The 2023-24 season nearly ended Arsenal’s lengthy wait for a Premier League title, but the breakthrough eluded them.
Will the 2024-25 season be more favorable for the Gunners, and can they be the ones to disrupt Manchester City’s four-year dominance as champions?
When is Arsenal’s first Premier League match?
Arsenal play Wolves at home in their opening fixture on Saturday, 17th August from 7:30 pm onwards.
Read More: Can Arsenal Secure the Premier League Title Without a Powerhouse No 9?
1. Can Arsenal Finally End Their Premier League Title Drought in 2024-25?
Arsenal came close to securing their first Premier League title in 20 years last season but fell short at the final hurdle. With just two points separating them from Manchester City, Mikel Arteta’s squad is edging closer to their ultimate goal of top-flight glory.
“We have to better them. We are closer. When you see all the metrics, we are right there. We’ve been the best team in the league in almost every metric,” Arteta told TNT Sports regarding Arsenal’s title chances. His statement holds merit, as Arsenal were statistically the most impressive team in the league last season, though it didn’t translate to silverware.
Whether Arsenal can finally clinch the league title for the first time since 2004 largely depends on Manchester City. Despite an outstanding finish to the season, where they won 16 of their last 18 games, Arsenal needed 17 victories to secure the title, highlighting the challenge of dethroning Pep Guardiola’s side.
As Arteta embarks on his fifth full season as Arsenal manager, can he deliver the league title to north London? We explore their prospects by addressing four crucial questions for the 2024-25 season.
2. Can Arsenal Finally Secure the Premier League Title?
The pressing question on everyone’s mind is whether Arsenal can claim the Premier League title.
Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have made significant strides, improving from consecutive eighth-place finishes to missing out on the Champions League, and finally emerging as title contenders in the past two seasons. In 2023-24, Arsenal achieved a club record with 28 wins and 91 goals in a Premier League season, surpassing their previous high but still falling short of their 2003-04 ‘Invincibles’ in terms of points. The pressing question now is whether Arsenal can take that final step.
Given Arsenal’s impressive 49 points in 2024 and their improved performance against top teams, it seems within reach. Manchester City’s dominance, with four consecutive league titles, poses a significant challenge. However, Arsenal’s ability to secure eight points against City and Liverpool last season suggests progress in overcoming struggles against elite opponents.
Overall, Arsenal accumulated 22 points from their 10 matches against the big six (W6 D4) last season, outperforming their rivals in this key area. In contrast, they were at the bottom of this mini-league in 2021-22, earning just nine points from similar fixtures.
3. How Have Arsenal Strengthened Their Defense?
After a strong start in 2022-23, Arsenal’s challenge faltered, partly due to heavy defeats to Manchester City and an injury to William Saliba, highlighting the need for defensive improvements.
Last season, Arsenal made significant strides defensively, conceding just 29 goals, their fourth-best defensive record in the Premier League. They conceded five fewer goals than champions Manchester City, who had the second-best defense, and recorded 18 clean sheets—five more than any other team. Arsenal’s defense allowed just 28.4 expected goals (xG), the lowest in Europe’s top five leagues.
In 2024, Arsenal’s defensive record reached new heights. They kept 11 clean sheets in 18 league games and allowed a remarkably low 0.65 xG per game, the best in the top five European leagues and 0.15 lower than the next best, Bayer Leverkusen.
While the arrival of David Raya has been a notable change in goal, it should not diminish the contributions of Aaron Ramsdale. Instead, it reflects Arteta’s strategic adjustments and his drive to enhance Arsenal’s defensive capabilities.
Raya overcame early-season struggles to secure the starting goalkeeper position and earn the Premier League Golden Glove award. Gabriel Magalhães and Saliba logged more minutes together than any other center-back pairing in the league, establishing themselves as the top partnership across the division, while Ben White enjoyed the best season of his career at right-back.
4. Does Arsenal Need Another Center-Forward?
Before their ‘winter break,’ Arsenal experienced a challenging spell with three consecutive losses to West Ham, Fulham, and Liverpool. During this period, they scored only once from 61 shots, leading some fans and pundits to call for a more traditional center-forward.
Despite not acquiring one, Arsenal scored 54 goals in their next 18 Premier League matches, including two 6-0 victories and three 5-0 wins. Kai Havertz (13 goals) thrived in the central role, while Bukayo Saka (16) and Leandro Trossard (12) also achieved their highest goal tallies in a Premier League season. However, history shows that only three teams in the last 15 seasons have won the Premier League without a player reaching the 20-goal mark.
It’s worth noting that Arsenal’s effectiveness from set-pieces has diminished the immediate need for a prolific goalscorer. They led the Premier League with 16 goals from corners, equaling the all-time record, and scored a total of 20 goals from set-pieces, also the highest in the league.
Gabriel Jesus’s availability was a concern in 2023-24, as he started less than half of Arsenal’s Premier League games (17) and played only 1,482 minutes, or 43% of the total. His season was disrupted, with his longest run of league appearances reaching only 10 between late November and January, and never managing more than seven consecutive starts.
Jesus started and scored in Arsenal’s impressive 4-1 friendly victory over Bayer Leverkusen on August 7, before being substituted at halftime. He then played the last 26 minutes of their 2-0 Emirates Cup win against Lyon on Sunday. It remains to be seen whether Arteta will rely on him to lead the attack in the opening league match against Wolves on Saturday.
5. Does Arsenal Have Sufficient Squad Depth?
Arsenal’s transfer window has been relatively quiet, marked primarily by the permanent signing of goalkeeper Raya, following his loan last year, and the addition of Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori. Jurriën Timber will also feel like a new acquisition for Gunners fans, having played only 50 minutes in the Premier League last season before injury sidelined him until May.
Arsenal seem to be embracing Sir Alex Ferguson’s philosophy of “attack wins you games, defense wins you titles,” building a strong and versatile defensive squad. Alongside the dependable Gabriel and Saliba pairing, they boast one of the most consistent right-backs in White, who was originally signed as a center-back. Takehiro Tomiyasu (when fit) is adaptable on either flank, and Jakub Kiwior can cover at left-back or in central defense. Given that Saliba is unlikely to play every minute this season, depth will be crucial for maintaining a title challenge.
The versatility extends to the attacking end as well. Jesus, Arsenal’s most natural striker, might be more effective in wider positions, while Havertz, who spent much of last season in midfield, showed promise when deployed up front.
Arsenal’s renowned academy hasn’t seen much action in terms of minutes for young players under Arteta. Last season, the Gunners allocated the fewest minutes to players under 21 across all Premier League teams (13), and only West Ham and Fulham gave fewer minutes to players aged 21 and under than Arsenal (372).
One young player to watch is Ethan Nwaneri, who might make an impact this season. The youngest player in Premier League history ranked third in Premier League 2 last season for goals scored (11) and averaged 0.97 goal contributions per 90 minutes.
