Improving Arsenal still have a long way to go, says Mikel Arteta ahead of Burnley clash
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ByEurosport
Published 06/03/2021 at 09:26 GMT
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his team have made clear progress in recent months but remain well short of meeting the standards he has set for the north London club. The Gunners have won seven of their last 12 Premier League games but are still 10th in the table ahead of a meeting with Burnley on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta
Image credit: Getty Images
Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are still "very far" short from the standards he hopes to set them, but believes they have made progress in the last few months.
The Gunners have turned their season around after a torrid start, winning seven of their last 12 Premier League games and netting 22 goals, having managed just 12 goals in their first 14 fixtures.
But despite their recent resurgence, they remain 10th in the table on 37 points, 10 points behind London rivals Chelsea in fourth.
Asked how close Arsenal were to being a team in his own image, Arteta, who took over in December 2019, said: "Very far. Very, very far. There's still a lot to improve, a lot of quality to add.
"(We need to be) much more efficient in decision-making, much quicker to open situations up. We need more control of games, more defensive actions in the opponent's half, fewer giveaways, more clean sheets. There's a lot to do, more goals, more creativity.
"When you look at the league table it is not acceptable. We are Arsenal and we should be nowhere near here. If somebody is happy with that he is in the wrong place."
Arteta said last weekend's 3-1 victory against third-placed Leicester City was a step in the right direction.
"When you look at the previous game we played against them a few months ago, and you look at where the team is right now, I think it's always a good way of seeing the progression, and I've seen that," he said.
Arsenal visit 15th-placed Burnley on Saturday lunchtime and would move up to ninth in the table with a win.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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