Mikel Arteta: '114 points wins the league next season, we'll go from there'

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta isn't wasting any time in his mission to claim next season's Premier League title with a pre-season trip to Marbella where he has taken nine players not involved in international competitions.

The Gunners will travel to the US for pre-season and will play Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, respectively.

Speaking with ESPN, Arteta reflected on last season's title race with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Arsenal amassed 89 points along with having the league's best defensive record but still fell short. He predicted that his side would need (or at least aim for) 114 points to win the league next season.

"One-hundred-and-fourteen [the maximum points available] wins it and then you start from there. You know that the margins are really, really small and tight and the competition is going to be even harder than the previous season. 

"You go game-by-game, earn the right to win every game, that's all we can think of, and try to improve our players. And make them believe they can do it because now they are good enough to do it."

The Spaniard, however, admitted he didn't want to get over last year's disappointing title loss to City.

"I don't want to get over it. I am really satisfied with the way the team is performing, the way the players are evolving, what the team transmits, the momentum we have as a football club.

"There is a lot of planning to do, a lot of reflection and analysis to do to understand what we did really well in the season, where are the areas we can improve and develop and we are right on it. We are really excited and looking forward to a new season.

"When you are analytical and you gather all the stats and everything the team has done over the past 11 months in the Premier League, we should have won it. That's what the stats say. The reality is that we didn't so there is something that is there that we haven't managed as well as Man City or other clubs in the past. I think we understand where those margins are. 

"I think we have come very far. We have been really consistent now in the past 24 months in terms of performance and the levels that we want to hit. But those margins are super small. One thing is to get the 90% that we want and actually the 10%, 5%, 1% is what defines success and winning major trophies. Now we have to continue to do all the right things that we are doing and just make those small margins that are going to be able to win the tournaments."

Arsenal will play Manchester United at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on July 27 before travelling to Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field to face Liverpool on July 31.