Mikel Arteta names the areas where Arsenal must improve in 2024

  • Arsenal are top of the Premier League at Christmas for the second successive season
  • Gunners sealed top spot in entertaining 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Saturday
  • Manager Arteta reveals where the Gunners can improve
Arteta has discussed how Arsenal can improve
Arteta has discussed how Arsenal can improve / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages
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Mikel Arteta has set out how Arsenal will look to improve in 2024, insisting the Gunners need to work on "killing games" that they dominate.

Thanks to their hard-fought draw with Liverpool on Saturday, Arsenal will be top of the Premier League table on Christmas Day for a second consecutive season - one point clear of both Liverpool and Aston Villa.

Having ultimately squandered their lead to Manchester City last season, Arteta and co. will be looking to improve on their second-place finish and retain their current spot at the summit until the end of the campaign this time round.

Speaking to the press about how Arsenal can do this, manager Arteta pointed to a few areas in which his team can improve.


Liverpool FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Gabriel scored in the 1-1 draw at Anfield / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages

"There are some things we have to improve, especially killing games with the amount of dominance that we are showing," said Arteta.

"Sometimes the results have been too close, where we have had to dig in the last few minutes to maintain results and that is it, nothing else.

"Hopefully, we have sustained that level with five key players out because we lost five very, very important players for us for many, many months and the team has still shown that so that is something we really have to maintain which is the quality in the squad and how willing they are to do what they do every single day."

Arteta was also keen to discuss how Arsenal have improved already during the 2023/24 campaign, pointing to the "maturity" shown in the draw at Anfield on Saturday as proof.

He added: "They’ve certainly got more experience and it was a very different game to last year. What they did today, in this stadium, in this atmosphere that they created as well was something else.

"The maturity and the courage that we showed, I think we should be really proud of our players."

Arsenal will be back in action on Thursday 28 December when they welcome West Ham United to the Emirates Stadium.


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