Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta claims that his team has had “an incredible journey,” but that it now “must heal” after losing ground in the Premier League title race.
Manchester City were confirmed as Champions for the third consecutive year after the Gunners’ defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, leaving Arteta and his team pondering what could have been.
After a strong start to the season, Arsenal led City by the same amount of points at the top of the standings after 18 games, although having played one more game.
Pep Guardiola’s team was able to overtake them and win the championship with three games remaining thanks to a run of just two victories in their previous eight games.
“It has been an incredible journey for us over 10 months competing with City, being ahead of them for so long”. Arteta said
“We have learned huge lessons. We have transformed a lot at this club. We have made huge steps, but the icing on the cake is to win a championship and we fell short.”
In the 2022–23 season, Arsenal held the lead for 248 days—the most in English top-flight history without eventually winning the title.
Arteta is now looking for a method to inspire his team for the season’s last game and beyond after such a sharp decline.
“Now we must heal. It is very painful. I have to find a way to lift the players and we have a tough week ahead of us“.
The gunners play their final game of the season against Wolves on May 28.