When Son Heung-Min raced through on goal following Manuel Akanji’s error, hundreds of thousands of Arsenal fans, in London, England and across the world likely stood in anticipation. A goal could spell the end of a 20-year wait for the Premier League title and give Arsenal the chance to lift the trophy in the Emirates Stadium for the first time ever.
Son struck his shot poorly and Stefan Ortega’s foot sent it back and away from goal. Minutes later Manchester City would go up the other end and kill off the game, and maybe the title race. These are the fine margins any team attempting to rescue the Premier League from the stranglehold of Pep Guardiola needs to go in their favour and for Arsenal, it wasn’t to be.
Hope still remains alive on the final day as Arsenal play Everton but considering West Ham have won just one of their last five Premier League games and travel to a Manchester City side who always get the job done, that hope is, understandably, dwindling.
As Arsenal approach the final day, perhaps a step back is required. At the end of last season, the feeling was very different. Arsenal had collapsed, partly due to devastating injuries to William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu, but they also failed to deal with the demands of the title run-in. They leaked too many goals and at a time when results need to be ground out, they gave away far too many leads.
This was a very young team in their first ever title push and slip-ups were expected, but the nature of Arsenal’s implosion had left a bitter taste. Predictably, pundits and fans alike suggested the hurt of the fall-away would leave Arsenal back in a top-four battle in the following season. This was, clearly, a gross misunderstanding of the standards and mentality Mikel Arteta has installed since he arrived back at Arsenal in 2019.
Arsenal were never going to sit on their hands, and went out and splashed big money on Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz, and David Raya. The latter two signings were questioned to no end, and fairly so, but Havertz currently sits on 19 Premier League goal contributions having started the first half of the season from midfield and David Raya possesses a shiny new golden glove in his personal award cabinet.
Havertz and Raya, as well as their teammates, have been constantly battling against doubters this season. Perhaps the biggest question levelled against Arteta’s team was if they could learn the lessons taught at the end of last season. They have answered unequivocally.
In 2024, Arsenal have won 15 of their 17 Premier League games. They have travelled to Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham during the run-in, without a loss and winning two. In any season without the other title candidate having 115 Premier League charges pending in court for various financial breaches, they would have already won the title and Sunday’s game would be a formality.
With a win on Sunday, Arsenal will finish the season on 89 points, just one below the Invincibles’ final tally and with them, Arsenal’s highest-ever Premier League number. A win on Sunday would take them to 28 Premier League victories, a feat no Arsenal team has achieved before them, not even the Invincibles.
It is hard to quantify every emotion Arsenal fans walking up Holloway Road will experience on Sunday. For some, aggrievance, injustice, perhaps anger. There will be an overwhelming emotion dominating every man, woman and child’s mind however, pride.
In 2020, Arteta gave a fascinating insight into his team following a two-one win over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. He was asked how big the job he had to do was.
“Massive. You only need to look at the difference between the two teams today, and the gap is enormous. But the gap in many areas we can not improve it in two months but the gap between the accountability, the energy, the commitment and the fight of the two teams, now is equal.
"And before it wasn’t like this. And I’m very proud of that. The rest will take some time but at least that, we’ve got it now and my message to the players is with that, we can create something.”
And create something they have. Four years later and 25 signings later, and Arsenal seven points clear of Liverpool going into the final day with a chance to match the achievement Jurgen Klopp’s team made that season, of winning the Premier League.
Arsenal fans should be incredibly proud of their team and incredibly excited for next season.
When Arteta emerged from the tunnel following the final game last season, he paused as he attempted to deliver his speech. Chants echoed around the Emirates, 57,000 Arsenal fans all signing the Spaniard’s name. He had given them their club back and they needed him to know that.
Whether the Arsenal manager emerges carrying the Premier League trophy or not on Sunday, the sentiment will be the same. You can be assured of the overriding message of his speech too. We are not going away anytime soon.
