Mikel Arteta believes the Premier League is more competitive this season than ever before.
His Arsenal side led the table for 248 days last term but were pipped to the post by eventual champions Manchester City.
Their title hopes were effectively ended on May 14 when the Gunners lost 3-0 to Brighton, who they host on Sunday.
Arteta was reminded that Brighton, West Ham and Aston Villa are not members of the so-called established ‘big six’ yet all finished top of their Europa League or Europa Conference League groups in midweek.
Asked whether the Premier League is therefore becoming tougher than ever, Arteta replied: “I think so. Not only with those teams, but you have to really sweat and suffer to win any game in this league. You have examples every week. The margins of how teams are winning games, it’s minimal.”
Arsenal signed midfielder Jorginho from Chelsea for a fee of £12million in January last year. The Italy international was seen effectively coaching the Gunners from the bench in their 1-0 defeat to Villa last weekend, with Arteta serving a suspension and watching on from the stands.
“If he wants to [become a manager], he’s got every quality, in my opinion, to do so”, Arteta said of Jorginho. “He’s living the game when he’s on the bench, like another coaching member.
“Off the pitch [he brings] laughs. He is really funny. And at the same time, he’s someone who really takes care of people and makes people better. As a role model, if you want to look at somebody with his career and the way he acts every single day, look at him as soon as he wakes up in the morning. After that, he understands his role in a great way. Whatever you ask him to do, he will do it to his best.
“He’s one of the most intelligent players that I have coached, for sure. The detail he can go into, the understanding of what is actually happening live in the game, how we can correct it, and how he can attract the attention of his teammates to listen to him and actually do what he’s telling them to do. It’s really impressive.”
