Arteta warns Arsenal must 'earn the right' to reach another Champions League final

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Mikel Arteta has made clear that reaching last season's Champions League final counts for nothing this time around, insisting Arsenal must earn their place in another showpiece match rather than expect to repeat the run.

Arsenal topped the league phase last season before progressing all the way to the final, where they were beaten by PSG. It remains the club's most notable European run in years, but Arteta is keen to stress that history offers no guarantees heading into this season's campaign.

Lille provide the next test

Arsenal's next opponents are Lille, a side managed by Davide Ancelotti, and Arteta has made a point of praising the job he has done at the club. Speaking ahead of the match, as relayed by Arsenal Media, Arteta said Arsenal will have to work for any repeat of last season's run.

“[We're] going to have to earn the right to get in that position again. We know how tough it is and how many times we've done it in the history of our club,” Arteta said.

He continued with a specific warning about Tuesday's opponents. “Tomorrow we're going to have a really tough opponent in front of us. They are very, very well coached. What Davide has done is, I think, remarkable. You can just see the way that they are competing and playing and the problems that they have caused to big teams, and tomorrow is not going to be different until we are ready for it.”

No shortcuts through the group stage

Finishing top of the league phase last season handed Arsenal a favourable route through the knockout rounds, something Arteta clearly wants to replicate. But doing so again will require Arsenal to keep producing results against sides who, as he pointed out with Lille, are capable of causing problems for bigger teams.

The message from Arteta is a familiar one at this stage of a European campaign: respect every opponent, treat no fixture as a formality, and accept that reaching a final is earned over the course of a long competition rather than carried over from one season to the next.

Arsenal will be looking to start that process with a positive result against Lille, a match Arteta has clearly identified as more demanding than some might assume given the opposition's European pedigree. How Arsenal perform in matches like this one, against well organised but less heralded sides, is likely to shape whether last season's run to the final proves to be a glimpse of a longer term trend or a one off high point under Arteta.