Arsenal have faced criticism this season for how their campaign has come to an end and thoughts have already turned to next season where the hope will be they can challenge Manchester City again. Progression is the measure for many clubs that aren’t the Citizens.
For example, City now go into every single competition they enter as favourites. They’re just two wins away from securing a treble and they have to beat Manchester United and Inter Milan to achieve it; should they fail there’s an argument that despite winning the league they would’ve underachieved, which demonstrates the level Pep Guardiola’s side are regarded as being at.
Many of Arsenal’s critics would like to see them go further in cup competitions, with Mikel Arteta being scrutinised for not bringing silverware to the club since 2020. At the same time, the expectation will be to better compete with Man City for the title again next season and get closer or even, for some, to overtake them, which appears still some significant time away.
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To get some context on how difficult this is and perhaps the challenge that Arteta faces, Arsenal can look to City’s previous title rivals Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp was only once able to interrupt City’s title dominance in 2019/20 during the Covid-19-hit season.
However, their performances in the other competitions that season suffered. Their involvement in the Club World Cup after winning the UEFA Champions League the year prior meant their League Cup run was ended by Aston Villa in the quarter-final after they had to field an incredibly weak squad whilst the senior side was away beating Monterrey a day later and Flamengo in the final just three days after that.
In the FA Cup, it was Chelsea who dumped them out in the fifth round after a 2-2 draw with Shrewsbury Town in the fourth meant they were forced into a replay which they narrowly scraped through by a single goal at Anfield. In the Champions League, they were up against Napoli, Red Bull Salzburg and Genk, a favourable group that they won by pipping the Italian side to the top spot by a single point.
However, they were chucked out of the competition by Atletico Madrid, who won both the home and the away leg, finishing with a 4-2 aggregate score in the Spanish side's favour. These exits from domestic tournaments at early stages gave them a good run-in built from the foundation of dropping points in just one game until their 3-0 defeat to Watford in late February.
They’d drop points in a further four of the remaining 10 games but Man City were far off the pace in this campaign and Liverpool eased to the title. Yet their progression in those other competitions did suffer as a result.
This perhaps provides the perspective for Arsenal next season. Unless they add serious reinforcement, should they want to challenge City more successfully next season then their forays into the other competitions may, or may need to, suffer as a result.
Arsenal are progressing and have only progressed under Mikel Arteta. With the chances to move forward lessening the closer you are to the top, next season should reveal plenty about where the club can go now.
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