Mikel Arteta is prepared for a difficult evening tomorrow at Vitality Park when he takes his Arsenal side for their Premier League clash against Bournemouth.
While Arsenal have had the perfect start to the season with two wins out of two, promoted Bournemouth were trounced by Manchester City last week after winning their opening fixture against Aston Villa two weeks ago.
Arteta is happy with Arsenal’s form but he says he is not carried away, with so much of the campaign still to go.
“It’s great to win and perform the way we are performing at the moment, but it’s just two games, we have a whole season ahead of us. Let’s focus on the next match and what we have to do and the areas where we can improve,” the Spaniard said today during his pre-match press conference.
“It’s just two games. It’s nothing, the whole season is still to play for. We know that, we are very conscious of that and we are very conscious of the improvements we still need to make as a team to close games better, to play better and this has been our whole aim all week.”
Arteta admitted that Bournemouth will pose his in-form side a serious challenge at the compact ground.
“It will be a really tough match. I’ve been there many, many times, I know how tough it is, and I know to expect the atmosphere to be hectic,” he noted.
“It’s a team that is used to winning because last year they had a really successful season, and they’ve started well this season. I know Scott Parker very, very well and I know they’re going to make it a really difficult game for us.
“I think their style is a good mixture between what Bournemouth used to do and what Scott is as a manager, and I think he has evolved the team in a really positive way.
“They have a really clear idea of how they want to play, a very clear identity as well and they execute that against any opponent and credit to them for what they’re doing.”
Arsenal’s new signing from Manchester City, Gabriel Jesus, has been one of the outstanding players in the league so far, scoring a brace and setting up the other goals in the 4-2 win over Leicester City last week.
Arteta, who worked with Jesus at City, praises the Brazil forward’s impact on the Gunners.
“Probably the biggest difference since I worked with him before is his maturity,” he explained.
“Obviously, a few years have gone by, a few experiences, and as you mentioned his language has improved so much.
“He’s got a different role here, you can sense that straight away. I’m glad that he’s having a good time and performing really well for the team.
“I think he has improved a lot of areas in his game because he has more experience, he’s been working on them.
“For me, what makes the difference with him is his attitude, his willingness and his desire to win every single training session, every single ball in the game and that’s what makes him the player he is.”
Arteta sounded optimistic when asked about Bukayo Saka’s situation concerning an extension, with the forward’s current contract expiring in June 2024.
He said: “I’m very confident that we as a club, Bukayo and his family and his agent are very much aligned on what we want to achieve.
“I would like that to get done because I don’t want the player or anybody distracted in the middle of the season, but those things take time and have to go through the right process.”
