The Gunners pushed hard once again but came up short, ending a challenging campaign with no trophies to show for it. But for all the progress, questions remain. How do Arsenal take that final step? Can Arteta finally deliver silverware next season—or will expectations start to outweigh patience? We spoke to Jack Abela of LondonWorld to look back on Arsenal’s season—and what it means for Arteta going forward.
00:00Now the Gunners pushed hard once again but came up short ending a challenging campaign with no trophies to show for it.
00:10There's no denying the strides made. Arsenal were consistent, competitive and played some of the league's most attractive football.
00:19Standout performers like Declan Rice, William Saliba and Bakayo Saka underlined their quality throughout while Martin Udegaard continued to grow as a leader.
00:30But for all the progress, questions remain. How do Arsenal take that final step?
00:34Can Arteta finally deliver silverware next season or will expectations start to outweigh patience?
00:41We spoke to Jack Abella of London World to look back on Arsenal's season and what it means for Arteta going forward.
00:51So Jack, let's have a bit of a season reflection. Let's start with the Champions League journey.
00:57Obviously, it was pretty incredible really and it sort of hit any burdens of the past journeys that they've had and they fell short in the Champions League.
01:06Where do you think, you know, Arsenal fans hold this Champions League journey?
01:09Obviously, it was so close to reaching another final.
01:13But, you know, at the end of the day, they have broken some, you know, curses that they've had as of late over the last sort of 10 or so more years.
01:22To actually get as far as they did was still a fantastic achievement.
01:25What's the sort of emotions like at the Emirates? Is it mixed emotions? Is it maybe a bit of a missed opportunity?
01:32Or do they feel incredibly proud? Because PSG, you know, make no bones about it.
01:36They beat Liverpool. They're looking like the odds on favourites to go and win it as well.
01:40They've probably been the best team in Europe throughout the entire season.
01:43Yeah, like I said, I think it's mixed. I think obviously it's the first semi-final that Arsenal got to in 20 years, which in itself is an achievement.
01:53If you look at since Mikel Arteta has been at the club, you know, they finished eighth a couple of times.
01:58Then they got Champions League and they made the quarterfinal last year, lost to Bayern Munich, made the semi-final this year.
02:06So in terms of that, you could say it's progress. I mean, I was lucky enough to be at the game for that, for the game against Real Madrid.
02:15And I think that 3-0 victory and the 2-1 at the Bernabeu as well will live long in the minds of Arsenal fans.
02:23And, you know, that in itself was an incredible performance, an incredible team display and a kind of snapshot into what this team can do.
02:31And I think once the season ends and Arsenal fans can look back and reflect when maybe when emotions have simmered down,
02:38that Arsenal, you know, have made a semi-final of the Champions League.
02:41The club and the squad gave fans that special moment against Madrid.
02:46You know, that is a positive. However, you know, it was a chance to win some silverware.
02:50It's not every season you can get yourself into the semi-final.
02:53You know, teams like Man City and Liverpool, you know, big rivals for Arsenal had been knocked out.
02:59We were the last English team in it and it felt like it could be a season, despite our league form dropping off,
03:06where Arsenal could go and have a good crack at the Champions League.
03:09But I think where the disappointment really comes in is how the Premier League form has dropped off.
03:15And I think that it made the Champions League knockout a little bit more sour for Arsenal fans.
03:23Yeah, I mean, if you look at the title race throughout the season, you know, obviously now the race for Champions League,
03:29the race for Europe is incredibly tight.
03:30But in terms of the top two, you have to look back on this season and think it was a massive opportunity.
03:37You know, you had Manchester City who'd just won four titles on the bounce and they suddenly dropped off.
03:41They've had a terrible season by their standards.
03:43You know, no one else was really challenging.
03:46Yes, Liverpool have done a great job.
03:48But Arsenal, as you say, they won 28 games last campaign, only 18 in 36 games this season.
03:54That's just not enough.
03:55And you feel that they did have that same form last season, they'd have probably stormed to the title.
04:01Yeah, I mean, it's a tough one.
04:04I think it's a combination of many things.
04:06Because I think the way we dropped off, you know, Arteta and the players kept saying that, you know,
04:12they were still in the title race until it was mathematically impossible.
04:15But I think, you know, really, you could tell when Liverpool got to that kind of nine points clear,
04:21that focus started to get on the Champions League almost half the season.
04:25And, yeah, that would have played a part as well.
04:30There's been injuries to Saka and Erdegaard and Gabriel, the centre-back as well.
04:34So that has played a part.
04:36But really, I think the main thing is we've just drawn too many games and lacked that firepower up top,
04:41which maybe Arsenal will rectify in the summer window.
