Can Mikel Arteta finally end Arsenal's Premier League title drought?

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is searching to end a 20-year title drought for the Gunners. The last time they won the Premier League was during their 2003/04 invincible campaign under Arsene Wenger.

 
The Gunners recently suffered a 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa which has put a massive dent in their title chances, whilst they also crashed out of Europe.
 

However, they bounced back last weekend with a 2-0 win away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
 

Arsenal further extended their lead at the top to three points following a dominant 5-0 victory at home to London rivals Chelsea midweek

The highly-anticipated three-horse race for the Premier League title is hotting up as we approach the end of the 2023/24 campaign. As things stand, it is Arsenal who are leading the pack by three points but current champions Manchester City have two games in hand, whilst Liverpool have one.

Life has not been smooth sailing for Arsenal of late as their 2-0 defeat at home to Villa means their fate is no longer in their own hands. Equally, the Gunners exited the Champions League last week at the quarter-final stage following a 3-2 aggregate loss to Harry Kane and Bayern Munich.

All three title contenders are out of Europe so full focus is now on trying to lift the Premier League trophy. The Cityzens were also sent out of the Champions League after a penalty shootout loss to Real Madrid. Liverpool recently dropped points as well in an unexpected 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace, opening the door for City to win their fourth straight title.

After Jürgen Klopp announced that he will be leaving the Reds at the end of the season, Liverpool will be desperate to give their beloved German manager a final Premier League trophy.

Below, we will be breaking down Arsenal’s title hopes and taking a look at the final run-in. Plenty of twists and turns are expected as we see out the final few weeks of the season. It should be an exhilarating conclusion to the campaign!
 

Arsenal’s recent drop

Whether it’s down to fatigue or a widely perceived "lack of bottle", Arsenal have looked like they may be crumbling once more at the crucial stage of the season. Back-to-back defeats against Villa and Bayern have put a colossal dent in their aspirations.

The title isn’t lost yet but it now appears to be a much tougher task. It wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if City went on to win all of their remaining games. Even if Arsenal can go on and win all four of their remaining fixtures, which seems quite unlikely considering they have difficult away games coming up against north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, it may not be enough to end the drought.

In the two recent losses, Arsenal have not looked the same as they have over the majority of the campaign. Mistakes have started to creep in, there’s a lack of energy going forward, and the goals have dried up (until the Chelsea game that is).

Starboy Bukayo Saka has lost his elegance and panache over the last few matches, albeit he has been nursing plenty of knocks. Gabriel Jesus’ woes in front of goal have continued, whilst even Declan Rice looked off his game in Munich last Wednesday.

Some Arsenal fans have bemoaned Arteta's lack of rotation. It is a fine art to balance the squad, trying to find consistency and rhythm, whilst keeping the legs fresh. Perhaps it is a skill Mikel is yet to master.

Nevertheless, the Gunners have demonstrated a swift return to their standard practice over the majority of the season. They were never really troubled at Molineux last weekend, whilst their free-flowing attacking qualities were on full display as a Kai Havertz brace against his former club helped Arsenal to a vehement triumph over the Blues on Tuesday.

Arteta’s naivety?

If the Gunners fail to achieve their goals once again this term, it would appear that a trend is happening. In the final two months of the season, Arsenal falter. That is exactly what happened during the 2021/22 season, Arteta’s second full season in charge, as they narrowly missed out on a place in the top four.

Arsenal occupied fourth-place for four of the final six weeks of that season but defeats against Spurs and Newcastle United meant they would finish fifth and miss out on a return to the Champions League.

Nobody can argue with the improvements that Arteta has overseen. Arsenal would go one better the following season as they secured their spot back amongst Europe’s elite in the Champions League. Gooners around the world would have bitten your hand off for a second-placed finish before the start of the season. However, there was bitterness left in the mouth after Arsenal failed to go on to win the title, despite sitting atop the standings for 30 weeks of the campaign.

Let’s not forget, though, that this is Arteta’s first job as head coach. He had a mammoth start at the beginning in overhauling an ageing squad, and one that clearly was not up to scratch talent-wise. That was evident with back-to-back eighth-place finishes. The work he has done to turn Arsenal into serious title challengers is seriously impressive.

Nevertheless, that lack of experience seems to be telling when Arteta and the club are trying to take that final step. To thwart one of the greatest-ever managers to have lived in Pep Guardiola is certainly a difficult task. However, it is in the manner in which Arsenal have failed to do what is needed at the final hurdle that is posing the questions.

A lack of bottle

Klopp is all too familiar with just how difficult it is to get one over Pep. Throughout his nine-year tenure to date at Anfield, Liverpool have just one Premier League title to their name. That came during unprecedented circumstances of a COVID-19-hit season as well.

The task of beating Guardiola to the title is extremely tough and one that cannot be undervalued. Even when the Reds lost just a single league game during the 2018/19 season, City still pipped them to the title by a single point. Again, a similar situation unfolded for the 2021/22 campaign. Liverpool suffered just two league defeats all season but lost out on winning the league by a point yet again.

However, considering Arsenal have held their own fate in their hands over the past two seasons, questions have been raised about the Gunners’ mettle. Last season, at one point, Arsenal held an eight-point lead over City. This time, they had an advantage again but lost to Villa and handed the power back over to Man City.

The final run-in

City have by far the easiest end to the season, and Arsenal and Liverpool’s losses to Villa and Palace respectively seem damning. Spurs away for Man City is their toughest matchup, and both the Gunners and the Reds will take some hope in the fact that City have failed to beat Tottenham away from home in the league since 2018.

However, Arsenal still have to play Tottenham and Manchester United away. Liverpool have to play Merseyside rivals Everton at Goodison Park, whilst they have to make trips to an out of form West Ham United and Aston Villa as well.

City have the experience and the run-in in their favour. If Arsenal can win the title at this point, it’s fair to say the doubters will remain quiet. Right now, they are as loud as ever, and will only deafen the Gunners’ success in the coming weeks if they fall at the final hurdle once more.

Arteta is still learning, and another title race is exactly what he and this young Arsenal team need if they are to succeed in the future. For now, they need to make sure they do their job, and hope City falter. That is looking very unlikely right now, though, to say the least.

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