IN May 2004, I had the chance to go to London, in time for Arsenal’s Premier League title parade. Due to a travel scheduling conflict, however, I had to turn down the trip. That’s okay, I thought, there’s always next year.
But I never thought that I’d have to wait 22 years for Arsenal to become league champions again.
Yeah, never did I dream that when I time and time again vowed Arsenal Forever, I’d really have to wait forever – or endure, as ESPN described it, an “8,060-day drought” for the Gunners to win trophies (FA Cup notwithstanding).
But that is football.
We’ve all been there, as any Harimau Malaya fan waiting for Malaysia to win the holy grail of even qualifying for the World Cup knows so well.
Now that Arsenal have finally lifted their first coveted trophy since Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” clinched their 13th English league championship, which they did with a win at Tottenham Hotspur no less, we Gooners can dream big again.
Sure, this Arsenal team are no Invincibles with their infuriating inconsistency and bottling tendencies.
They are definitely not the most exciting or beautiful team to watch with their defensive-minded and set-piece game-plan, scoring only 69 goals to date this season – in contrast to Manchester City’s 76 – with 30 goals from set pieces and penalties compared to 35 from open play (four own goals).
In fact, this team are more George Graham’s cautious Arsenal than Wenger’s gorgeous Gunners with their rigid and tightly-organised game – they even set the record for the most one-nil wins this season (eight).
Most tellingly, this “boring boring Arsenal” also snagged the medal for being the only Premier League team that have not received a single red card or conceded a penalty this season.
But then again, after three successive seasons of second-place finishes, if being hard to beat and over-disciplined is what is needed for Arsenal to become champions again, so be it.
Jose Mourinho made it work. Even Prof ‘Flair’ Wenger admitted it in some way with his retort to Sir Alex Ferguson’s criticism over the way Arsenal won the double in 2002: “Everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife at home.”
Mikel Arteta’s numbers speak for themselves. Arsenal have conceded the fewest goals in the league this season (26) and have achieved the most clean sheets (19) to top the charts and clinch the club’s first league title since they moved to the Emirates Stadium.
The club’s intent was declared before the season started when they built on squad depth and addressed the physicality problem. For many, Bukayo Saka was the standout player.
Their striker issue remains though, even with new signing Victor Gyokeres and all the injured attacking talents back on the team sheet, and hopefully Arteta can find the right balance against PSG in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.
Winning the first European trophy in 32 years would really make this season something special – unforgettable in fact. For now, though, breaking the league duck is the necessary glory.
The Gunners can and need to grow from this point onwards. Hopefully, they can do it in a more expansive and attractive manner.
Is Arteta set to be one of Arsenal’s great managers? Only time will tell.
But at least, with Michael Carrick, Xabi Alonso and Enzo Maresca, who is set to replace Pep Guardiola, and the desperately-hanging-on Arne Slot, the 2026-2027 Premier League season promises lots more excitement with its likely return of the great manager rivalry era.
