BEING pessimistic comes with the territory at Arsenal – more than 20 years without a Premier League trophy has cemented that.
When Mikel Arteta arrived in the managerial hotseat in 2019, he was left with the task of turning around a team going nowhere.
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Following the instant FA Cup win , just two Community Shields have followed in the six-years at the Emirates since.
Two consecutive seasons in a row finishing second came before this year, as the agonising wait for that first league trophy in two decades rumbles on.
Arteta has been handed £200 million to spend already this summer, splashing out the third most behind champions Liverpool and Chelsea.
So far, it’s been a mixed pre-season for the Gunners, winning twice and losing twice as they prepare for the big kick-off.
However, concern is creeping in already amongst a large portion of the Arsenal fanbase over what 2025-26 will bring.
The North Londoners were devastated by injury in the second half of last season, being forced to play midfielder Mikel Merino as a striker for months.
After that, the owning Kroenke family decided to back their manager, giving him depth from the bench his squad has never had before.
But the major concern from pre-season has been the style of play, again, and is it good enough to topple their title-chasing rivals?
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The squad is clearly talented, the manager is as well, but has the ceiling been reached for what can be achieved between the two?
Their summer business seems to have been more reactive to the injury issues than proactive to what they might need to go that one step further and win the league.
Six players have come in, including a much-needed striker in the form of Viktor Gyokeres for nearly £60m from Sporting Lisbon.
Martin Zubimendi also came in alongside Christian Norgaard in the midfield, totally £60m-odd, and Kepa in goal from Chelsea for just £5m.
Youngster Cristhian Mosquera was also bought in defence and Noni Madueke was a shock near £50m purchase from rivals Chelsea.
Some clever purchases, but is Arteta filling squad gaps rather than diversifying the way Arsenal play for the upcoming season?
The notion that Arsenal are a set-piece team is just plain wrong, but there is a fear they have become very one-trick outside of that.
They are very methodical in their build-up, creating space through their inverting midfield full-backs and trying to get Bukayo Saka the ball as much as possible.
There’s not much X-factor though, partly the reason Madueke was purchased in the first place.
That was evident in their pre-season home defeat to Villarreal earlier in the week, a disappointing return to the Emirates.
You should never take away too much before the season starts, but it was clear Arteta plans to play a very similar way to years gone by.
And that has proven they aren’t quite good enough to win the Premier League, what makes them think this year is different?
The Arsenal boss is under huge pressure to deliver a trophy this year, and it may have to be a major one at that.
If the Gunners start the campaign poorly, serious questions are going to be asked by the club’s fanbase, and who can blame them?
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