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Obviously Sunday didn’t pan out the way everyone at Arsenal wanted it to, but that shouldn’t take away from what was a remarkable season for the club – a season that saw them set new standards.
Mikel Arteta’s side ended the season with 89 points. Only the Invincibles in 2003-04 have ever amassed more during a 38-game season for the club. They won 28 out of 38 league games, which is a new club record in the Premier League era. They scored 91 league goals, again, more than they have ever scored in a Premier League campaign. And they had the best defence in the Premier League, only conceding 29 goals. Their final goal difference of +62 was their best since 1935 and since the turn of the year they dropped just five points, picking up 49 from a possible 54.
In 2024 they had a record of 18 games, 16 wins, one draw and one defeat. 54 goals scored, nine conceded. Those are simply incredible numbers by a team who in any other era would have been worthy champions with at least a couple of weeks to spare.
When you have gone on a run like that, it is obviously demoralising to end up empty handed. But I am absolutely convinced that there is success coming to Arsenal in the very near future. This team is too good for it not to bring major silverware to the Emirates. Missing out this season will only fuel their fire even more.
Mikel Arteta got on the microphone just after full-time against Everton and told every Arsenal fan not to be satisfied with second place. It was the message they all wanted to hear. Because they aren’t satisfied. They want to win the league and so does Arteta.
What he has done since arriving at Arsenal is remarkable. He has been the driving force that has completely transformed the club and he, along with Edu, has built a squad that has shown it can now go toe to toe with the might of Manchester City.
They will come back next season and they will have strengthened again in the market and I’m sure that they will deliver the sort of success that every Arsenal fan now craves.
Talks with happen between Arsenal and Mikel Arteta over a new contract this summer.
As he admitted himself a couple of weeks ago, all his focus over the last few months has been centred around the title race. His future has not been something he has been thinking about.
But that shouldn’t be a concern for fans. Yes, he now only has a year left on his contract, but I have no doubt that he will sign an extension before the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
Everyone at the club is on the same page at the moment. It’s a very happy marriage and I can’t see that changing any time soon.
Arteta will go away and spend some time with his family in Spain, as he always does immediately after a season, and then he will return and talks will begin over a new deal.
Arsenal will have to show that they match his desire to keep improving, but I’m sure they will do that and things will be wrapped up pretty swiftly.
The last thing Arteta will want ahead of such a big summer is any uncertainty at Arsenal and the longer he goes without signing, the more uncertainty will start to creep in.
New signings will want assurances that there aren’t going to be any changes at the club. Arteta is now a huge draw, as was shown by the fact Declan Rice was desperate to join last season so he could play under him.
Arsenal are aware of that and I can’t see any way he doesn’t stay. There have been tentative links to other clubs, especially Barcelona. But there is nothing in that right now. I’m sure he will go there one day, but not for a while yet. His immediate future is very much at Arsenal. He is well aware that the job in North London is far from done.
The whispers around Aaron Ramsdale and Newcastle have been circling for some time now. There has certainly been an expectation for the past couple of months that this is a move that could happen come the summer window, but I haven’t heard that anything has been agreed yet.
Ramsdale was quick to rubbish talk of any agreement last week, but I do think he will be on the move at some point over the next couple of months.
Obviously we have the Euros coming up and he will be away with England, so that could delay things and Arsenal also need to be confident that they can land a replacement before sanctioning any exit.
But I do think both things will happen. It’s a matter of when Ramsdale leaves, not if.
The key thing for Arsenal is getting value for money. I saw an initial fee of £15 million mentioned in reports last week and that is quite frankly ridiculous. Arsenal signed Ramsdale for nearly £30m two years ago and he has developed into a far better keeper since then.
He’s still young, he’s homegrown, an established England international and has a long-term contract. Yes, interested clubs will know that Arsenal’s stance in any negotiations will be weakened somewhat given he is now clearly behind David Raya in the pecking order, but that shouldn’t mean the club should basically give him away.
Ramsdale is a top class keeper and he’s shown that at Arsenal. When you look at what other keepers have moved for in the last couple of seasons, a bid of £15m shouldn’t even be one that Arsenal entertain.
I’m always sceptical when I hear of transfer stories linking Arsenal with players in Turkey. There are always so many of those types of stories and they never really come to fruition.
Ferdi Kadioglu is the latest to be linked, but I still believe Jorrel Hato remains the top target, should Arsenal look to strengthen the left side of defence.
The interest in Hato remains, despite him signing a new contract at Ajax, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they make an attempt to bring him in this summer.
He fits the bill of the type of player Arsenal like to sign and although he prefers to play as the left centre-back rather than as a left-back, I still wouldn’t rule it out.
The way Arsenal play now with Ben White inverting into midfield from the right, Arsenal tend to play with the left-back slotting in alongside Gabriel and William Saliba anyway.
The Premier League has lost one of the greats in Jurgen Klopp.
He’s been a superb addition to English football since 2015 and the way he raised the standards at Liverpool deserves huge credit.
English football is better off when Liverpool are strong and Klopp certainly made them formidable opponents following his appointment.
The fact that he only won one Premier League title while he was here was down to the strength of Manchester City, rather than anything he did wrong at Anfield.
How can you finish a season with 97 points like Liverpool did in 2019 and not win the league? That is truly incredible, but that is the standard that Manchester City have now set.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Liverpool will be worse off now Klopp has gone. I’m sure Arne Slot will do a decent job, but there has to be a period of adjustment now at Anfield. It’s something we always see when legacy managers leave.
I do see some similarities in what Arteta is building at Arsenal and what Klopp achieved at Liverpool. Like Klopp, Arteta has reshaped the squad completely and has built a young team that is vibrant and exciting. He has also reconnected the club and its fanbase.
Now the big challenge for Arteta is to hunt down and get past City. Klopp showed it can be done, even if he only managed it once. Arteta has to take on that mantle now for the good of English football.
If he doesn’t, then City look like they will have it easy until Guardiola leaves at least.
