Arsenal is in a strong position to win the EPL in 2024, but has Mikel Arteta learned anything from beating Manchester City and Liverpool in 2023?
Last year, Arsenal seemed poised to win the English Premier League. However, it disintegrated under siege from Manchester City in the season’s final few games, winning only two of the remaining nine. This year’s placement is the same; will the results be the same? Has manager Mikel Arteta learned any lessons from 2023? Has the team become stronger? Is Arsenal truly winning now? Will City or Liverpool steal its thunder again?
Given its commanding lead in the table and enormous goal difference, Arsenal only has to win all seven games. Simple maths, right? Not really. It has far tougher opponents at the end of the season than Liverpool or Manchester City.
What is working for Arsenal is the fact that Manchester City is struggling to score goals, particularly since last year’s goal machine, Erling Haaland, is misfiring game after game. Notably, City should have defeated Arsenal in their most recent match, as they dominated but failed to score. Arsenal, on the other hand, has no actual trouble scoring goals, as seen by their big goal differential. That is a significant change from previous year.
Arsenal’s defence has allowed a league-low 24 goals this season! Injuries and Rest What is also working for Arsenal is that it is relatively injury-free, whereas City is in trouble, as seen by Rodri’s admission that he really needed a rest.
Notably, this season, Arteta has decided to rest even key players to keep them fresh. Last season, he was unable to make this daring decision. Changing to Win? Arteta has also transformed himself from a frenetically agitated individual during matches to a much calmer leader. Last year, he was way too aggressive, which put too much strain on the entire club.
Mikel’s mindset? At a news conference today, when asked if he had considered becoming the first Arsenal manager in 20 years to win the Premier League, he answered, “I don’t believe that’s fair. I consider what we need to do next to beat our next opponent, win, and keep our current position. There is still a long way to go.
However, most of the rule book that Arteta is following was authored by Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola. And Arteta has been attempting to follow it, even adjusting his own conduct. Will that be enough to win the League, or will his unique talent come through at some time to make a significant difference? The following six weeks will reveal if that is essential and whether Arteta have that distinctiveness.
