Progress gradually, improve step by step. Arsenal have had an exemplary development trajectory over the past few seasons and the final step was the Premier League title. Of course, the last step is always the most difficult and it is understandable when Arsenal continuously fails at this step. After all, all progress for The Gunners is zero if they cannot advance to the title.
Last season, Mikel Arteta proved that Arsenal can compete with Manchester City until the final round. And next season, the "Gunners" not only need to compete fairly with The Citizens but also surpass 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 it. Remember, Man City has had 2 seasons winning the Premier League championship with only 1 point more than the team behind. Having said that, Pep Guardiola's team may be in decline but they can still show their bravery 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 Citizens' rare mistakes.
It's fair to say, The Gunners did not play badly last season with 89 points after 38 matches and had the best attack in the tournament. But that still cannot defeat Man City, which means they need an even better campaign.
Over the past half decade, Arsenal has diligently improved the team to be able to expect this moment. With Arteta, he received enormous support from the board of directors.
Since the beginning of the 2020-2021 season - Arteta's first full season at Arsenal, the "Gunners" have spent about 650 million pounds on new contracts. In most of Arsenal's acquisitions, Arteta is more or less involved in the process.
Meanwhile, the amount of money Arsenal earned in the same period was 152 million pounds, including loan fees and according to the same source in terms of valuation. In conclusion, The Gunners' net spending has reached more than half a billion pounds, a not small number. And the achievement so far is an FA Cup championship.
It cannot be denied that Arteta's team has significant squad depth with a clear playing style. Most of their pillars are young and can develop further in the coming years. However, if you look at the time and consider finances, it is true that Arsenal needs more than they do now.
In the last 7 Premier League campaigns, Man City won a total of 638 points, an average of 91.1 points per season. That's a score Arsenal have never achieved in the Premier League era. And it's important to remember that, even if Arsenal finishes the season with a new record score, that's still only equal to Man City's average season in recent years.
All of that poses a problem: Arsenal looks very close to Man City's level but is actually very far away.
In short, for whatever reason, the 2024-2025 season will be the time when Arsenal needs to reap sweet fruits not only in the Premier League but even the Champions League. But is Arteta capable of completing that mission?
