Can Arsenal afford to not win the Premier League next season? I do not think they can. The Gunners just have to win the league for Mikel Arteta’s sake. The North Londoners have come so close to winning the league twice in a row, but they have failed to do so. Drawing games and losing games they should have won have held them back.
For the time being, most Gunners have agreed that it is simply them being unlucky, but that can’t be an excuse next season. Next season, if it doesn’t end in PL glory, I’m convinced the question of whether we can win this thing under Arteta will arise.
Lionel Messi recently admitted, “If you go by results, Real Madrid is the best. If you go by the level of the game, I think Manchester City is the best.”
🗣️ Messi: "If you go by results, Real Madrid is the best. If you go by level of the game, I think Manchester City are the best." pic.twitter.com/hxcNZevd9e
— Barça Worldwide (@BarcaWorldwide) June 7, 2024
And after hearing such claims, I wondered whether it wasn’t evident that beating City is all about aiming for results rather than trying to outperform them. For a results-oriented team, you need players who think like winners and go all out to win.
The ex-goalie told the Telegraph, “Arteta has done really well bringing Arsenal up but if he is the right man for Arsenal now … I am not sure. Because you need to prove it. We could have won [the league] twice. Last year they were leading and in one month [April] they lost it [three draws and one defeat]. The culmination was when [Bukayo] Saka missed the penalty against West Ham at 2-0 up and it was a draw. It was two points.
“What people who hire coaches sometimes don’t understand is that the personality of the coach is super important as well. Look at the personality of the coach. Is he a winner or is he a nice guy who brings you to a certain level and then it is over?”
If Arsenal fails to win the league next season, as Jens Lehmann’s comments suggest, questions will arise about whether Mikel Arteta is the man to take Arsenal to the top.
Darren N
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Lehman is right if we don’t win the league next season then questions needs to be asked. Simple.
Questions should have been asked 2 seasons ago. Just sayin…🤔
Questions will always be asked but no one on earth expect us to challenge for the league 2 seasons ago. This is more reason why pple don’t respect Arsenal fans. Some of us think we own football. The development of this team was fast forwarded by this said coach. Are you telling me Klopp ought to be sacked before they eventually won the league?
@Tim
Who are these fictitious peoples who don’t respect the opinions of AFC fans/suppoters? And questions need to be asked whenever we fall short, or in real speak “choke”. Looking back on it and saying”Oh well, no one expected us to win anyway” is not acceptable.
If you check non-Arsenal fan forums and other general football media there are many who wonder what some Arsenal fans are smoking.
Such as? Care to share a link to back up your statement?
You don’t have to check other forums David, just stay with JustArsenal and wonder what actual Arsenal fans are smoking!!
Google ‘Usain Bolt wanted Man City to win the PL’, and he’s a Man Utd fan.
I have to admit as a Goober we are not the most humble and come out with some outrageous statements
There’s many on social media who don’t respect the views of Arsenal fans. Even the great athlete, Usain Bolt said he wanted Man City to win the PL, and he’s a Man Utd fan 😲
Excuse me, Klopp and Arteta don’t compare at all. Since when was Liverpool league Champion before Klopp, but they always found away into UefaCL, whichever Coach was there, where their winning rate is highly impressive.
Jens comment is appropriate for me, however, it will be a miracle for Arteta and Arsenal to win next season. The two seasons were almost three horses race, am sure it will change next season. Chelsea and ManU sacked their managers for not challenging in the League, but they tried in the Cups.
It’s not really clear what you are saying. “Questions” are being asked all the time.
A weakened Man City team still somehow managed to win the league last season. The sale of Mahrez and Gundogan hit them really hard but people might have not noticed it because they won the league.
If City goes 38-0-0 to our 37-1-0 I will not question MA.
But they didn’t.
