Mikel Arteta: Fourth place not good enough for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta insists that Arsenal are out to win the Premier League title this season – and says a fourth-place finish is not good enough for Arsene Wenger’s side.

The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League table after nine games, two points ahead of their nearest rivals Chelsea.

The north London side have not lifted the top-flight trophy since their famous unbeaten triumph back in 2003-04 – but the Spaniard is hoping they can challenge until the end of the season.

“No, I wouldn’t take it, I always expected us to do better than fourth place,” Arteta told talkSPORT. “It’s very pleasing [to be top] and it takes a lot of pressure off.

“We know how we’ve been over the last few seasons and how difficult it is to go into every game knowing how far away you are from your opponents. This is where we want to be and we will fight hard to stay where we are.

“You need that degree of toughness, we have had difficult moments in different periods of games, and when you manage to get the points at the end despite that, it increases your confidence and makes a massive difference.

“We want to maintain where we are now, it’s the most open Premier League title in years because of the quality of the players and the teams.

“We want to challenge and I think we’re able to do it because we have the quality and the desire, but there’s still a long way to go.”