Arteta: Arsenal remain attractive destination for transfer targets
Mikel Arteta believes that Arsenal remain a top destination for transfer targets despite their drop in performance over recent years.
The Gunners currently sit ninth in the Premier League following Sunday's north London derby defeat to Tottenham and nine points adrift of the top four as they prepare for a fourth successive season outside of the Champions League.
However, despite that long absence, Arteta still views Arsenal - who could finish outside the European qualification places altogether for the first time since before Arsene Wenger's arrival in 1995 - as an elite European club.
When asked if there would come a point when he’d stop viewing Arsenal as a Champions League club, Arteta replied: "While I am sitting in this chair I’m not, because that’s the only thing that I think of this football club."
On remaining an attractive destination to players, he added: "We've an incredible history, an incredible structure, in a beautiful city and a style of play that attracts players.
"And I'm telling you now because when I am closer to the market now when I speak to people, a lot of players want to play for Arsenal.
"What I need to do first of all is myself do my work as good as possible, improve this team and the players individually as much as possible and get the maximum out of that.
"And then what we need to do at the end of the season is, OK, see the direction we want to take, agree on the ambition of the football club, realise where we are.
"The demands are going to be huge – it doesn't matter what we do, that's never going to be change because it's linked to our history and our success – and [we need to] move from there."
