I was disappointed listening to Paul Scholes say about Arsenal winning the title this season: “I think it’s more wishful thinking than anything because City are still the best team don’t get me wrong. But Arsenal are clearly not far away, I think the thing they are missing is that little bit of mentality where they can actually go on and do it.
“Sometimes when you are going against your rivals for the league – like we (United) did with Liverpool, Arsenal and City – you have to go to their ground and win in a big game. I remember watching the game at the end of last season. I don’t know how many games were left, but City were struggling a bit and Arsenal went there and played for a draw – and they were delighted with the draw.”
Right now, it’s pretty unfair to say that Arsenal lacks a winning mentality, especially considering how last season played out. If Arsenal faltered in the title race early on in the run-in like they did in the 2022–23 season, some might argue that they have issues and lack a winning mindset, but that was not the case.
Arsenal had an absolutely fantastic season in 2023–24, nearly winning the Premier League title but missing it just by two points on the last day of the season. They really gave Manchester City, the champions, a run for their money. The North Londoners racked up an impressive 49 out of 54 points in 2024, operating at a103 points pace and finishing off the season with a flawless record of six consecutive wins. To brush off all that is simply ridiculous. They didn’t lose the title race because of their mentality. It’s just a lazy narrative that some pundits use to grab attention.
Arsenal, despite narrowly missing out on the league title, displayed a true champion’s mentality. The graphics above serve as a testament to this. If Arteta and the team continue to show the same determination they displayed after the winter break and keep their fingers crossed for some positive fortune, this, 2023–24, might just be the season.
Sam P
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I think we are getting there. Check last season we managed to pass the Liverpool(the 2nd favourites to win the title behind City) and push City all the way to the last day. And we had the toughest remaining matches
We didn’t score 2.9 goals per game – that would have been 110 total! We scored an impressive 2.4 per game.
Arsenal are missing Giroud 2.0 and Pernambucano II
Arteta’s tactics aren’t as good as Guardiola’s nor do Arsenal have Haaland/ unlimited transfer budget, hence the player types we don’t have to vary our attacking methods
OT: Arsenal just rejected Ajax’s offer to loan Ramsdale
@Gai Mentality isn’t the issue anymore with Arsenal players. ManCity simply have more game changers in their squad than us. I think we shall be fine if we can add a dynamic forward who’s presence gives defenders headache.
Yes we signed Calafiori which is a quality addition but defence wasn’t our problem last season we had the best defence in Epl.
Clubs and their managers are already familiar with our frontline we need a dynamic proven prolific CF to make the difference this season. We don’t need. CF who cannot surpass Jesus & Havertz goals return.
You’re spot on about game changers and the other managers’ familiarity with our attackers, but I don’t think the new CF should be a proven prolific striker
Ronaldo and Kane are world-class strikers, but they don’t have the stamina and pace anymore to do a lot of high-press
@Gai Good strikers are very expensive now. Do you think it would be worth spending 65-70m on. CF who only what he is good at is holdup pla and pressing.? Who can’t score as much as Olie Watkins or AIsak? Someone who would not be better than Jesus&Havertz.? For all the skills of Jesus, fans still want him to score more goals.
Calvert-Lewin, Jonas WInd and Fabio Silva might be available for less than £40m
Scholes is entitled to his opinion. He may be right, or he may be wrong – we’ll only know come next May.
I think a bigger point here is that City know how to win (trophies) – it’s almost ingrained into them now – and, frankly, Arsenal don’t, at least not yet. With a single FA Cup since 2019-20 Arsenal aren’t exactly overflowing with “winners” (or winners while playing at Arsenal, anyway).
For all their tremendous efforts in the last couple of seasons Arsenal have still come up short – albeit last season by the narrowest of margins. So, for their players I think it will be either, “We’ve been so close before, now’s the time to win it” or “We’ve been so close before, are we ever going to win it?”. Which attitude prevails could be down to what kind of start Arsenal get and whether they can build up momentum early in 2024-25.
I don’t pay much attention to the stats in the article really. Arsenal isn’t (and haven’t been) up against the “average” in City, but a team with four consecutive titles and a clean sweep of all domestic trophies within a season. So, they are obviously not that.
Pep is no fool and he’s fully aware of Arsenal’s improvement over the last couple of seasons so it’s unlikely he’ll just sit back and watch.
What happens in the remaining weeks of the transfer window could be a key factor for both teams in my opinion. Also, we shouldn’t discount the emergence of a third, real, title challenger. It may not be a “two horse race” again.
👍👍
The only thing missing for Arsenal is a trophy. Once they secure that, the narratives will shift. Last season, if Arsenal had clinched the league title, everyone would be discussing the reasons behind their success and why it was well-deserved. Narratives are shaped by the outcomes.
Now, Arsenal just needs to cross the finish line and win a major trophy.
Exactly. These psychobabble based narratives will shift because they are meaningless and do nothing to examine the real reasons for the outcomes whether it’s finishing 2 points back or 2 points ahead.
Yep, true. I don’t listen to any pundits out there really and if I accidently hear a few things, I ignore right away. It’s mostly an exercise in making their biases sound rational and reasonable.
I can almost hear Paul Scholes saying that
In my lifetime, Liverpool were the embodiment of success under 3 homegrown managers. Aston Villa and Forest all had great times. Liverpool have won the PL once and the others haven’t yet. The point is that at some point, the wheel will fall off and I see no reason why Arsenal can’t assist with City getting a puncture – it happened to Utd after Fergie. Pep is still at the helm but to write off Arsenal is premature. The squad has grown enormously in class and determination to reach the pinnacle
I’ve listened to several pundits who think that Arsenal will win but when pressed, sit on the fence, basing their argument on the past 4 years
Is a league title a battle by the managers only?
“Arsenal went there and played for a draw” – A strategic or tactical error perhaps but nothing to do with some psychobabble concept of a certain “mentality” unless a shortage of testosterone sapped the management’s ability to make a different decision. All these lazy short cuts for describing the reality of a football club’s results whether it’s Scholes’ ridiculous example or “bottling” it or for some reason getting 91 points instead of 92 points, etc, etc. The next thing you know we’ll be back to having no ambition and “losing the plot”.
The last 6 games last season show they now have the mentality but will ultimately fall short due to the lack of a 20-plus goalscorer.
Getting a better result this season is not a given. What we did last time around has zero bearing on what happens this go round.
One of the biggest mental crushers, is everybody prepares for winning, but no one prepares for losing… Jus sayin. 🤔
Yes, I think that’s a fair point and many of us can/do fall into that way of thinking. Everything starts with a clean sheet on 17 August.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, it may not be a two-horse race this coming season. There may be a serious, surprise, challenger to City/Arsenal.