Arteta: We want to be the best club in the world

Mikel Arteta says: "You need the best facilities, the best stadium, the best supporters, and you need the best squad and the best players in the world." Arsenal start the defence of their Premier League title against Coventry on Friday night, live on Sky Sports.

Mikel Arteta is excited to keep building Arsenal after their Premier League win, vowing to make them "the best club in the world".

The Gunners lifted the trophy last season for the first time in 22 years, and have already made moves to bolster their defence of it, with key arrivals such as Christian Tzolis and Bruno Guimaraes.

Arteta says they will keep targeting elite players to get Arsenal to the very top.

"It's certainly the ambition of the club and the owners to be the best club in the world," he told Sky Sports at a Premier League launch event ahead of their Friday night opener against Coventry, live on Sky .

"In order to do that, you need the best facilities, the best stadium, the best supporters, and you need the best squad and the best players in the world.

"Those are the ones that win you football matches and the ones that can be decisive when it matters.

"That's what we try to build with the actual players that we have, and with the players that we want to sign to make the difference for Arsenal."

Arsenal go into the season as outright favourites to retain their title, with that status further underlined by their comfortable 3-0 win over Manchester City in Sunday's Community Shield.

Arteta, however, says he is more than comfortable with the position of being the frontrunners.

"I think this is part of our industry, and that's OK," he said. "For me, it's when I look into the eyes of my players and I see that fire, that desire and the will to be better every single day.

The weight of history is against Arsenal defending their trophy, however. Arsenal have not defended the top-flight title since the 1990s.

"That's an opportunity that we have ahead, and we are very conscious of what it's going to take to deliver that," he said.

"But I feel the ambition, I feel the desire, and I feel the ability and the conviction around the team that we can do it."