Arsenal's Title Window Is Now - And The Numbers Prove It

Forbes

29-05-2025

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard (centre) celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game with ... More team-mates during the Premier League match at St Mary's Stadium, Southampton. Picture date: Sunday May 25, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)
It was hard to argue that Arsenal didn't outplay eventual Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain for large parts of the two sides' semi-finals.
As boss Mikel Arteta pointed out after the second leg, the Gunners failed to get the goals their performances deserved due to a lack of cutting edge and an outstanding goalkeeper.
'We were very close, much closer than the result showed, but unfortunately we are out,' said Arteta.
'I am very proud of the players, 100% I don't think there's been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out.
'When you analyze both games, who has been the best player? The MVP has been the same player, the goalkeeper.
'And the Champions League is decided in the boxes and it's won the game for them because obviously after 20 minutes, and what happened in London as well, the result should have been very different.
'So I can take a lot of positives and I'm very proud of the team. We have to arrive in the competition at this stage with the full squad, full available, in the best condition. We haven't got that, so let's put that aside.
'Still, the team I've seen today is probably one of the best, if not the best team in Europe.
'It gives me so much pride, but at the same time, I'm so upset, so annoyed that we didn't manage to do it. I see how much they wanted it because they were in tears. It hurts, but you have to deal with that.'
Delivered in his typically earnest manner, the Basque coach's comment about being the best team in Europe was soon derided by rival fans.
As they pointed out, could it possibly be true that a side dumped out of Europe's top competition was, in fact, superior?
But there was something to Arteta's suggestion. When the last four teams were drawn, it was hard to see a rival that outmatched the North Londoners. As he pointed out, the side's performances against PSG were excellent but ultimately inconsequential because they failed to score.
The coach must feel the same way about the Premier League, where the Gunners have gone from Manchester City's closest rival for the title to a distance behind this season's champions, Liverpool.
Undeniably, Arsenal was in a better position than their rivals when the season started but have failed to deliver on that potential.
Club legend Thierry Henry made this point during a recent appearance on the popular podcast Stick to Football.
'I'm not saying that I'm disappointed with Arsenal, but it's normal that people are raising questions now about what the team is doing,' he said.
'I understand that at the very beginning, you arrive, and it's not your team. You need, at the very least, three or four transfer windows to change everything that you want to.
'It takes time and you have to give a manager time to be able to implement what he wants to do.
'For the last three years, Arsenal have been in a situation where they should have at least brought one cup or [reached] a final.'
The best way to overcome a year of disappointment is, of course, to challenge again, which is precisely the thought on Arteta's mind.
When asked by journalists at the end of Arsenal's final game when he starts thinking about next season, he said: 'Now. Immediately.
'Yes, 100 per cent, because tomorrow we already have certain things that we are discussing and making decisions.
'Everything that is planned for pre-season and the first few weeks of the season is already done two, three months ago.
'So we are in a really good [place]. And the moment I start to think about that, I feel goosebumps and excitement. And this is a really good sign always.'
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 18: Declan Rice of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC ... More and Newcastle United FC at Emirates Stadium on May 18, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by)
Arsenal is in the beneficial position of still having some key players, like Bukayo Saka and William Saliba, who are still three or four years out from the typical late-20s peak years of soccer.
But the core of the team, from Gabriel at center-half to Ben White at right back, Declan Rice in the middle, and captain Martin Ødegaard in the number 10 role, the time is now. Statistics suggest that next season, they will be at the peak of their powers.
Arteta's job is to ensure that they can harness that to achieve the success they have been so close to achieving.
The timing couldn't be better regarding the state of the club's rivals. The most dominant club of the past decade, Manchester City, finds itself in a massive rebuild. At the same time, last season's champions, Liverpool, must demonstrate they can do what has proved so elusive for Premier League champions of the past and repeat the trick.
The age profile of Liverpool's key players compared to Arsenal skews much older. The team's spine: Alisson, Virgil Van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah are all approaching their mid-30s.
Arteta must recognise the opportunity, and Arsenal fans will hope that his post-season assessments provide the insights needed to get the club over the line.
After discussing his goosebumps about the next campaign, the North Londoner's boss explained his plans for the weeks ahead.
'With the coaches, we analyze everything, what we've done as a team, what we've done individually, put all the plans together that they are almost done, sit down with them, finalize a few things that still have to be planned out, decided timings of that and go for it,' he said.
He might not say it but the truth is next season the Premier League title is Arsenal's to lose.