Arsenal have 'very best chance' of winning trophies after strong business, says Arteta

Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal's transfer business has given them the "very best chance" of winning trophies this season.

Arsenal reportedly spent around £250m over the summer bringing in reinforcements, including Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.

The Gunners, who are looking for their first Premier League trophy since their 2003-04 invincible season, have finished as runners-up in the top-flight in each of the last three seasons and were 10 points off champions Liverpool in 2024-25.

After four games this term, they are second, three points behind Liverpool in the early standings, but are looking to keep the pressure on in the title race.

Last season, they also enjoyed a deep run in the Champions League, reaching the semi-finals before suffering a 3-1 aggregate defeat to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.

And Arteta is confident he has the depth in his squad to be able to compete at the highest level.

"It's been excellent for what we needed and what we wanted to achieve," Arteta told Ally's Social Club.

"We are very lucky players want to come to Arsenal now, and they prefer to go to Arsenal than somewhere else, and this is an unbelievable power as well that we have built and gives us our very best chance.

"We talked last year about the Premier League, and we've been three years there with the amount of points that normally you are the Premier League winner, but the level is somewhere that has never been before, which is great.

"In terms of recruitment, we're in a much better place in terms of the squad last year. We're trying to do everything that we can."

Arsenal open their Champions League campaign against Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday and will be hoping to start the league phase on a high.

The Gunners only lost three of their 14 games in the Champions League last season (W9 D2), with all three defeats coming against 2024-25 finalists PSG (L2) and Inter (L1).

They are among the favourites to win the competition this season according to the Opta supercomputer, which hands them a 16% chance of lifting the trophy.

Since Arteta took over in December 2019, Arsenal have only won one trophy (the 2019-20 FA Cup), but he is confident his side can live up to the expectations they have set themselves.

"I think we built those expectations [of winning trophies], from where we were and everything that we built; that was the aim," he added.

"That was the project and what we want to do - winning major trophies consistently at the elite level.

"Winning is winning trophies and a lot of things we won throughout this period, changing the culture, making a very clear identity and philosophy of the football club, transmitting an unbelievable feeling to the rest of our supporters, being in the Champions League, working towards the major trophies, winning some trophies… that's a lot of things.

"But now we want this, from being second three times, there is only one thing which is to win it, and that's the expectation. And we have to thrive on that with enthusiasm, with an empty tummy, because we don't have it and we really want it.

"But understanding that we have to do that by enjoying every single day what we do and how we want to achieve, we can never forget what is going to take us there.

"It's about understanding the reason why we do it and what it's going to give us the highest probability actually to achieve it and do our very best to achieve that."