Arsenal have recently confirmed the signings of Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, who join fellow new arrival Kai Harvertz at the north London club, to take their summer spending so far to over £200 million.
TalkSport pundit, and former Aston Villa forward, Gabby Agbonlahor has made it clear that in his view, Arsenal must back up this spending spree with even greater success on the pitch this season. Speaking on TalkSport, as shared on their Twitter page, Agbonlahor set out his expectations for the Gunners this season: “minimum trophy, at least an FA Cup…get through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, that’s a minimum…and top two finish…you don’t spend over £200 million in a transfer window to finish third or fourth, so the pressure’s on. Arteta will know that…there’s no moaning…Arsenal have to go and perform.”
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Arsenal’s season objectives
Spending isn’t necessarily a guarantee of trophies or success. There are plenty of cases-in-point that would back that notion up. However, there certainly is a sense of expectation around Arsenal now, especially following their £200+ million outlay.
Mikel Arteta’s side were fantastic last season, but ultimately fell just short in the title race. Arsenal also underperformed in the Europa League and in both of the domestic cup competitions. The Spanish coach will be wanting his side to improve and compete fully on all fronts this time around. The squad depth is now there to do this, and they have already shown the quality they have in their first XI.
Arsenal must target silverware this season. The likes of Rice and Havertz have come to the Emirates Stadium to add to their medal collections, after all. Arteta himself needs to demonstrate that he can take this Arsenal project all the way through to its end goal.