to pre-season training after his summer break saying his energy is ‘back to the highest’ level as he outlined our targets for the coming campaign.
Two months on from our victory parade through the streets of Islington at the end of our memorable title-winning triumph (which Mikel described as ‘the best football experience he has had’), the boss is back at work, looking to build on that success. The squad is currently in Spain, ahead of our pre-season match against Girona at the weekend, and the boss is full of optimism, buoyed by the renewed drive and dynamism among the players.
Describing the atmosphere among the group as pre-season resumed, Mikel said: “First of all (I saw) the energy in the bodies, in their eyes, how they look. And then the players, it was incredible – the shape that they have all come back, better than ever. That tells you the direction that we want to seek and the culture that we have set. Then the way they are training, the questions that they ask you, the direction that they want to take. They are all super powerful signs.
“It’s great to see everybody again with the same spirit after such a big season. To see everybody coming back in the building with such energy and desire to go again is really touching.”
The focus now is very much on the season ahead, as we embark for our first title defence for 22 years, and Mikel said that going into 2026/27 as champions has given everyone a renewed sense of determination and motivation.
“One hundred per cent.” he stated. “This has to be the start and this has to be the standard. Excellence has to be our standard and this has to drive to attack the future. The way we behave daily with more and more determination and ambition because we’ve shown that we’ve got it. Now we have to show that we belong to this level and we want to increase and take this football club to a different dimension.”
The squad is currently in the process of reintegrating the players who featured at the World Cup, and the boss explained there are different schedules for players depending on how far they advanced at the tournament.
“It is all programmed,” he said. “We have three different pre-seasons with different groups. But the most important thing is not the programme, it is the attitude behind the programme. When I speak to Kai, he is desperate to come back tomorrow and Viktor the same and Piero the same. And when I speak to Declan, he is already talking, ‘OK, if I come this day, then I can play (then)’, and the rest the same. And that is much more powerful than the programme.
“We want to adapt to the context, which is different. There are a lot of opportunities within them because most of them have great experiences throughout the tournament and have really positive performances this past season as well.”
Two new signings have also joined the group this pre-season – goalkeeper Illan Meslier and forward Christos Tzolis – with more expected to sign before the end of the transfer window.
“A lot is happening,” the boss confirmed. “We all know about the context of this transfer window. From ownership to the board, the sporting director and myself, we know that we want to take this club to a different level. That is going to require a better squad, better individuals. We have identified where we have opportunities to grow and to improve and to evolve our game and what is going to be needed to achieve that. Hopefully very soon we can start to put things in a very concrete way.”
The boss ended his interview by reminding the supporters of the part they all played in our success last season, and how that growing connection across the club can continue to reap rewards in the future.
“Connection is the word. It is the connection and the fact that everybody feels that they are contributing to increasing the winning probability. I was just having an interview with the guys that designed and delivered the Tifo, for the north London derby. I mean, that Tifo helped us win. Whoever is designing and taking the pictures and building it, has to feel that way, because it does have an impact. And my body language and my energy in the stadium and the way I communicate with the person next to me, it has an impact. We have seen the impact of one and a half million people together. So that is the biggest superpower that we have in this football club. It is how attached we feel to it, the identity that we have created and how we feel about each other. And that has to be translated every opportunity that we have to be together.
He added: “My ambition is that daily we nail the standards and the requirements on the day to be better the following day. That is the thing that we have to control. And maintaining that ambition, that discipline, that commitment and that positive energy through 11 months. That is the responsibility that we all have. If we all achieve that, we are going to be in a really strong position in May.”
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