Man C four PL titles in a row, and six out of last seven means they are probably the best PL team the PL has seen
yes there are the 115 charges but there is nothing we can do about that
this collective players, manager, staff etc is simply the best ever
i like the comment ‘sack Klopp because he didn’t win PL last two seasons’, probably best team and manager Liverpool have had in 30 years and drawn a blank 4 years in a row, Arteta is year 2 in realistic challenge
finishing second to Spurs, Villa, Newcastle, Leicester…then fair enough, but sometimes we have too accept we are beaten by (not lost to) a true worthy champion, no disgrace in that
and i think that is the difference, there is no disgrace for Arteta or Arsenal in the way we performed to come second to Man C in PL 23/24, so for me no case to change the manager
i think we sometimes ignore the performance, new Arsenal records for most wins and most goals scored in a PL season
a record breaking season that anyone but this Man C (best in PL history) probably would have won us the title
i think Arsenal coming second is more about just how damn good Man C are than Arteta
Some ex players and fans have unrealistic expectations. Finishing a close second to possibly the best team in the world is quite an achievement, and not a reason to ask questions of the manager and coaches.
The only question being asked should be…would you please sign right here?
If you take into account the money spent by Chelsea and United as well we should be happy with 4th really. I feel people use how much we have spent to say we should be winning the title the dont look at how much United and Chelsea have spent to not even get top 4
Lehmann was at Arsenal during a golden era when the team and Wenger were in their pomp and regardless of the reasons why, it has been a very long time since we won the league.
There was a degree of uncertainty during the last knockings of Wenger’s reign, the year and a half of Emery and Arteta taking on his first managerial role. We have during the last two years, taken huge strides towards returning to being a talked about club and for the right reasons.
As mentioned before, finishing second again for the 3rd time should not automatically begin calls for a review. It would be the manner in which we finished second (although finishing lower than second would ring alarm bells)
I like how we’re constantly moving the bar when we fall short and using MC as the excuse for why we did. SMDH…🤔
Afternoon NYG
I am sure you know how many of the last 8 EPL titles that City have won? Where is the bar being moved from and to where? Klopp managed one title in his 8/9 years at Liverpool which shows exactly how good Pep has been and with the benefit of many of the world’s best players at his disposal.
Real talk SueP.
😂
Very politely put Sue😉.
😇
@Sue P
Good afternoon Sue.
What I mean is, we’re not taking responsibility for our own shortcomings. Im not trying to take anything away from Pep and his team, I can’t. They are and have been for awhile, the benchmark. That’s because they do what “they” have to do. Whereas it seems Arteta is doing the same thing and hoping for a different and or better outcome. City had zero to do with our capitulation 2 seasons ago. They kept on doing what they had to do. We came up short once again last season, yet City is mentioned once again. As if their dominance of the league is somehow to blame for us stumbling to get over the finish line before them.
When Leicester City won the title, no one gave it much thought or mention, but we were the only team to do the double over them. Regardless of anyone else’s expectations, they didn’t let that hinder them from doing what they had to do. And they did. Just sayin…
*Btw. Klopp came in 2015 season, then went on to win the CL in 2019 after being runners up the previous year.
From one season to the next particularly in the last 2-3 seasons there has been improvement at Arsenal. To suggest that we have not tried to address shortcomings is remarkably harsh.
City have set the benchmark for years. It was 3 years ago that they bought their first £100m player and followed that up with the best striker in world football a year later. Amongst all this they already had world class players all over the pitch and replaced outgoing top class players with other top players.
This is in a league in which we are both competing and 2 seasons ago no-one could have thought that we would be challenging for the PL. Suggesting that the presence of MC in this league is not relevant to the outcomes of other teams does not make sense.
Leicester won the PL with 81 points. Is your point then that if that Leceister was competing with the current version of MC they would simply have done what they needed to do to win the PL?
@David
If you keep using the excuse that we will never win the league or out do City, because the are the better team. Then we will forever remain in their shadow. Bd how exactly have we addressed our shortcomings? Our lack of player rotation and tactics still see us falling short. My point about LC stands. They did what they had to do, at that time and didn’t worry about what any other team, regardless of league standing was doing. And it worked for them. Just saying…
NYG
City are much further ahead in their development. It took them a few years as well to reach where they are now. They took their pickings of many first class players on the way up. It was like a smash and grab raid in the league as they helped themselves to pretty much who they wanted without the same rules that apply today.
You talk of rotation, but that only works successfully if you have better players throughout the squad. Based on the injuries we had during last season, did Nketiah stake his claim? Trossard did but Martinelli hasn’t recovered his best form. It’s not as easy as it looks.
