Premier League leaders Arsenal were without any European football at the Emirates Stadium last season, a fate that seems destined to be bestowed upon London rivals Chelsea next campaign.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have gone from strength to strength since finishing narrowly outside of the European spots in 2020/21. Just one point behind their famed foes Tottenham, the Gunners ended the season in eighth - but did add a record 14th FA Cup to their trophy cabinet.
For Chelsea though, their Champions League exit on Tuesday guaranteed them no silverware this season to twist the knife in a cataclysmic campaign, the first under their new ownership group headed by Todd Boehly.
Leaving Europe’s most coveted club competition is also likely to end any hopes of a campaign on the continent next season. The Blues are currently 10 points behind Brighton in seventh, meaning a spot in the conference is far out of reach.
Frank Lampard, acting as an interim-manager after the sacking of Graham Potter, suffered home and away defeats to Champions League holders Real Madrid - and to make it four losses from four, causing even more uncertainty about who will be in the West London dugout next season.
Boehly and Co may reference the Arteta project as a way to entice an elite manager through the doors at Cobham for the following campaign. 2021/22 saw no European football being played at the Emirates for the first time since 1995-96 in Arteta’s second full campaign as a manager.
It allowed a fresh start as the Spaniard guided the youngest side in the league back into European competition - but they again finished narrowly behind their rivals, this time finishing fifth, two points behind Spurs.
However, it allowed Arteta's young guns to shine away from the spotlight of Champions League football. Ligue 1’s young player of the year, William Saliba, played in the Europa Conference League with fellow Arsenal loanee Matteo Guendouzi at Marseille. The 6’4” centre-back ultimately helped the French side to Champions League qualification.
For Arsenal though it was to be the Europa League spot that their league campaign ended in. January exits from both domestic cup competitions, in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup against Liverpool and the third round of the FA Cup after a 1-0 loss against Nottingham Forest, meant Arsenal had fewer fixtures than most in the season's latter stages.
However, it was the signings that Arteta completed at the beginning of last season that has ultimately helped him build a challenging squad. In July 2021, Arsenal completed the signing of Ben White to immediately slot into their first team. Then, on August 20, announced that they would be making the signing of Martin Odegaard permanent - and Aaron Ramsdale would be joining him at the Emirates.
Arteta’s masterstroke was not only the players he brought in, it was the players under his tutelage that he elevated. With 41 Premier League goal contributions between them this season, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka showcased their potential to breakthrough to international superstardom in the previous campaign.
“What I see is not only Saka but young boys with incredible enthusiasm and passion for this club, that are really willing to bring success,” said Arteta on Saka and Martinelli in December 2021. “They are dealing with a lot of difficult situations in a great way.
"That shows as well the education they had, the background environment, the families they have and how supportive the club have also been with them throughout their careers. It is not normal at that age to be able to do what they have been doing.”
Saka, who was coming off the back of a difficult summer following his World Cup final penalty miss, featured in every single Premier League fixture in 2021/22, and racked up an impressive 11 goals and seven assists over the campaign. He has already bettered his tally for both this season with 12 goals and 10 assists under his belt, with seven games still to go.
Arteta put his faith into the youth players, but it is his view that it is not down to his coaching that they have become successful.
“For me, how much I coach them is less important than the environment that they grew up with. They needed that and now they have the perfect place to grow.
“That is why they are growing because they have the senior players doing what they have to do, they have the culture that is set, people who are really genuine and willing to help them and a club that is fully supportive and willing to give them opportunities.
“This is what they need to fulfil their potential. For me this is the reason why they are doing it, not because of the coaching.”
To the credit of Lampard, in his first stint as Chelsea manager he did make an increased effort to bring through players who were educated on the culture of the club. Trevoh Chalobah, Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi were all graduates of Cobham that Lampard showed his faith in.
Under the new ownership, though, it is still uncertain on what the culture actually is. Boehly’s solution of throwing money at any and every issue has done nothing other than cement a £600m spend to achieve nothing more than one of the worst seasons in Chelsea’s history.
With an ever increasing wage bill given to incoming players on long term contracts, Chelsea should look at their near-neighbours pathway of culling their more senior players as soon as possible.
In the window following their fallout from European football, the Gunners faithful waved goodbye to David Luiz, Willian. In the winter, Sead Kolasinac and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang followed them out the exit door. Three more joined in the summer with Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette and Bernd Leno moving on to pastures new - along with Lucas Torreira and Guendouzi.
The fire sale required to make up for the financial blow of Chelsea missing out on Europe could be led by England internationals Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher who have suitors across the country.
N’Golo Kante’s future is also up for debate with his contract expiring in the summer, with Mateo Kovacic also entering the final year of his contract at the end of the season meaning a decision has to be made there.
Out-of-favour Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech are all but certain to leave in the summer which will free up some squad space. Another bit-part player, Christian Pulisic, has also been a topic of conversation with some doubts over whether his future will be in blue.
And, while it may pose as a frustrating summer for Chelsea fans, it could also be one which allows them to build a future like Arsenal have.
