Bukayo Saka and Mikel Arteta's sights firmly fixed on delivering Premier League and Champions League glory

admin admin | 10-03 00:15

Bukayo Saka is convinced this will be the season that Arsenal beat Manchester City to the Premier League title, while manager Mikel Arteta feels the win against Paris St Germain will fuel his players with the belief they can beat any team in Europe in their quest for Champions League glory.

Saka, 23, made the claim following the 2-0 win over the French champions at the Emirates on Tuesday.

Stand-in captain Saka doubled the hosts' advantage with 10 minutes of the first half remaining after Kai Havertz had headed the opener.

The statement win, against a side which reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, came three days after a stoppage-time victory over Leicester which took Arsenal level on points with rivals' City.

Arsenal have finished runners-up to Pep Guardiola's side for the past two seasons, but when asked if the Gunners are ready to deliver their first league title since 2004, Saka, speaking on CBS, replied: "I don't want to put too much pressure on us, but I do think this is the year.

"We have been close for the past two years and we are getting closer, but, yes, hopefully this will be the year.

"There is a lot of hunger in my belly. In previous years we have finished runners-up, but that spirit in me is that I want to win this season and I believe in myself a lot."

After opening their Champions League campaign with a goalless draw at Atalanta, Arsenal fired a warning to their European rivals with a win that rarely looked in doubt.

Saka continued: "When I was speaking with the boys in the team talk before the game I made sure that I said, 'Today we need to make a big statement'.

"When we have played in Europe against the big teams we haven't always shown our full qualities and our usual standards, but we showed that at home today."

The victory lifted Arsenal to eighth in the table of this season's rejigged format. The top eight clubs qualify automatically for the knockout stages, with those finishing in ninth to 24th contesting a two-legged play-off to reach the last 16.

Mikel Arteta's side recorded an impressive win over the French aristocrats

The Gunners manager was full of praise for the way his side went about their business, adding that the performance is a sign of what they are capable of producing in this season's Champions League.

"It raises the confidence and the belief that we can compete with any team at that level in European competition," said a jubilant Arteta.

"We showed a lot of maturity in the way that we played, and we put our stamp on the way we want to behave in Europe against the top teams.

"The players feel that we are going in the right direction. They believe in what we are doing, which is a great sign.

"It is a night to be really happy because we played one of the best teams in the world, and to be able to perform and win in the way that we did is a really good sign for this team."

"The players wanted to prove a point against this top team, that we can be ourselves and we can be very dominant.

"It is another step. It creates a special night against a big club and that belief lifts the energy and the spirits of everybody.

"First, you have to believe you can face those incredible teams, and you have a really good chance to beat them, and then that you are good enough to do that, so this result will be very helpful for us."

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