Mikel Arteta has admitted Newcastle’s riches will force the rest of the Premier League to react to the emergence of another potential powerhouse.
The Magpies’ new owners, who have the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have big plans for the ailing Tyneside giant, which spent much of previous owner Mike Ashley’s 14-year reign treading water.
Having seen the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City revitalised by huge cash injections in recent years, Gunners boss Arteta is aware of what Newcastle, who head for the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, could become and what that would mean for their competitors.
He said: “It’s going to raise the level, for sure, because the ambition, first of all, at the club, it will be there and when the ambition is there, then normally the club is going to make decisions to fulfil those ambitions and then the level is going to rise.
“That’s the beauty of this league. What happens is bringing in new players, improving even the way we sell the product of the Premier League on a much broader level has a consequence that we are in the best league in the world and we have the best managers and the best players, the best facilities and that’s part of it.”
Asked if Arsenal and their counterparts would have to respond to that, Arteta added: “Absolutely, and the demands will be better, so we have to be better and we have to find the right resources and ideas and commitment to go another step forward.”
Newcastle’s brighter future – in the short term at least – could depend on their ability to drag themselves out of a dreadful start to the new season which has seen them win none of their first 12 games, a run which has thrust them once again into the midst of a relegation scrap.
Tomorrow…— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 26, 2021
They last won at the Emirates in 2010 and, while Arsenal will run out still smarting from last weekend’s 4-0 drubbing at Liverpool, the odds will be heavily stacked against them.
Arteta is expecting much more from his players this time around after a few home truths were aired in the dressing room at Anfield.
He said: “We needed more from the team at the weekend when the game changed. We had a period of 15, 20 minutes in the second half when we struggled and the game just got away from our hands.
“It’s not something about individuals, it was about the collective.”
