Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes he sees ‘really positive’ signs that the Gunners are going in the right direction to finally win their first major trophy since the 2020 FA Cup.
It is the longest drought the Emirates Stadium outfit have endured between winning a major trophy in a decade. Not since Arsene Wenger failed to win a title between their 2004/05 and 2013/14 FA Cup honours have Arsenal waited as long for a major title during recent seasons.
Arteta added the only honour of his tenure to Arsenal’s trophy cabinet behind closed doors with the 2019/20 FA Cup. The Spaniard led the Gunners to glory at Wembley during his first campaign in charge after succeeding Unai Emery. But Arteta is yet to clinch silverware again.
Arsenal’s consistent ‘high quality’ fuels Mikel Arteta’s major trophy beliefs
Arsenal have struggled in the domestic cup competitions since winning a record 14th FA Cup in 2019/20. Fourth round exits followed in 20/21 and 22/23, plus third round exits in 21/22 and 23/24. Arsenal exited the EFL Cup in rounds three and four the past two terms, as well.
But Arteta is confident that Arsenal are on course for a major trophy after finishing the past two Premier League terms in second place. The Gunners even returned to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2010 before a 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.
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What encourages Arteta the most is the consistency in the quality that Arsenal produced in 23/24. He saw all-round performances from the first-team fold at Emirates Stadium through the past term, which yielded 113 goals to 43 conceded in 52 fixtures across all competitions.
“The stats show a high level of quality and a high level of consistency,” Arteta has told the official Arsenal website.
“You’re talking about the defensive side, the attacking side [and] about set-pieces and that’s really positive because that tells you that the team are starting to dominate many areas that are necessary to win major trophies. So, we are heading in the right direction, for sure.”
Arsenal were consistently strong defensively and offensively in 2023/24
Arsenal largely enjoyed consistent winning streaks during the 2023/24 season but endured a difficult stretch from early December into January. The Gunners only took a 2-0 win at home to Brighton & Hove Albion over a seven-match run featuring four defeats in all competitions.
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It was the worst period of the campaign with Arsenal otherwise only going without a win for three and two games once apiece. December’s draw at Liverpool before losing to West Ham and Fulham was even the only time they failed to win after dropping points in the top-flight.
Their defence was also consistently strong in the Premier League with Arsenal only shipping two or more goals in successive games once. Arteta’s men were also never shut out in back-to-back top-flight fixtures last term and only failed to score in five of their 38 games, as well.
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