Arteta asked about how long it will take to get Arsenal in title contention

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has ruled out an imminent title challenge after admitting he will need “a few windows at least” to get the club in a position to rival the Premier League’s big hitters.

Arteta knows football fans in general are impatient, but he says Gunners fans need “to respect the process” as the Spaniard tries to elevate the club.

Four consecutive finishes outside the top have left Arsenal looking up at the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool. They were a whopping 43 points behind champions Liverpool last season.

Their eighth-place finish was their worst result for 25 years in the top flight and Arteta, whoo took charge last December, is well aware of the work he has to do.

“That [will] take a few windows at least to do that,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “To establish yourself to compete at the level of certain clubs in this league, which is nearly 100 points, it takes time.

“In football, time is very precious and people are very impatient. But if you don’t respect the processes and you ask certain people to do certain things when the foundations are not there, it’s a really dangerous thing to do.

“I know we all want to see Arsenal at the top of the league. My only intention every time is to prepare the football match. Where we get, time will tell. There’s still a lot of things that are going to happen.

“We have to prepare for difficult moments. We knew that right from the start because it’s not something that has happened in the last year – it has happened many years in the past.

“To flick that into a league with 38 games; that’s a big challenge. But we’re all ready.”

Ljungberg breaks his silence

Meanwhile, former Arsenal interim boss Freddie Ljungberg has explained why he left Arteta’s coaching team in the summer.

Ljungberg was handed the reins when Unai Emery was sacked and took charge of six matches before Arteta was appointed.

The Swede took over in the short-term after Emery was axed in December last year and won one, drew three and lost two of his six games at the helm.

But the 43-year-old, who returned to Arsenal as Under-23 coach in 2018 , decided to leave in August. 

The official line was that he left to “pursue new opportunities” and his statement read that he was keen “to progress my management experience”.

However, three months on Ljungberg is still looking for a post whilst working as a pundit.

And now, after being moved into the stands, he has explained why he left The Emirates.

“What changed on a match day was that I would sit up in the stand to look down. I’d have an earpiece with the bench,” Ljungberg said in quotes in the Mirror.

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