Gradually develop, improve gradually. Arsenal have had a exemplary development trajectory in the past few seasons and the final step is the Premier League championship. Of course, the final step is always the most difficult and understandable thing when Arsenal continuously fails at this level. After all, all the progress of The Gunners is zero if they cannot advance to the title.
Last season, Mikel Arteta proved that Arsenal could compete with Manchester City until the end of the match. And in the coming season, the "Gunners" not only need to compete fairly with The Citizens but also have to overcome their opponents.
The distance between the two points seems very close, but in reality, it will require a whole process if you want to level. Remember, Man City have won the Premier League in 2 seasons with only 1 point ahead of the team behind. That said, Pep Guardiola's team may have declined, but they always show their mettle at the right time.
To overthrow Man City, there are only two ways: that team must be almost absolutely perfect or make the most of the rare mistakes of The Citizens.
To be fair, The Gunners did not play badly last season with 89 points after 38 matches and are the best attack in the tournament. But that still cannot defeat Man City, which means they need a better campaign.
Over the past half decade, Arsenal have worked hard to improve their team to be able to expect this at the moment. With Arteta, he has received great support from the board.
Since the start of the 2020-2021 season - Arteta's first full season at Arsenal, the "Gunners" have spent about 650 million pounds on new contracts. Arteta has been involved in most of Arsenal's buybacks.
Meanwhile, Arsenal's earnings over the same period are £152 million, including loan fees and under the same valuation. In fact, the Gunners' net spending has reached more than half a billion pounds, a not-so-small figure. And the result so far has been an FA Cup title.
It is undeniable that Arteta's side have a significant squad depth with a clear style of play. Their pillars are mostly young and can develop further in many years to come. However, if we look at time and finance, it is true that Arsenal need more than they do now.
In the last 7 Premier League campaigns, Man City has won a total of 638 points, an average of 91.1 points per season. That is a number that Arsenal have never achieved in the Premier League era. And it should be remembered that even if Arsenal finish the season with a new record, it will be equal to Man City's average season in recent years.
All of that raises one problem: Arsenal look very close to Man City's class but in reality it is very far away.
In short, for any reason, the 2024-2025 season will be the time when Arsenal need to reap the sweet reap not only in the Premier League but even in the Champions League. But is Arteta capable of completing that mission?
