Arsenal must heed the warning offered by one of Liverpool’s biggest recent struggles as Mikel Arteta prepares for another title push.
Many will expect Arsenal to challenge for the Premier League title again next season.
Mikel Arteta’s aim will certainly be for his side to go one step better than they managed this time around by actually becoming champions.
However, fans of the North London club must not take another title charge for granted.
Arsenal must find response to Premier League title disappointment
The disappointment of missing out on the title this season on the final day will have hit the players hard. Kai Havertz admitted in a statement to Arsenal fans that “it’ll take time to process” what happened at the end of the campaign.
Whilst Arteta promised Arsenal supporters that silverware is on the way, there may well be some bumps in the road before the Gunners are crowned champions.
Producing consecutive title tilts is incredibly difficult. They are physically and emotionally draining, and the pain of missing out will also take a toll.
Prior to the Gunners’ emergence last season, Liverpool had been Manchester City’s main rivals in recent years. The Reds won the league in 2020, having run Manchester City close in the season before.
Liverpool pattern offers Arsenal a warning
The following season, the Merseyside outfit dropped off and finished third. In the 2021/22 campaign they challenged again, and finished as runners up.
Once more, in 2022/23, there was another season of struggle, and a fifth-place finish. Which leads to this season, when Jurgen Klopp’s side challenged for the title again, but fell short in the run-in.
In the last six seasons, Liverpool have racked up more than 90 points on three occasions, including the year that they won the league. However, in the same period, they have also fallen short of 70 points twice.
Liverpool could not push for the title every single season. The mark of Klopp’s quality is exemplified by the fact that each season of struggle was followed with another title tilt. The German coach’s side occasionally had to go backwards to go forwards, as they needed time to recover, regroup, and bed in new players.
Arsenal have now mounted consecutive title challenges, and may now find that they need to undergo a similar process of regrouping. Declan Rice is convinced that the best is yet to come for Arsenal, but the Gunners could find that they need to be patient and endure further frustrations first.