Arsenal's 2022/23 campaign has been nothing short of remarkable.
Despite largely being predicted to finish outside the top four, the north Londoners currently sit on top of the Premier League table, six points clear of second-placed Manchester City. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has turned his team into serious title challengers, a hugely impressive job considering they are the second-youngest squad in the league behind bottom-of-the-table Southampton.
One pundit in particular has always been sceptical of their ceiling is Manchester United legend Gary Neville, who claimed that a top-four finish would be the best they could do under Arteta's tutelage. Speaking on The Overlap fan debate last year, Neville said: “I really like Mikel Arteta, I think he's a brilliant coach. I think the team is fantastic in terms of the young players they've got.
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“But it's interesting when you're in a cycle of a club and you depress the ambition and have a significant period of failure because you then get really happy about finishing fourth. I found myself saying that about Manchester United. But it's because of a depressed ambition.
"I think Mikel Arteta is a good operator. My concern is if Arsenal finish fourth this season – which to be fair, I think is 50/50, I still think there's a long way to in that race – but if they finish fourth, that's in some ways as good as it gets. Mikel Arteta is a brilliant coach, I love that we're seeing a team that he's getting the maximum out of, I can see exactly how he wants to play, we all can.
"But he gets to fourth [and] if he was really hard about it, he'd probably say ‘Right, that's the best I can do there, I'm going now and getting my next job’.” Of course, Arsenal eventually finished fifth, with local rivals Tottenham Hotspur pipping them to UEFA Champions League qualification.
But they have since proved the United hero to be significantly wrong considering they have a serious chance of winning this season's title. Now, former Aston Villa frontman Gabriel Agbonlahor has urged the Gunners to go out and make a statement signing in response to Neville's old comments being discussed.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor said: "That’s their ceiling [Neville said] – it’s like you [Laura Woods] said, Arsenal need to go again in the summer with transfers. Declan Rice, go and get him. Make a statement.”
West Ham United captain Rice continues is Arsenal's priority ahead of the summer transfer window, football.london understands as Arteta looks to strengthen his options in midfield. The 24-year-old has made it no secret of his desire to play in the Champions League next season, a competition that the north Londoners have all but qualified for.
Any potential move for Rice could potentially break the Gunners' current transfer record, which stands at £72 million, considering Hammers boss David Moyes said the 24-year-old was worth at least £100 million last year. "I said in the summer that I thought Declan Rice was £100 million", Moyes said when discussing the England international.
"That was the sales, that was cheap, that was your chance to get Declan Rice cheap."
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