We’ve blown it.
We got over excited and peaked before the finish line.
Our team were on the cusp of glory and instead of triumphantly holding aloft the Premier League trophy in front of their adoring fans, they puked on the approach to the stage and had to rush to the toilet.
Well – if you read social media and listen to punditry, the above is correct.
But did we crumble?
Or did we overachieve?
And if we did crumble – can we use it as a launchpad for next season?
Let’s look at a comparison of our fellow title challengers, Manchester City.
They have a net spend of £224m over the last five years.
Ours is a massive £485m.
Our spend should justify a push up the table.
But what about wages? Transfer fees are one thing, but it is the regular salary of a footballer that really lures in the top talent.
Man City pay out an incredible £188,525,480 per year in salaries to players.
Arsenal?
£92,984,320 per year, less than half of the Man City total.
It’s certainly a factor.
Man City have the means at their disposal to attract any player they wish. With the introduction of Champions League football, Arsenal will be able to dine at the top table again. But there is certainly a disparity between us and the likes of Real Madrid, City, PSG, Chelsea and now Newcastle when it comes to attractive player packages.
But the fact remains that Arsenal were eight points clear in April.
And let’s look at it from another angle – if that lot down the road or Chelsea were in our enviable position and had done the same?
We’d be loving it too. We’d have memes galore, parodying their downfall.
So we have to swallow the fact that we had the title in our grasp and we fluffed our lines.
But it wasn’t a typical bottle-job.
When you’re fighting at the top of the league with the youngest squad in the competition – we were bound to get results that made things harder for us.
The draws against Southampton and West Ham are results that stand out.
But it is with experience that these games are won. When the pressure is heaped on your shoulders from an opponent that is breathing down your neck, waiting for any mistake to pounce.
Our boys lost their composure, that state of mind that allows our team to create something from nothing and also be resolute when attack after attack is raining down on us.
We could have won our first title since 2004 and yep, we blew it.
But this season will burn long in the memory of our players.
And it isn’t as if this squad will be broken up amidst the disappointment of a title failure.
This is a project that all the players are on board for.
And we can use this season as a catalyst for something even greater.
Mikel and Edu will also take pointers from our capitulation. They will act accordingly on the weaknesses which blighted us in the home straight. The nosedive of Thomas Partey. The dependance on William Saliba and his departure from our eleven that left us wanting. Our need for another option up top that gives us another plan.
Next season will see us become even stronger. More wisdom, more experience, fitter, better.
And what a ride this season has been too. A welcome departure from the mediocrity of the last 6 years.
We’re back – and next season will be one of those rare occasions where the sequel is even better than the first.
Up The Arsenal 