Personally, I don’t think you can compare Leicester to any other winner of recent years. It was a glorious achievement but they were unable to remain competitive afterwards , so were one hit wonders.
The task for Arteta is to remain competitive next season and be in the mix at the end.
It’s not lack of rotation but limited quality that is our issue. Also, no-one has ever stated that we will never win the league. The level of sustained high level performance required to win the league however now is much higher than it was during Leicester run to the title. Using their PL success in any kind of discussion needs to take into account the context in which this happened.
Their points total was amongst the lowest in a decade to win the PL. We were 10 points behind so saying they didn’t worry about others is rather a moot point.
It’s your opinion anyway but don’t forget we don’t have the financial prowess of Man city. If you’re judging Arteta based on money spent, the market is now inflated compared to when Mancity built their team. Saying Arsenal spent more than Mancity in the last 4-5 years is total rubbish. We don’t have the players to rotate like Mancity. Let’s be realistic, we over achieved, thanks to Arteta and our players. We would have won the last 2 epl if we have a stronger bench
Interesting comment NY_Gunner, but the goals posts have been moving for years now. Finishing 8th twice and out of Europe for first time in 2 decades and excuses were made, where Wenger and Emery has none.
People also ignore our abysmal run of Domestic cups under Arteta. We cheer his FA Cup with players he discarded, but then ignore his embarrassing results over the last couple years.
It is not just about “how close we are to City,” but also aspects managers are judged on.
1. Have we improved as a squad?
2. Are we reaching our goals?
3. How are we financially with transfers in and out?
4. Are we making the best use of player resources like academy players, rotation, and depth?
We have been in Checkbook managing mode last few years, with spending as the solution to every problem. Now is when the “coaching” sets in; can we develop players and get the most out of individuals and our team?
@Durand
👍🏾
Yes, because we’re competing against another top, quality check book manager.
As for the other claims the answers are positive
It all depends on Pep / Man City. Arteta has got to continue staying as close to Pep as possibl, because with Pep at the helm and on form then every pretender has got to be newr perfect because one slip up and that is normally it.
Arteta and the rest just have to continue staying close to Pep / City then you might get lucky one in a while if City slip up..
But Arteta has got to also improve his Cup game record. He has been absolutely terrible in Cup game since the FA cup win in 2020. Lets go all the way in the FA cup or at least Semi Finals in tge CL.
I don’t want Mikel to stay as close to Pep as he can, I want him to be ahead of him.
The results against city last season, proved he is doing just that in the one on one scenario.
What Pep does, which Mikel hasn’t yet been able to do, is ensure that he gets results, even when playing badly, on a consistent basis.
Pep has singled out The Arsenal and MA on many occasions as his main challenger to city115’s dominance.
Being content to hang on to Pep’s coat tails is a defeatist attitude and I’m certain the club, MA, the players and most of the fans don’t have that attitude.
@Ken
It’s not a defeatist attitude, it’s just being honest, realistic and objective. It’s all well and good telling oneself that you can or will do something and actually doing / achieving it.
Posturing and chest thumping make difference on the field..
For example: During the Messi / C.Ronaldo era, I don’t care whatever winners attitude/ posturing any player or striker adapted, they weren’t going to outscore those two players or win the Ballon d’or 9 out of 10. That’s not them being defeatists but realists..
Same with Man City under Pep with the whole Oil rich Abu Dhabi funding them. You are always going to be the underdogs. Pep is a monster manager.
Just acknowledging reality, being honest and objective does not equate to defeatism..
I don’t engage in Make Believe, self incredulity or self delusion. I try to look at things in a much more mature / realistic sense..
Arteta has got to first of all show that he can finish ahead of Pep and also Pep has got to show that everyone else in the league has caught up to him in order for me to start changing my mind about the whole situation.
Even a great manager in Klopp could only dislodge Pep once in nearly 10 years he was at Liverpool.
That’s why I keep saying that all current EPL manager can do is keep right next to Pep and you might be the lucky one to pick up the bone if Pep drops it once in a blue moon. Leicester under Ranieri and Liverpool under Klopp did just that.. Try to stay on Pep’s cocktails for as long as possible.
