Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has challenged his players to “change the history of our club” by finally winning the UEFA Champions League as they begin their 2025/26 campaign against Athletic Club in Bilbao.
Despite being 13-time English champions, Arsenal remain one of Europe’s biggest sides yet to lift the trophy. Their best performance came in 2006, when they lost the final to Barcelona, and they have reached only three semifinals in 23 previous appearances.
Arteta’s men fell to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s semifinal, despite the manager claiming after the second leg that his side had been the competition’s best team.
With English rivals Liverpool (six titles), Manchester United (three), Chelsea and Nottingham Forest (two each), and Manchester City and Aston Villa (one each) already boasting Champions League wins, Arteta believes Arsenal must seize their moment and win their own as well.
“That shows how difficult it is because we haven’t done it yet, and that’s our opportunity,” he said in Bilbao. “Pressure brings energy and the drive to improve every day. Every decision must meet that standard if we are to give ourselves the best chance.
“In this competition you fail more often than you succeed, that’s the history we want to change.”
Arteta, who has claimed one FA Cup in almost six years in charge, faces a challenging opener with several key players sidelined, including Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz, Ben White and Gabriel Jesus.
Even so, the Spaniard remains optimistic: “I’m excited to start again in a beautiful stadium. The journey is long, margins are small, and you need everything to go your way, a full squad at key moments and the right moments falling for you. But we are good enough to compete with anyone on the day.”
Reflecting on last season’s narrow exit, Arteta admitted the disappointment still lingers. “We were very unlucky not to reach the final,” he said. “It hurt, but it also gave us conviction that we can go all the way. We learned from it, and now we have to put ourselves back in that position.”
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