MIKEL ARTETA DESIRES FOR ARSENAL TO CREATE “WONDERFUL PERFORMANCES” ON UCL RETURN

Mikel Arteta has urged his Arsenal team to create “beautiful memories” on there first game after team’s six-year absence from the Champions League.

On Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta’s team plays its first Group B match against PSV Eindhoven.

The Gunners will play their first match in the premier club competition in Europe since Bayern Munich humiliated them in the round of 16 in 2017.

Arteta’s soul has been moved by the long-awaited homecoming as he remembers his own playing days with the north London club in the Champions League.

The Spaniard passionately rallied his troops on the eve of his debut Champions League game as manager.

“Excited and proud. We fought for it, and now we have it, Arteta said to reporters on Tuesday.

“I have wonderful recollections of the matches I played in for the club. We must maximize the opportunity.

As it attempts to atone for the late collapse that allowed Manchester City to win the title the previous season, Arsenal has started the Premier League campaign unblemished.

Arsenal’s main motivation this year is the possibility to reach the Champions League’s knockout rounds—a competition it has never won.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Arteta said. “It’s been a long time for the club since we have been in the competition and obviously it’s the first time for me as a manager.”

“I felt it every time I watched it and we weren’t there. I believe you overwork yourselves. The Champions League must include this team.

“With the position I hold, I have a duty to try to take the club to the biggest stages and tournaments and then to fight for them,” he said.