After being expected to compete for the quadruple, Arsenal is on the verge of historical collapse, but Mikel Arteta's team only needs five more victories to win the championship in the two leagues they are most eager for: the Premier League and the Champions League. So what will happen next?
More than ever, Arsenal's fate is in Arteta's hands and in his mind. When Arteta went to bed after Arsenal's shocking 1-2 defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals, that question certainly puzzled him. And when he woke up, with the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals against Sporting, thoughts of success or failure continued to appear in the mind of the 44-year-old strategist.
With the season of the "Gunners" facing the brink of collapse, it is inevitable that Arteta, players and fans will worry about the prospect of chasing the quadruple but then returning empty-handed.
While Arsenal is facing difficulties, Manchester City seems to be heading straight to the domestic treble, as Pep Guardiola and his students have a favorable journey after the Carabao Cup championship and a ticket to the FA Cup semi-finals.
For Arteta, when both domestic cups have been eliminated, the situation has become like a nightmare. The fear of failure is increasingly present, especially after three consecutive runner-up titles in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Guardiola's continuous success further increases pressure. He is a master in this situation, and Arteta understands that better than anyone else when he used to be an assistant for 3 years.
Arsenal is still leading the Premier League, 9 points ahead of Man City, even though the opponent has one more match to play and has home advantage when the two teams meet on April 19. This means Arsenal may have to win all 8 remaining matches to secure the championship.
Man City is unbeaten in the Premier League since the defeat to Manchester United on January 17, while Arsenal's last defeat in this tournament took place only 8 days later. Their two recent defeats both came in the cup arena, so they do not fully reflect their strength, but coincide with the time Man City accelerated, making the prospects gloomy.
Now is the time for Arteta to prove his bravery. All his words and actions in the coming weeks can determine success or failure, no less important than David Raya's saves, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba's tackles, or the creativity of Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres.
Before the match against Southampton, when Arteta said the players would use the defeat in the Carabao Cup final as motivation, it was like recalling pain rather than creating inspiration. Such statements made people feel that he was trying to persuade himself more.
That is not the usual statement from Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho or Alex Ferguson at the decisive moment of the season. Arteta is still a young coach trying to assert himself. Unlike Mourinho or Guardiola, he does not have a major title base to lean on.
However, Arsenal still has many positive points. They scored the most goals (61), conceded the fewest goals (22), won the most matches (21) and lost the fewest (3) in the Premier League this season. In the Champions League, Arsenal also avoided the difficult bracket with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool.
Just five more victories, they can win the first European championship in history. The important thing is that Arteta must maintain composure, choose a reasonable squad and send the right message amidst the pressure surrounding them.
It sounds simple. But that is the boundary between glory and failure.
