It was two words in the lengthy autopsy on what went wrong that revealed what was going on in Mikel Arteta’s mind in May.
The party line from within the club highlighted just how much Arsenal have accomplished in getting Manchester City up the wire. Besides, the north London club finished fifth the previous season – they last came second in 2015-16 under Arsene Wenger.
This was a stark improvement. But in reality, Arteta and his teammates knew they had spoiled a golden opportunity. It was in their hands – until they delivered three successive draws and an insult to City in April. They choked.
The following month, Arteta told Spanish newspaper Marca: “To this day, it still hurts me so bad that I didn’t win the Premier League after spending 10 months fighting City.
Mikel Arteta knows Arsenal must change the title after receiving financial support
Stan Kronk expects results after the investment. His team, the Denver Nuggets, won the NBA Finals in June
Arsenal beat the MLS All-Stars 5-0 thanks to a strong performance from the first team
There were three or four injuries against important players and from there everything got complicated.
When we had the full team, we were consistent. Once problems arise, we cannot be consistent.
The message was clear: the Premier League title can only be won with a bigger and stronger squad. The warning has been met with more attention by owner Stan Kroenke, who has since donated more than £200m in the past month.
Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice were all signed critically at the start of the window, giving players time to listen to the manager’s demands and plan how the league would recover this time around.
It translated with a great sense of optimism surrounding this club. While training near Washington, D.C., smiles and group bonding were common.
Rice, for example, has shown signs of leadership on and off the court this American tour, and is already clearly respected among this group.
After a 5-0 win over the MLS All-Stars in Washington, D.C., Arteta was elated as he said: ‘The idea is to be more unpredictable every year and more difficult for opponents to stop us. We have, especially in defense and midfield, many more options than we had last season.
Although not flashing optimism, the amount of pressure, which had already been heightened, is now intensified even more.
Declan Rice is the signing of the summer label and is already a captain in the Arsenal side
Jurrien Timber has signed a five-year deal in his £40m transfer from Dutch giants Ajax
Freshman Kai Havertz was on the scoring list against the MLS All-Stars and adds depth to the forward
When Kroenke invests heavily, he expects results. He also had a taste for winning big in several sports, bar football. Just look at the trajectory of other teams he has in various leagues across the United States.
In the past 17 months, three of his clubs have won major tournaments. The Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Rams, and Colorado Avalanche have won the NBA Championship, Super Bowl, and Stanley Cup, respectively.
Arteta knows he has to move on this season, especially now that he’s been given the tools he asked for. Although it is a challenge he will enjoy, which does not yet seem incomprehensible.
The All-Stars game saw the head coach give 21 players a chance in 90 minutes. Performance levels did not drop, nor was it felt that there were many second string players coming in to fill in the gaps.
There is indeed a deep strength in this squad that hasn’t been there in recent years, and which their league rivals – including Pep Guardiola’s City – will notice.
The new signings also showed at a glance why the Gunners were so sought after. Wood used unorthodox positions across the defensive line, Rice rallied his teammates in the correct positions, and Havertz put together his flying challenge nightmare from the previous day to put in a cohesive display.
The signs look really bright, but the desired goal is unquestionable.
There is a glimmer of optimism at Arsenal but this season they must make it happen after huge spending
