Newcastle 2-0 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners blow top four

Growing Pains

Had you asked any Arsenal fan at the beginning of the season that the club would finish fifth, 100% of fans would have taken it. That is the lowest Arsenal can finish, but the fact that Champions League football was within reach feels like a huge missed opportunity.

At the end of the day, if we can be honest, Arsenal probably overachieved with the squad they have, and this season can still be seen as a sort of success even if it doesn’t seem like it now.

The Arsenal squad is the youngest in the league, and the inconsistencies that have plagued the club all season came home to roost at the most inopportune time. It is what it is.

While the disappointment is evident and the Arteta out brigade will be out in full force, as Ian Wright said, the club overachieved this season, and finishing fifth is still a good season.

Why fans are angry and won’t budge is because Arsenal had Champions League football within touching distance. But in the biggest games, the young squad fell apart. That is what happens when inexperience floods a team.

It is part of the growing process, and yes, many fans are livid, and rightly so, but given what the expectations were at the start of the season and then given the opening three games, to get where they have is a reasonable effort – even if it will fall on deaf ears for the next few months.