I am acknowledging reality Goonster.
We should have beaten city115 to the title in the last two seasons, they were hanging on to our coat tails not the opposite.
We took four points out of six in the PL last season.
We beat them at Wembley in the Community Shield.
How are we hanging on to them on a one on one basis?
It’s the fact that MA has not yet fathomed out how to ensure we don’t drop points when playing badly, while Pep has.
If we have to wait for Pep to leave before Mikel can become successful and Pep decides to sign a five year contract, are you saying that’s fine, as long as we finish second and hope that he slips up along the way?
He hasn’t done that for four years, it was The Arsenal who slipped up.
So what kind of contract should we be offering Mikel then?
Lehman raises a crucial issue: Can Arteta motivate the team to win titles or perform in high-pressure games when there’s a lot at stake? Against Bayern, we played with too much fear and anxiety and were eliminated by a relatively weak side. For two seasons in a row, with winnable fixtures, we’ve ended up failing at the critical moments. Last season, we only got comfortable when we were overtaken and no longer had the pressure of Man City breathing down our necks. Arteta must prove he can motivate the team when playing under pressure. Otherwise, we will be perennial bottlers.
That is EXACTLY the point I was making with regards to playing badly SS!!
“perennial bottlers”
wow, from our own supporters
what I saw in the PL run-in this season was steely determination putting performance after performance, win after win, adding to goal difference, finishing the season so strongly, replicating the sort of form Man C have made a habit of
Arsenal finished the PL season superbly strongly, motivated by the manager in to a winning machine
our PL 2024 stats of 13 win, 1 loss and 1 draw is outstanding by any measure and the exact opposite to “perennial bottlers”
I think that you make important points and to a large extent I agree
Most important about last year was the overall better mentality on display. Yes, we should have done better against BM but I am prepared to give them all the benefit of the doubt for this past season only. Our European pedigree is poor, but I expect Arteta and the team to have learned from their experiences last time out and be more confident
That exactly the point most of us sensible people are making.
Just to confirm, I didn’t say we were bottlers when I agreed with SS – it was the point about fear and anxiety versus city115 that I was seconding.
There’s no way we bottled it last season no way whatsoever.
No we didn’t Ken1945 👍
I agree with Lehman to some certain extent but then why would you question Arteta if he finishes second in the Epl and he wins the champions league?
Many times though Arteta leaves alot to be desired about his competence with the way he fields his team.The obvious erratic decisions he made last season like benching Maghaeles,Partey at R.b,Havertz in midfield and Zinchenko as L.b makes me think he isn’t yet at the Arsenal level and he must really improve in that aspect .
His disastrous cup results must also improve.This will only happen if he assembles a team with adequate depth, rotates his players appropriately, then he should stop fielding players on favouritism but on merit. No more time for unnecessary experiments, we need a trophy.
@Cliff
👍🏾
I never thought the day would come when I have to defend Mikel Arteta! These words from Lehmann are mental. I respect his decision, as he would know better than I how much a coach’s temperament can affect a dressing room, but unless you’re Pep and your first job is with the greatest midfield to have ever played together along with the best player of all-time, most managers have to go through a period of not winning before they do.
Arteta has brought this team to within a few points of winning two years running, and last season went to the final day. But now he’s not good enough? Let’s also take into consideration that he has done this with a largely inferior first XI to City and a much inferior squad. People saying he has to win next season or go are utterly clueless and have lost a grip on reality.
Since when does any team have a right to win and failing to do so is unacceptable and should require a change of manager? Arsenal fans and the board alike should be grateful we are back playing at such a high level and not only competing for the major trophies again every year but actually coming within a few points of winning the hardest league in European football.
Arteta drives me mad with some of his decisions but he has got a team of young players and cast-offs challenging for the Premier League against the best team to have ever played in it! But he gets one more year and has to go if he doesn’t win it? Utterly unhinged and everyone who thinks he should has lost their mind.
@Ben do you think Arteta has done some mistakes that he should correct?
Absolutely, Cliff. Arteta is far from perfect but what he has achieved with players I consider to largely be inferior to those at City and even Liverpool to an extent, at least in some positions is sensational.
