London, May 18 (IANS) Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta revealed that at the beginning of the season, he was visualising lifting the Premier League trophy after the game against Newcastle United in the Gunners’ final home game of the season.

Arsenal have not won the league title since their historic Invincibles season in 2003/04. They have been trophyless for five years, with their last trophy being the 2020 FA Cup. A win against Newcastle on Sunday could set up Arsenal’s third straight season as runner-up.

“At the start of the season, if I had to visualise that moment, it would be playing the last home game on the final day and lifting the Premier League. That’s what I had in my head. Now, with everything we’ve gone through in the last 11 months, I think we can all hold our heads up but still have that pain in the tummy, because that’s what we want to achieve,” Arteta said to Sky Sports.

When asked what it was that saw Arsenal fall behind Liverpool in the title race, Arteta replied, “Red cards and injuries, for sure.”

Arsenal have had rotten luck with injuries this season and have finished the final phase of the campaign without a striker. They have also been shown six red cards, with a few controversial decisions, which has seen them struggle to stay consistent, but the Gunners head coach remained positive that his team will raise the bar next year.

“But without that, we don’t know what would have happened. Would we have been much closer? For me, the answer is without a question, yes. Because of what we have been producing and the performances that we have had.

“But we’re going to have to do something else (next season) because the bar will be raised.

“And when you look at the points that we’ve had in the last three seasons, the consistency of not winning a title is very rare. So we are very close, close in the probability so much, we have to continue to be there and be better.”

–IANS

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