Mikel Arteta approached the new campaign with the pressure to push his players over the line.
**Arsenal**have made a clear stride forward under the manager since the start of the 2022/23 season, finishing as runners-up in the **Premier League**for three years in a row and reaching the semi-final of the Champions League back in May. But the big honours to complete this project are still missing.
The Gunners have not won a major title since lifting the **FA Cup**in 2020, the big ears in Europe still elude the trophy cabinet after two campaigns back in the tournament, and the **Premier League**trophy has not been in the hands of the club since 2004. Will this be the season that snaps the drought?
By the start of November, the feeling in the fanbase certainly signalled confidence in the camp. The end of the month was always going to be a strong indication of what this team could achieve by the end of May, but it is quickly becoming a ‘make or break’ situation in the eyes of many supporters.
The most complete Arsenal outfit?
The foundation for this faith in the side has been the solidity of the defence. Arsenal have had the best defensive record in the English top tier in the last two years, and David Raya received the Golden Glove Award on both occasions. But the Gunners had still failed to put all the pieces together.
Especially in the last twelve months, the reliance of the attack on Bukayo Saka had become a big weakness. His absence with a hamstring injury saw the team bow out of both domestic cups and fall out of the title race at the start of 2025, and answers were needed to reinvigorate a stagnating group.
Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, and Viktor Gyökeres have given fresh blood to the team, and even if Saka is still the star boy of the offence, there is a process of evolution that has been reaping rewards.
Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli have excelled as game changers off the bench or in particular game states, the roles of Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori have given opponents new problems in the final third, and Eze offers more of a central threat at the top of the penalty area.
Above all, the numbers are present to mix and match and throw different dilemmas at rivals. Gabriel Magalhaes has been a monster at set plays, and when one also accounts for the sustained excellence of the defence, the Gunners have gotten the balance right enough to calmly shut down most contests.
Where have this team shown their mettle?
**Arsenal**might not be as exhilarating as they were in the 2022/23 season, nor is it likely that they will go on the run that they produced in the first five months of 2024. However, Arteta and his men have been eager to show that they have learned from their mistakes to make the most important step of all.
The month of October expertly demonstrated this point. The team became the first in the history of topflight English football to win six competitive fixtures without conceding a single goal, avoiding any shots on target in back to back **Premier League**outings for the first time since the Invincibles.
Those feats are even more impressive given Arteta’s men faced **West Ham**at home, **Fulham**at Craven Cottage, and Crystal Palace in that run. These are all matches where the side dropped points last season, and the manager will be delighted to have seen his players find a way consistently.
Two tough trips to the North-East have also been a big plus for the group in the last two months.
First came a 2-1 win over Newcastle United with late second half goals from **Mikel Merino**and Gabriel Magalhaes. To beat the Toon after suffering three straight defeats at St. James’ Park and four in the last five was a massive accomplishment, setting up the record breaking run in October.
Even more impressively, **Arsenal**bounced back from a 1-1 draw against **Man City**to play with character and personality against a physical and aggressive opponent. Plays from Saka, Timber, Martin Zubimendi and Eze indicated that this team do have the ability to go through the gears.
A disappointing 2-2 stalemate against **Sunderland**was the latest outing for Arsenal, but one could say the same about their response to going behind at Stadium of Light. Saka equalised, Trossard scored a screamer, and there was a lot of good to see in the final third between those two strikes.
The Gunners are clearly willing to put up a fight, but there are many more challenges to come.
What is on the horizon?
**Arsenal**are on the cusp of a highly demanding week. They mark the return from the international break with the visit of **Tottenham**in the North London derby. Rivalries can bring the best out of opponents, and Spurs have also remained unbeaten away from home in the Premier League.
Next is a meeting with Bayern Munich, whose offence, powered by Luis Diaz, Michael Olise, and Harry Kane, is the most explosive in Europe right now. The Bavarians beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the Champions League this month, and they have dropped only two points in the Bundesliga.
Next Sunday is a showdown at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea. The Blues have been inconsistent, but they have earned a point from the last two visits of their London rivals to their ground. At the end of a taxing seven days, another derby is the last thing that Arteta and his men want to have to handle.
To make matters worse, the squad is significantly stretched. Gabriel could miss up to two months of action with a thigh injury from international duty with Brazil, and **Riccardo Calafiori**withdrew from the **Italy**squad with a hip issue before **Jurrien Timber**suffered a scare with the Netherlands.
Gyökeres, Madueke, Martinelli, Kai Havertz, and Martin Odegaard have all been absentees for periods ranging from weeks to months, and **Arsenal**could return to action with a threadbare attack.
The situation is far from ideal, but Arteta will not want to make any excuses. Regret hurts more than pain, and after three years of being the ‘nearly men’, **Arsenal**will endeavour to overcome the odds.