Arsenal’s bitter rivals, Tottenham, won their first trophy for 17 years by beating Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.
The Lilywhites scraped their way to victory in Bilbao, courtesy of a messy goal involving Brennan Johnson and Luke Shaw on the stroke of half-time.
It’s Spurs’ first major trophy since winning the League Cup in 2008, while Arsenal are now five years without silverware.
The pressure is starting to grow on Mikel Arteta to deliver some winners’ medals to N5, and Tottenham’s triumph at San Mames will certainly only add to this.
Ange Postecoglou’s team will now compete alongside Arsenal in the Champions League next season.
Arsenal fans react to Tottenham winning the Europa League
Tottenham have endured a miserable season on the whole, losing 21 games and amassing just 38 points in the Premier League.
Sitting 17th in the English top flight, the North London club faced a similarly dour United side in Northern Spain on Wednesday night.
In what was a poor game, Spurs managed to win 1-0, despite managing just three shots throughout the 90 minutes.
Arsenal fans were amazed at the lack of quality on show in a major European final.
One fan wrote on X: “Every club in Europa should get a season long European ban for letting these 2 clubs reach a final.”
Another added: “Not even just saying this as a hater but this is one of the worst finals I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching.”
One supporter wrote: “That seals it. Spurs finish in 37th and United finish in 38th place in Europe.”
Meanwhile, another Gunners fan took a different approach, admiring Postecoglou’s confidence about winning silverware: “I’ll be honest, I absolutely hate Spurs. I hate everything about the club. However… ‘usually in my second season, I win things’ will go down as one of the coldest football quotes in football history. And that’s an Arsenal fan admitting that.”
Another addressed the Spurs supporters singing about Arsenal after winning the final: “They’ve just won their first major tinpot trophy and they’re singing about Arsenal? When you’re big, you’re big.”
Arsenal need to respond to Tottenham’s trophy by winning one next season
Arsenal have been plagued by injury issues this season which have certainly derailed Arteta’s team’s campaign.
Key players such as Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz, Ben White and Gabriel Jesus have all spent several months on the sidelines.
However, Arsenal need to win a trophy next season to respond to their rivals’ European achievement.
Fans will no doubt be exasperated seeing their neighbours lift silverware, despite having a poor season, while the Gunners continue to showcase consistency in adversity, but have nothing tangible to show for it.
Another trophyless season simply won’t cut it from a narrative perspective, even if the process remains encouraging.
If Arteta isn’t able to produce on this front, then conversations will no doubt begin to be had about his future at the Emirates.
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