Arsenal play Burnley at home on Saturday (Photo: Getty)

Mikel Arteta has set Arsenal a target of at least 96 points, which he believes is necessary to win the Premier League this season.

The Gunners failed in their remarkable title bid last season as City finished five points clear of first place – the first of three trophies they lifted in their treble-winning campaign.

Arsenal and Tottenham led the champions until last week, when the north Londoners suffered defeats to Newcastle United and Chelsea respectively. City returned to the top with a stunning win over Bournemouth.

With just 11 games played, Arteta has reminded his players that the season is a marathon and not a sprint, but has also warned of the enormous task ahead of him to keep up with the current champions.

“We can’t look at other teams when we have played 11 games,” Arteta said.

“This is a long marathon and things will change and the dynamics will change. But in this competition you need 96 to 100 points to win.

“When you get them is a different story, but that’s the goal.

Arsenal want to give everything this season (Photo: Getty)

“To achieve that we have to play so well and win a lot of games, more games than this club has ever won before.”

City are the only team to reach 100 points in the history of the Premier League, including in the 2017/2018 season.

Liverpool collected 99 in their title-winning season in 2020, while Arsenal equaled their record tally of 90 in 2004.

Arsenal play Burnley on Saturday afternoon and go into this match as big favourites, while Vincent Kompany’s team have struggled this season and have only won one match.

“We know we have to win it,” said Arteta.

“But you can’t concentrate on the result. You have to concentrate on the process and how we prepare to do our best and deserve to win the match. Then the result will take care of itself.”