Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes the Gunners have to strengthen their squad to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title next season.

Arteta’s team was at the top of the table for most of last season, but when key players got hurt, they fell behind.

City went on to win their fourth Premier League title in five years. They also won the FA Cup and the Champions League to complete the treble.

Reports say that both clubs are competing for West Ham captain Declan Rice, and Arsenal is also set to sign Chelsea’s Kai Havertz.

“That is our ambition,” Arteta told Marca on his hopes of winning the title.

“We know the difficulty: it’s the best league in the world and next season is going to be the toughest league in Premier League history.

“Why? It already was last year. I’ve been here for 22 years and I’ve never seen a competitive level like that. So much quality, so much organisation, so many resources, so many good coaches

“That’s the level and to win the Premier League you have to be the best. That’s why you have to strengthen.”

Few people thought Arsenal would even be in the running for the title, since they had never finished in the top four in the previous six seasons.

But Arteta said it still hurts that he was in charge of the Premier League for most of the time from August to April.

“To this day, it still hurts me deep inside not to have won the Premier League after 10 months of fighting with City,” he added.

“There were three or four injuries to important players and from then on, everything got complicated. When we had the full team, we were consistent. As soon as problems came, it wasn’t enough for us.

“Our opponent was the best team in the world, the best squad in the world, the best coach in the world.

“We had no choice but to accept it and shake hands with the champion.”