We were allowed to dream big for 248 days

I’m not really sure where to begin.

Yes, Arsenal had an amazing season, and yes, the Gunners have qualified for the Champions League after a long spell away Europe’s biggest stage.

However, to see this club collapse the past two months has been extremely painful and discouraging. 248 days on top of the table with an eight point lead over Manchester City on April 1st. Then, it all went up in smoke.

Of course, I’m speaking for Gooners everywhere, but I’m also speaking on behalf the the club itself, especially the players and coaches.

Obviously, no one is to blame for this dismal stretch but the players and coaches, but how frustrated they also must be to see ten and a half months of hard work washed down the drain. And, how difficult it must be for Mikel Arteta to once again see Pep Guardiola raise the Premier League trophy and celebrate yet another championship.

We can only hope that visual will give the team more determination and more spirit when they head into next season.

But, what happened? Where did it all go wrong?

Here’s my thoughts from 30,000 feet…

Arteta’s relied too much on his top players and his unwillingness to rotate the squad. The likes of Saka and Partey became tired and lost their edge.

It seemed that Arteta lacked any real faith in his bench. Nelson, Turner, Smith Rowe, Tierney and others spent a lot of time riding the pines, seeing only clean up action at end of games.

Also, the Gunners lacked the experience to deal with a title run, coaches and players a like. The squad crumbled under the pressure when it really counted.

Plus, opponents devised ways to shut down the Arsenal front line fire power and the Arsenal midfielders ability to be creative.

Of course, Manchester City was just too good, too deep with talent, and too well-coached.

Finally, if you go back and look at the Gunners results this season, you’ll find too many matches where points were dropped against inferior competition.

This will be a summer to recover from April and May, a summer to reload with more talent and more depth, and a summer to reflect on what could have been.

It will also be a summer to look ahead to see if Arsenal cannot only repeat the success achieved in 2022/2023, but to surpass it and win trophies.

Sure, I’m disappointed. We all are. Going into the season we only hoped to reach the Champions League, but for 248 days we were allowed to dream even bigger.

On to Wolves!

COYG!

Gunner1953