Arsenal aim to end 22-year wait for Premier League glory | OneFootball

Leading both the Premier League and the Champions League, and still competing in both national cups, Arsenal fans dream of titles. But can Mikel Arteta's team withstand the pressure on so many fronts and finally win the league title, ending a 22-year drought?

Last weekend, the ‘Gunners’ lost 3-2 to Manchester United, reopening the debate about the mental fragility of a team that often falters at the end of the season and whose last Premier League title dates back to 2004.

The Londoners, who dominated the first half of the season, still hold a four-point lead over Manchester City and Aston Villa, with 15 games remaining, but their margin for error is shrinking.

This weekend, they visit Leeds, a team in need of points, while City plays against Tottenham and Aston Villa hosts Brentford in Birmingham.

Questions about the team's mental strength

“There are still doubts about the team's mental strength,” declared Frenchman Patrick Vieira, one of the pillars of the legendary Arsenal, one of the great Premier League teams in the 1990s and early 2000s, after the defeat to Manchester United.

“They need to understand that when they are on the field, they need to play with more energy and take more risks. They have quality,” insisted the former ‘Gunners’ midfielder.

Arsenal finished as runners-up in the last three seasons, and their last title dates back to Arteta's first year in charge, six years ago (the 2020 FA Cup).

In the last three Premier League games, Arsenal drew with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest and lost to Manchester United, a team that had not won at the Emirates since 2019, in a game where the Londoners conceded three goals for the first time in three years.

“We have to show the mental strength we possess on the field when game day comes,” demanded Arteta himself.

“We lost a game... Let's see how we react to that, but I am convinced, because I know my players very well and I know how much they want (the title), that we will react immediately,” he added.

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Saka, far from his level

The lack of offensive power in the final third is not new for Arsenal: no player has scored more than five goals, and more than half of the goals scored this season have come from set-pieces or own goals by opponents.

The signing of Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting at the start of the season has not proven to be the solution for Mikel Arteta's search for a number 9 who guarantees goals. And the team's biggest star, Englishman Bukayo Saka, has not scored in 13 matches.

Perhaps the solution lies in Gabriel Jesus, but the Brazilian is struggling to regain form after returning in December from a serious knee injury.

Opponents' stumbles

So far, Arsenal has benefited from the inconsistency of their rivals: City returned to winning ways last weekend (2-0 against Wolverhampton) after a run of three draws and a defeat in the English Championship.

Aston Villa is also struggling to find consistency, with two wins, two losses, and a draw in the last five games.

And Manchester United (4th with 38 points), Chelsea (37), and Liverpool (36) are well behind Arsenal (50 points) and seem out of the title race.

“The path will not always be easy. There will be ups and downs,” warned Saka. “It's up to us to show our strength next week,” he added. If Arsenal can restore order, they will be closer to the long-awaited title.

%With content from AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.