Can Arsenal challenge for trophies next season?

Can Arsenal challenge for trophies next season?

By Alec McQuarrie
Forget transition, before last night's defeat against Tottenham, it had been a season of real progression at The Emirates.
Two eighth-place finishes under Arteta have given way to potentially qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2016.
Some may say it was the least fans should be expecting after Arsenal spent more than any other side in Europe last summer – a hefty £145m.
And a further outlay will be needed in this transfer window.
Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny are all out of contract, while rumours about exits for Granit Xhaka and Nicolas Pepe have continued to swirl.
It is also no secret that Arsenal need to strengthen in central midfield and upfront.
But if Mikel Arteta gets his preferred targets in these positions, can we expect Arsenal to be challenging for the top prizes next year?

Can it be done? 

The simple answer is yes.
Arteta proved that he can win trophies when he delivered the club's fourth FA Cup in seven years at the end of his first season in North London.
The domestic knock-out competitions are always a possibility for a club with the stature of Arsenal.
After all, if clubs like Birmingham, Swansea, Wigan, Portsmouth and Tottenham can pick up domestic trophies this century, the Gunners have no excuse.
On the other hand, with some form of European football next season and a winter hiatus for the World Cup, Arsenal's squad will need significant reinforcements to challenge on all fronts.
As for the Premier League and Champions League?
Well, that is a different proposition altogether.
If Arteta's men get over the line in the race for Champions League qualification, it will be a tough ask to reach the Ataturk Stadium at the end of May 2023.
It is a tough ask, but not an impossible one.
Knock-out competitions regularly throw up surprises, and Europe's premier competition is no exception.
Out of the last ten winners, only four sides finished top of their league that year: Bayern Munich (2019/20 and 2012/13), Barcelona (2014/15) and Real Madrid (2016/17).
Chelsea, who won the Champions League in 2012 and 2021, finished sixth and fourth, respectively.
Their unlikely win over Bayern Munich came less than a week after they finished with an unexceptional 64 points total in the Premier League.
And Liverpool went one worse back in 2005, with a fifth-place finish and just 58 points to their name.
So, stranger things have happened despite Arsenal's relative lack of European pedigree.

Conclusion

It might seem counter-intuitive to claim that the Gunners have a better chance of winning the Champions League than the Premier League.
But unfortunately, a first league title since 2004 might just be out of reach.
However, this is more a reflection on the strength of Manchester City and Liverpool than a criticism of Arteta's Arsenal.
Not since Leicester miraculously won the league in 2016 has a team finished top with fewer than 86 points.
And Arsenal would need a miracle of similar proportions to topple Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, whose league-winning sides amassed 98, 99 and 100 points between 2017 and 2020.
The standard has been set, and the bar lifted, with the pair looking sure to breach the 90-point barrier once again – a feat no club managed for seven seasons before Chelsea's latest title in 2017.
That is not to say Arsenal have no hope of lifting the Premier League next May.
Slip-ups do happen, and the extent to which freak injury crises can affect a team cannot be understated, as Liverpool proved last season.
But City look unstoppable, especially with the imminent arrival of a certain Norwegian.
Arsenal have taken huge strides of progress this season, and there is nothing to suggest these strides will halt.
Having said that, winning the Premier League might be a step too far.
Photo Credit: Getty Images 

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