Arsenal halfway season review: Mikel Arteta sent Champions League message as Premier League verdict delivered

Arsenal person a amended accidental of winning their first-ever Champions League rubric than they bash of pipping runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool to the English top-flight crown, Gunners adept Charles Watts believes.

Mikel Arteta's men volition adjacent retired 2024 with a nine-point spread to marque up to Liverpool successful the Premier League table, which volition trim to six if they flooded Brentford connected New Year's Day, though they past would person played a crippled more.

However, lone the Reds and Barcelona person out-performed Arsenal truthful acold successful this season's Champions League, wherever they inhabit third spot successful the 36-team table aft six league signifier games, each but assuring themselves of a nonstop way to the past 16.

The Gunners volition besides pit their wits against Newcastle United successful the EFL Cup semi-finals adjacent year, successful summation to opening their FA Cup travel against crisis-hit Manchester United successful the 3rd round, and Watts has emphasised the value of Arteta yet adding to his 2020 FA Cup crown and 2 Community Shields successful North London.

"I deliberation Arsenal tin inactive person a bully play without a trophy, but it's conscionable perfectly not success," Watts told Sports Mole. "It's conscionable different play that has gone by. If Arsenal don't get silverware, yes, they mightiness extremity up finishing 2nd successful the league, they mightiness bash alright successful the different competitions, but this squad present is each astir winning.

"They've got themselves to this presumption wherever the lone mode a play is going to beryllium viewed arsenic a occurrence is if you extremity it with silverware. Will the Carabao Cup bash that? I don't deliberation so. It would beryllium nice, but if each Arsenal bash this play is triumph the Carabao Cup, I don't deliberation you tin look astatine that and deliberation that's an overriding occurrence due to the fact that that's not what their ambition was.

'Arsenal person amended accidental of winning Champions League'

"They wanted to triumph this league. They felt they were bully capable to triumph this league. I thought they were going to triumph the league, but Liverpool and Mo Salah, he's undeniable astatine the infinitesimal what helium is doing and however Liverpool are reaping the benefits of that.

"Champions League would decidedly beryllium a success, and I wouldn't regularisation that retired by immoderate means. I deliberation they've got a amended accidental of winning the Champions League than they bash the Premier League. Hopefully by the clip the concern extremity of that contention comes around, Saka's backmost and tin marque an impact. The FA Cup would beryllium nice, Champions League would beryllium incredible, but immoderate benignant of silverware has to beryllium won this season."

After moving Manchester City incredibly adjacent implicit the past 2 Premier League seasons, the statement was that Arsenal would beryllium close successful the rubric premix for the 3rd twelvemonth moving and acceptable to capitalise connected immoderate drop-off successful signifier from the champions.

While Pep Guardiola's men are going done an unforeseen on-field situation and person surely seen their reign of dominance travel to an end, it is Arne Slot's Liverpool who person taken afloat vantage successful the archetypal fractional of the play alternatively than Arsenal, who person already dropped 18 points successful the existent campaign.

Stalemates with Fulham, Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion were peculiarly excruciating setbacks for Arteta's side, arsenic was their 2-0 decision distant to Bournemouth, and Watts tin lone spot Arsenal pulling disconnected a sensational rubric comeback if Liverpool suffer a mates of cardinal men to terrible injuries akin to Bukayo Saka's two-month lack for the Gunners.

"It's a pugnacious 1 to assess," Watts said erstwhile reviewing Arsenal's show successful the archetypal fractional of the campaign. "They've not deed the heights that I was expecting them to deed implicit the archetypal fractional of the season. I thought determination was going to beryllium a spot of continuity astir them. But injuries person perfectly dominated this play truthful acold for Arsenal and it's made things very, precise difficult.

Arsenal "solid" not "terrible" successful archetypal fractional of season

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"It's not been a unspeakable commencement to the play by immoderate means, but everything is viewed upon done what Liverpool are doing close now. Arsenal person had a coagulated commencement to the season, but they are playing drawback up. Liverpool are acold disconnected successful the region astatine the infinitesimal due to the fact that what they're doing is perfectly exceptional and it's showing nary signs of slowing up.

"From Arsenal's constituent of view, you conscionable privation the 2nd fractional of the play conscionable to beryllium a small spot calmer, get immoderate players back. We cognize Saka's not backmost for a long, agelong time, but conscionable don't suffer immoderate much players now. Have a spot of continuity astir the squad and spot wherever you get to.

"It's going to beryllium hard. It was going to beryllium hard with Saka acceptable to pursuit Liverpool down due to the fact that Liverpool are truthful acold ahead. And the situation is conscionable truthful overmuch greater present without your go-to player. I deliberation it's looking much and much similar the lone mode Liverpool are going to autumn disconnected if they abruptly get struck down with a mates of monolithic injuries that they conscionable can't woody with, which you don't cognize if that's ever going to hap oregon not.

"There's inactive a batch for Arsenal to play for, but you decidedly privation to spot a 2nd fractional of the play wherever they tin conscionable find a small spot much astir themselves going forward, people immoderate much goals, play immoderate amended shot and spot wherever it takes them."

While Watts accepts that the Premier League and/or Champions League are the eventual prizes the Gunners should beryllium warring for this season, helium refused to downplay the value of simply winning 1 portion of home silverware.

Debate continues to rage among fans implicit whether the Community Shield is simply a existent trophy, but erstwhile Arsenal's 2023 occurrence successful that curtain-raiser is taken retired of the equation, they person not won a large honour since the 2019-20 FA Cup.

Watts: 'EFL Cup oregon FA Cup could beryllium monolithic for Arsenal'

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Only 3 Arsenal players who were portion of the matchday squad astatine Wembley that time are inactive astatine the nine - Saka, Kieran Tierney and Fulham loanee Reiss Nelson - and a caller radical of players lifting a trophy unneurotic could beryllium "massive", Watts believes.

"If Arsenal don't decorativeness successful the apical 2 of the Premier League and Man City aren't determination either, past I deliberation that would beryllium precise disappointing for Arsenal. Silverware is conscionable the all-important happening for them this season," helium concluded.

"Even if they don't spell connected and triumph the Premier League oregon the Champions League, if they could get a Carabao Cup oregon an FA Cup to their name, that could beryllium massive. It could springiness them the content they request to spell guardant and get themselves implicit the enactment successful the Premier League oregon the Champions League successful the adjacent future. It is vitally important that they get it.

"Declan Rice was talking astir it aft the crippled against Ipswich. He knows, the players know, this squad is present acceptable to triumph trophies. It's conscionable astir really doing it. That's what the adjacent six months are going to beryllium about."

Arsenal's past 2 Champions League league signifier games volition spot them big Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb connected January 22, 7 days earlier a travel to La Liga upstarts Girona.

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