Of course, he has brought in a lot of those players I mentioned as being inferior to those of our rivals, and he has had some shockers in the transfer market already for such a young manager.
But my biggest gripe with Arteta is his appalling squad usage and lack of player rotation that has seen players such ESR just sit on the bench game after game with hardly any time being given to him. I consider this treatment of a player that has shown his worth utterly unforgivable, and moreover completely at odds with how to get the best out of a squad of players.
There are too many games for the first XI to play all of them, even for the more supreme athletes in the team such as Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, so squad rotation is critical and Arteta just doesn’t do it at all and it hurts the players and the team.
Thank you Ben.
The thin lines between success and failure in this competitions means that Arteta must minimise his error margins for us to attain our desired goal.
The number of obvious mistakes he commits is what makes me wonder. I hope he has learnt enough and next season there surely must be some difference.
You would hope so, Cliff. We have seen year-on-year improvements both in the squad and its performance and also in Arteta’s approach. I do not doubt his coaching and technical acumin it’s just his squad management that is holding us back I feel.
A Soccer Fans Personality is the Same ad His Club. Chelsea Fans just want Winning by all means. Stubbornness and instant success and results. Cost does not matter. Manchester United Fans believe The World was made for them.That they are Royalty. That they are the Best. No matter they must come out with a Result even if it is not the Best at the moment. They are Proud. O Arsenal Fans they Believe that there is a Right and Proper Way of doing things.They Believe in Perfection . They don’t mind Losing as long as they do things in a Perfect manner and give their Best. They love Being Entertained. Patience and Very Intelligent and Confident. Loud and easy moved by Results. But the Winning Mentality must come to Arsenal because some of US Believe in Good Success and taking use of your Opportunities and Chances.Times and Seasons comes with Chances and Opportunities. In the Future I would love Arsenal to have a Coach like Mourhino
@Prophet
You ruined your positive statement with your last sentence!
Really ruined it 😂
I respect legends but why do so many explayers feel the need to be negative or undermining towards the current Arsenal manager and players (should literally anyone care wtf the worst captain in Gooner history has to say about Arsenal, not Mad Jens btw)? If we dont win big soon then say whatever you want. What is the point of saying this now? Other than envy, trying to stay relevant, etc? COYG!
yes i agree,💯 bc arteta is not winner bc his transfer is so damn if zirkzee is our signing how we think to coup with city
People who are raising questions on Arteta, I have a few questions to them.
1. If you think Man City is a better team than Arsenal, and Pep a better manager than Arteta, does that mean, no matter what Arteta does with the squad and tactics, it will always fall short of Man city with Pep? So, are you asking Arteta to be sacked next year if he fails to do the impossible? Now, it’s you lot who clearly state how superior Man city squad and Pep are to Arsenal squad and Arteta all the time, and also project that it will remain the same in the future. You yourself make it look impossible and also ask for someone to be punished for not achieving the impossible. Hmm.
2. If it’s an impossible task, and if Arsenal again finishes second next season, will bringing another manager change anything? Considering the fact that Arsenal will never have as much funds as City and so will perpetually have an inferior squad to Man City. So, does changing managers and beginning a regime of yet another rebuild change anything at all?
3. The “sensible” ones here are calling Arteta a spending manager and want him to coach and nurture the academy players more and still want him to topple a manager in Pep, who is himself a buying manager for the most part. The only academy player he promoted to the first team successfully is Foden. Very curious. It’s clearly evident in modern football, you can have either a winning team which is bought, or a team full of academy products that can compete with the top teams like Wenger did for years, but without winning the league. Now that’s a realistic statement. You can only have one thing!
So, the question is, what do you want for Arsenal? An academy nurturer or a winning coach? If it’s the latter, what’s wrong with Arteta buying his players to win?
And regarding the article, I think Arteta being a player from the not-so-prestigious era of Arsenal football, these past invincible era players will always look down upon him, no matter what he does.
If we had an invincible era player as a manager currently and if Arsenal had managed to get the same results past 2 seasons, my god what the reactions from these players would be. The praises would never end. They would make the manager seem like the second coming of Jesus Christ.