Tuesday 3 January 2017 18:29, UK
Nathan Ake insists he is not looking too far into the future as he feels at home in the "family" environment at Bournemouth.
The Chelsea loanee has established himself as an integral part of Eddie Howe's plans on the south coast, and grabbed the headlines recently with a dramatic late winner against Liverpool in the Cherries' thrilling 4-3 success at the Vitality Stadium.
Ake is on loan at Bournemouth until the end of the season, and with Chelsea breaking club records in their quest to regain their Premier League crown, he seemingly faces a challenge to force himself into Antonio Conte's plans for next term.
But, speaking ahead of Bournemouth's home clash with Arsenal - live on Sky - the 21-year-old insists he is only focusing on the present - at a club where he feels content to be part of the set-up.
"Everything is local [at Bournemouth]," Ake told Sky Sports. "If you go into town, people, old and young, come up to you and say, 'Well done'.
"Everyone seems to be involved at the club, like a family. Everyone is really nice, and everyone does things with each other, and it makes the group really tight.
"I just try to focus. You can overdo things, and here you get all the help you need.
"I am happy here. The loan deal is until the end of the season. I don't look too far ahead. At the end of the season, we will see.
"It is too early to say [if he can make it at Chelsea]. There are still things to improve. Hopefully at the end of the season we will know more."
Many experts tipped the Cherries to struggle in their second season in the Premier League, but once again Howe has defied the odds and masterminded some fine results, the Liverpool win being the pick of the bunch.
However, Howe's men have not managed to put together back-to-back successes all season, and Ake insists that has to change if they are to climb the table yet further.
"The inconsistencies is something we need to change," Ake added. "If you play a good game against Liverpool and then the week after you lose against different teams - we need to address that.
"It is difficult to work out why it is happening, but it is something we need to look at.
"The goals against [that Bournemouth have conceded] we need to improve too."
Arsenal are up next for Bournemouth, live on Sky Sports, and know what to expect, having suffered a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates as recently as late November, but Ake has a word of warning for the title chasers.
"They are really good, of course," Ake added. "We played against them a couple of weeks ago, and it was really difficult.
"We played well, but they have so much quality up front and they always have something extra.
"It is not easy to come here. The stadium is tight, everyone is behind the team, and hopefully we can give them a game."
Watch Bournemouth v Arsenal live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Tuesday from 7.30pm.
