Ainsley Maitland-Niles is convinced Mikel Arteta can get Arsenal “back to where we need to be” after they recorded their worst Premier League finish in 25 years.
The Gunners defeated Watford 3-2 at Emirates Stadium, having been 3-0 ahead after 33 minutes following a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kieran Tierney’s goal.
Watford hit back through Troy Deeney and Danny Welbeck, but it was not enough and they were relegated.
The three points for Arsenal means they finish eighth — their worst League position since 1995 — but Maitland-Niles believes Arteta is the man to turn things around.
He said: “It has been a bit difficult with what’s been going on in the world and the fans not being there. So it all plays a part.
“But slowly but surely we are going to get back to where we need to be. Watford had momentum. They scored in the first half, they scored in the second half and they were gaining momentum throughout the game.
“It showed big character to hold onto the win and to try to get another goal, and do something to see the game out. We did enough.”
Finishing eighth means Arsenal must now defeat Chelsea in the FA Cup Final on Saturday to qualify for next season’s Europa League.
Arsenal were beaten by Aston Villa last Tuesday and Maitland-Niles said it was important to get back to winning ways ahead of the Wembley showdown.
“We want to be in Europe and we want to win trophies,” he added. “Hopefully we can go on and achieve our goals. It is always good to win before big games. Obviously we lost the last game, so we had to put it right.
“We made it a bit hard for ourselves, but we pulled through in the end and got the three points.”
