Mikel Arteta has now set Arsenal the points target the Gunners will need to claim to
end the dominance of Manchester City and win the Premier League title in 2024/25.
The north London outfit watched their wait for a first top-flight title in 20 years continue last term. Man City produced an unbelievable 23-game unbeaten streak after losing 1-0 at Aston Villa on December 6 to become the first club to ever win four Premier League titles in a row.
Arsenal still had the title race in their hands up until Arteta saw Aston Villa claim a 2-0 win at Emirates Stadium on April 14. It left the Gunners asking for favours that no rival squad could or would give as the N5 natives finished the season only two points behind Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta sets Arsenal a 114-point target to win the 24/25 Premier League title
It marked an improvement on the previous season as Arsenal at least managed to take their title fight to the last day. The Gunners shot from failing to qualify for the Champions League to being a title contender in 2022/23 and even held an eight-point lead to end up five short.
Still, registering 89 points in 23/24 marked the second-most that Arsenal had ever taken in a Premier League season. Only when Arsene Wenger led the Invincibles to the title in 2003/04 unbeaten have Arsenal ever had more points with 90. Yet Arteta knows they will need more.
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Arsenal’s 89 points in 23/24 would have seen them win the Premier League title in 20 of the previous 31 seasons. But Arteta has now set Arsenal a tongue-in-cheek target of scoring 114 points to win the 24/25 title by going the entire Premier League term without dropping any.
“[It will take] 114 points,” Arteta said during a press conference before Arsenal’s pre-season friendly with Manchester United. “If we do that, we will win the league, for sure! This is the objective and from there, let’s see what we can get.
“But today that has to be the target – win every single game and earn the right to win it and have the biggest probability on the opponent to win the game. When we have difficulties, we still need to be better than the opponent. So, that’s the objective for the team.”
Draws and defeats proved the difference between Man City and Arsenal in 23/24
Manchester City denied Arsenal the Premier League title in 23/24 by two points after taking 91 throughout the season. Both clubs won 28 of their 38 fixtures and finished the term with a goal difference of plus-62. But the Citizens crucially took seven draws to the Gunners’ five.
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Yet Man City’s 91 points were just the eighth-largest tally that a squad has ever set to win a title. The Citizens set the record for recording the most points in a Premier League season in 2017/18 with 100. Liverpool also penned the second-biggest points tally with 99 in 2019/20.
Arsenal might not really need to match Arteta’s 114 points target to win the Premier League title in 24/25. But the Gunners may need a new club record tally, as the Citizens chase a fifth successive title, Manchester United strive to improve and Arne Slot gets started at Liverpool.
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