Mikel Arteta says he can see a ‘bright light’ at the end of the tunnel after his Arsenal side finally picked up the first points of the season last weekend.
After what was their worst Premier League season in a quarter of a century last term, Arsenal‘s 2021/22 campaign got underway in equally depressing circumstances, losing their opening three games of the season – although two of those were against Chelsea and Man City.
They finally registered their first points of the season last weekend, beating newly promoted Norwich 1-0 at the Emirates to move out of the relegation zone.
The Gunners travel to Turf Moor to take on a winless Burnley on Saturday afternoon, and speaking ahead of the game, Mikel Arteta says the mood around the camp is much better after finally getting their first points of the season.
“They’ve been even better because winning always helps,” he said at his pre-match press conference. “The boys were happy because we experienced the reaction of the fans towards the team on the day and winning the first match and getting out of the blocks in the Premier League was a big part of our next moment, so very happy.”
Asked about his feelings for the rest of the season, Arteta says there will be ‘bumps in the road’, but insists he can ‘see bright lights’.
“I can really see the light,” he said. “I’m telling you I’m very positive most of the time.
“I’ve seen the light and I can see bright lights. There can be bumps in the road within that light, but I can see a lot of light.”
The Spaniard is, however, not expecting an easy ride when his team take on Sean Dyche’s side.
“Obviously they had some difficulties to get results, during games that I watched, they have been pretty unlucky in certain moments because they have moments of real dominance and they end up losing matches,” he said.
“We know how tough it is to go to Burnley, we know the game we can expect there and we will be prepared for that.”
