Mikel Arteta: Top of the league is where Arsenal belong

Mikel Arteta claims that the top of the Premier League table is where Arsenal “deserve” to be.

The Gunners are currently a point clear of second-placed Manchester City, with Chelsea a further point behind.

Arsene Wenger’s men have recovered from some mixed results in early December to win their last four games in all competitions.

In the last year or two after I joined the club we were already 10 or 12 points behind [by now] and it’s really difficult

Mikel Arteta

And the Spanish midfielder is hoping that the north Londoners’ strong start to the season will prove to be a catalyst in ending their wait for a trophy.

“We had a little spell where we had a difficult time but we’ve come back, we’re on four wins in a row and we’re feeling good,” Arteta told Arsenal’s website.

“It was a little blip but the schedule was crazy in those three days [where they faced Everton, Napoli and Manchester City]. I think we could have won one or two of them, rather than drawing.

“But at the end, we’re top of the table and we are where we want to be. In the last year or two after I joined the club we were already 10 or 12 points behind [by now] and it’s really difficult.

“When you are playing catch-up it’s tough, you are relying on other teams to drop points every week. It becomes nearly impossible.

“But we are where we deserve to be now. I think teams are showing us more respect because we are the most consistent team in England through the year, from [last] January.

“That’s what we have to keep doing now through the last three or four months of the season.”