Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to have ‘belief’ in this season’s Champions League as the Gunners face Atalanta on Thursday.
Arsenal begin their 2024/25 campaign with a first-ever meeting with the Italian side in Bergamo.
The North Londoners returned to the Champions League for the first time in six years last season and reached the competition’s quarter-finals. Bayern Munich eliminated Arteta’s side in the last eight after a close-fought quarter-final tie.
The run to the last eight was the first time Arsenal had reached the Champions League quarter-finals since 2010, as the Gunners continued their impressive progress under Arteta’s management.
Arteta believes his youthful squad will have learned valuable lessons from that exit and has backed Arsenal to improve in this season’s Champions League.
“That’s the aim,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“Last year was a great campaign for us. We got to a place where we hadn’t been as a club for 16 or 18 years, but we weren’t happy or satisfied at all because we want more. They showed their hunger. I think we have the ability, we certainly have the quality – and now we have to prove it.
Arteta wants Champions League ‘belief’ from Arsenal
“We learnt certain lessons and in certain aspects, we can do better. It’s as well being conscious that these are the top elite clubs in Europe and they know how to play and how to compete in games.
“Hopefully we have learned and we can show the composure, the determination and the belief that is very important at these stages. Tomorrow we know what we are going to be facing – and it’s going to be tough.”
