Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said he has “goosebumps” thinking ahead to the start of next season and believes his team is only missing a “little percentage” in their quest for major honours.
The north London side finished second in the Premier League for the third consecutive season this year and, having also fallen short in the cup competitions, Arteta has made it clear big changes are coming in the transfer market.
Arteta told Sky Sports last week that a “very exciting summer” was in store and after the 2-1 win over Southampton on the last day of the league season, he reiterated his enthusiasm.
Asked when he starts focusing on next season, Arteta said: “Now, because tomorrow we already have some things that we are discussing and making decisions.
“Everything that is planned for preseason and the first few weeks of the season has already been done two or three months ago, so we are now really good.
“And the moment I start to think about that, I feel goosebumps and excitement, and this is a really good sign always.”
Arteta, banned from the touchline, sat alongside co-chair Josh Kroenke at St Mary’s on Sunday.
Martin Ødegaard scored the winner for Arsenal as they finished their season with a win, after Kieran Tierney netted the opener in what will be his last game for the club.
“I’m very happy to finish [the season] winning the match,” Arteta said. “We wanted to leave that dressing room with a positive energy, with a good vibe. We had to say goodbye as well to a few players that won’t be with us next season, that was quite emotional as well, I think they deserved their appreciation and a good vibe around it.
“We’ve done it and now we’re going to have plenty of time to think, to analyse what happens in the season, to learn from it for sure, to take all the incredible positive things that the team has done regarding the circumstances and think, okay, how can we now go into that little percentage that is missing to get where we want.”
Questioned on that “little percentage” and whether Arsenal will be signing a striker to improve, the Spaniard added: “In order to achieve that, a lot of things have to happen. The team has to provide, that player has to play a certain amount of minutes and games.
“Believe me, we are on it. We will try to squeeze and think and turn every stone that we possibly can, to make this club even more successful.”
Arteta also said his players were “100%” inspired by the women’s team, after their unexpected Champions League triumph over Barcelona on Saturday.
“We were all watching it, we were in two different buses on our journey to Southampton and we were watching it and I think it was incredible,” he said.
“First, the way they played and the way they played against that Barcelona team, I think it was again a case of that resilience, that character because through the season they have had a lot of issues and the way they have managed to turn that around and win the Champions League, it’s unbelievable.
“That’s what we want and they’ve done it and they’ve done it in a way that represents the club in an incredible way.”
