When Arsenal defeated Chelsea in the 2020 FA Cup final, Mikel Arteta became the first Gunners manager to win a major trophy in his first season in charge of the club since George Graham in 1986–87. At that moment, who could have predicted that Arteta wouldn’t win any other trophy in the next five years with Arsenal? Probably not even those worst pessimists among the Gunners’ fanbase.The ongoing season will definitely finish trophyless for the north Londoners, just like every previous one with the Spaniard at the helm. On Wednesday night, the Gunners were handed a heartbreaking Champions League exit by Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germanin at Parc des Princes.Parc des Princes sees the magic! PSG are going for the European throne!There’s nothing to be ashamed of for being eliminated by the amazing PSG side, which previously did the same to three other Premier League slots – Manchester City, Liverpool, and Aston Villa. However, that UCL was Arteta’s and Arsenal’s last chance to win silverware this season.Sure, the Emirates outfit had its fine moments throughout the campaign (vs. Real Madrid, for instance), just like in the EPL, but the brutal reality has knocked on Arsenal’s doors once again.❌ FA Cup❌ Carabao Cup❌ Premier League❌ Champions LeagueArsenal will finish the season without winning a major trophy for the 5th year in a row 💔 pic.twitter.com/FrPkNGmDiV— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 7, 2025 As many as 17 goals were scored over the four UCL semi-final games, and out of those 17, Arsenal scored – just one!That’s not enough to take you to the Munich showdown, and having some fantastic players in your team, like Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard is a solid basis to build your side around it. Alas, you need much more fireworks to transform that good team into a winning one.And Arteta’s time is ticking away…##NAJAVA_MECA_8910044##All that narrative about steady progress, process, and building something big on top of that is applicable if you’re in charge of Crystal Palace, Brentford, or some other mid-table side. Arteta’s problem here is that he’s in charge of one of the biggest English clubs, which suffered a too-long trophy drought even before his arrival. Therefore, patience is not something the Spaniard should count on after five seasons of failure.As if things were not bad enough already, Arsenal will have to do a guard of honour on Saturday for the new Premier League champion, Liverpool. Maybe they will use the opportunity to inspire themselves and kickstart another title quest even before the end of the current season. Tell them not to talk too much about that notorious ‘next season’.
