Arsenal could have two trophies to show off to thousands of Gooners on the streets of Islington on Sunday [Daniel Weir/SPP]

THERE are no ifs, buts, or maybes ahead of Saturday’s date with destiny: Arsenal will “write the new chapter” in the club’s history by winning the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta wasn’t mincing his words.

“We are convinced we’re going to do it,” said the Gunners boss as the squad prepared to jet off to Budapest today (Thursday) ahead of their showdown against Paris Saint-Germain at the Puskas Arena.

With the euphoria of ending Arsenal’s agonising 22-year wait to once again grasp the Premier League trophy still coursing through his veins, Arteta is adamant that what comes next will be historic.

“We’ve already talked about what we have to do in Budapest, how we’re going to use all the incredible energy that we’re all carrying towards that final,” said the newly-crowned Premier League manager of the season. “We can’t wait to write the new chapter in the history of our club and win the Champions League.”

This isn’t just bluster – the kind of rhetoric a club is meant to spill before a big cup final.

This is, we have a massive parade planned around the streets of Islington on Sunday and we will have two trophies to show off to the million-plus Gooners expected to flood the 9km-long route.

Arteta added: “We travel to Budapest fully convinced that in a few days’ time we can be champions of Europe.”

Such is the confidence now buzzing around Ashburton Grove that supporters would be forgiven for adding a new date to their diaries to go alongside St Totteringham’s Day: a Silverware Sunday, with bosses knowing that at the end of every season there comes a parade, and that they’re not going to see Gooners at work on the Monday.

Responding to suggestions that this could be the start of an era of dominance, Arteta said: “What I said to the boys is that this shirt now represents something else. We are the champions, and that brings a lot of confidence and a different kind of presence and energy to it.

“My job now, and everybody at the club, is going to be to live those standards and achieve more and more because I think we are capable of winning.”

That seems to be the mentality behind the scenes, too, with Arsenal co-owner Josh Kroenke revealing that plans to strengthen are underway.

He told NBC: “The business never stops. Right now there are other teams that are already trying to strengthen to come at us for next season. So we need to be aware of that.

“We’ve already had a few conversations about different areas that we think we can improve – both on and off the pitch. We are looking forward to getting that going this summer.”