For the past three seasons, each team has performed differently. However, one thing has remained constant: Arsenal placed 2nd all three times. Fans of the sport like to joke, calling the Gunners “bottlers” as they seemingly appear to fumble the league right when it is in their hands. In this article, I will provide insight regarding why I believe this is their year to go all out, as a fan who has seen them come so close only to fall off 3 years in a row.
Following yet another second place finish, and our exit in the UCL (UEFA Champions League) due to our 3-1 aggregate loss to PSG last season, manager Mikel Arteta realized that changes needed to be made. Specifically, with the plentiful amount of injuries, we needed depth. Oftentimes, key players would play in other positions to cover those who were out injured, which thus resulted in poor form. The club’s president gave Arteta the greenlight to spend a lot on players in the summer, and as a fan I am very glad we did, as the players’ impact makes me ask, “why didn’t we do this sooner?”.
We signed 8 players, spending around 225 million euros. These players are the following: Kepa Arrizabalaga (Spain, GK), Martin Zubimendi (Spain, CDM), Christian Norgaard (Denmark, CDM), Noni Madueke (England, LW/RW), Cristhina Mosquera (Spain, CB), Viktor Gykores (Sweden ST), Eberchi Eze (England, CAM/LW), and Piero Hincapie (Ecuador, CB). Out of these eight newcomers, three have received starting positions: Gykores, Eze, and Zubimendi. They all have goals and assists to their name and have significantly changed the flow of the team. They have strengthened areas in the team that desperately needed improvement, and have done so efficiently. As for the other 5, although they mostly play the EFL cup games and feature when injuries come, they provide great depth within the squad and perform better-than-expected when called upon. I believe that we could play a lineup of only our subs and still do better than most club’s first teams.
Despite our new signings, their arrival isn’t the only reason why I believe this year is our year. Currently, we are five points ahead of second place Manchester City at 30 points, the team that has taken our first place spot two out of the last three years. However that’s besides the point – we have only conceded 8 goals in all competitions since the season started in August. This time last season, we conceded more than double at 17 goals let in! This goes to show that our defensive prowess has significantly improved, and a great defense is the cornerstone of all the great and glorious teams. Furthermore, alongside our lead in the Premier League, we are also leading the UCL league phase table with 15 points. In fact, last Wednesday we beat the supposed “best team in the world” FC Bayern Munich to take this spot from them in a 3-1 win over the Bavarians, with one of the goals even coming from Noni Madueke, one of our new players, and an assist from Eberechi Eze, a new player as well. This is, yet again, another possible indicator of success for the Gunners this season. Our only loss this season came against Liverpool who beat us 1-0, who despite winning last season’s Premier League title, are now 8th in the league. The goal in which they scored was a perfectly placed shot from player Dominik Szoboszlai, and our 6 ‘0 goalkeeper David Raya simply couldn’t do anything about it.
Although Arsenal has gained a reputation of fumbling leads, I believe that this year is different. From our new players to our new tactics, from our recent form to player improvement, this year is shaping up to be one to remember. Personally, I would be surprised if we were to not win at least two trophies this year. This is not the team I have watched for the past couple of seasons, in every good way imaginable. In June 2026, I will reread this article, and I will either have sounded prophetic or falsely optimistic.
