Arsenal enter the final 10 games of the season top of the Premier League ahead of an exciting final stretch, whilst also looking forward to their Champions League Quarter-final tie against Bayern Munich. In this final section of the 2023/24 season The Gunners will be hopeful that they can provide their fans with an attempt to be proud of in both the Premier League and Champions League, perhaps going one step further than last season and lifting a major trophy come the end of the season. Arsenal fans are unlikely to get carried away in this crucial time of the season considering they were in an almost identical position last year, top with 10 games remaining yet in the end falling victim to the inescapable pressure of being chased down by Pep Guardiola’s inevitable Manchester City side. This year it is expected to be no easier, in fact it is likely to be even tougher with Mikel Arteta’s team facing 2 rivals to the title this time who can barely be separated, with only a point separating 1st and 3rd. It is bound to be a challenging end to the season for Arsenal who will have to overcome a considerable number of obstacles in order to be succesful in the two competitions they remain in during this final stretch of the season. Mikel Arteta is certainly not shying away from the challenge and has spoken on the run in saying:
“We want to be there and that means that we’ve done a lot of things right during this season and we have learned a lot of things from last season. We’ve shown a big level of consistency and good things in the team and now we want to go another step forward and maintain that consistency, continue to play the way we are playing and perform and let’s see where we get.”
– Mikel Arteta on the challenge ahead
After the concerning way Arsenal fell apart at the back end of last season, many began to ask the question whether Arsenal had thrown away the perfect opportunity to win the league, some suggested that the North London clubs’ fantastic season was a fluke and merely a lucky overachievement. This year, Arsenal have managed to eradicate all accusations of their 2022/23 season being a fluke, and are proving themselves to be a formidable force at the very top of English Football that are here to stay. Interestingly, the pattern of The Gunners’ failed title charge last year has been quite different in comparison to the way this season has panned out so far. Unlike the explosive start to the campaign in the 2022/23 season, Arsenal started the season much slower than many fans had expected. Despite still floating in and around the top of the table, results seemed highly dependent on Arsenal’s defensive stability with 1-0 victories against Brentford, Everton, and Crystal Palace. During the first half of the season, the lack of attacking quality raised deep concerns among fans regarding their team’s pace and attacking fluidity. Jamie Carragher even suggested that Arsenal lacked the firepower to win the league, describing their front line as ‘average’. The Gunner’s ended 2023 in disappointing fashion, sat 4th in the table and winless in 3 whilst supporters continued to complain about their teams attack who seemed a shadow of their past selves.
In defiance of the demands from supporters, the Arsenal transfer team decided against making a move for a forward in the January transfer window. Instead, the squad regrouped on a hot Dubai tour for 2 weeks, where they were able to reflect on the season so far and what was required to pull themselves back into the title race, and they haven’t looked back since. Arsenal came back hungry and ready for war, scoring 33 Premier League goals in their last 8 fixtures, completely silencing all the critics who were commenting on the sides’ lack of attacking firepower. It appears the pattern of Arsenal’s season is almost the opposite of their 2022/23 campaign, this time starting off a bit slower and growing into the season and getting into their stride at the perfect ‘Business end of the season’ rather than burning out at the crucial point. Furthermore, around this time last year, Arsenal were embarrassingly knocked out of their respective European competition by Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon on penalties. Fast-forward a year on and Mikel Arteta’s players have taken on Porto, another Portuguese side in Europe, yet this time his team were triumphant, another example of how Arsenal have evolved since last season. The improvement has also become evident in the statistics, since the start of the season Arsenal had improved significantly at controlling the ball and the game, allowing them to completely suffocate the opposition of chances hence why Arteta’s side have conceded less XG (expected goals) than last year and currently have the best defensive record in the league. The main issue when adapting to this escalation of domination within their playing style was goalscoring, but now that the attacking players are finally hitting form it appears that Arsenal are now using that newfound control in combination with clinical brilliance in front of goal; a superb formula for major silverware.
As we alluded to earlier, it is not going to be easy for the North London club, who in the final Premier League run-in will have to endure trips to Tottenham, Man city, and Manchester United. Additionally, if the Gunners wish to go all the way in Europe they will not only need to get past Bayern Munich but also one of Real Madrid or Man City in the Semi-Finals. However, Arsenal have every right to be ambitious in the exciting end to the season ahead. They have showcased throughout the season that they can beat anyone on their day and therefore with injured key players such as Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber returning to the squad for the final stretch coupled with the current form Arsenal find themselves in this final stretch, why can’t they begin to dream?