Mikel Arteta pinpointed two decisive instances that led to Arsenal’s narrow miss of the 2023-24 Premier League crown, ultimately conceding it to Manchester City.
The Gunners had their sights set on securing the English premier division silverware for the first time in two decades, with the contest extending to the final matchday on Sunday.
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Yet, in a twist of fate mirroring the previous season, Arsenal’s aspirations were dashed as City secured a victory over West Ham, clinching the championship on the season’s concluding day.
While Kai Havertz has voiced his opinion that City’s victory was ‘unjust’, Arsenal’s coach Arteta has expressed his thoughts on the reasons behind his squad’s inability to eclipse Pep Guardiola’s team.
‘For sure [the 2-0 defeat to] Aston Villa at home [in April],’ Arteta picked as one of the decisive moments in the title race in his post-match press conference.
‘In the first half it should have been 4-0. Maybe the story would have been different.’
Arteta also referenced Man City’s 2-0 win over Tottenham in the penultimate round of games.
‘What happened last Tuesday, maybe we could have been champions,’ Arteta added. ‘These are the margins that are so, so, so small.
‘That’s the credit that the club and the team should take. We’re doing this against the best team in the history of the Premier League by far.’
Speaking more generally about Arsenal’s second-placed finish, Arteta said the Premier League glory is eventually coming to the Emirates, and that he may dip into the summer transfer market to improve the squad.
‘If we do what we have to do, we’re going to be closer and at the end we’ll win [the title],’ Arteta added. ‘When, I don’t know. But if we keep knocking and being that close, in the end it will happen.
‘There’s only one way to do it: you have to be more determined, you have to be more ambitious, you have to have a lot of courage and push every limit in everything that we have. That’s the next step.
‘First one and most important [plan for the summer] is how we are going to get these players to a different level. That is my first job and after that, if we still don’t have enough, for sure we will have to do everything we can to fulfil those gaps [with new signings].’
