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Arsenal’s season would not be a failure if title bid falls short
Arsenal are top of the Premier League by five points going into the World Cup break.
This is very exciting for the club and as a fan. As the season has gone on, Arsenal have kept on winning to the point where those once wildly optimistic thoughts creep in a little more often: can we actually do this? Whether we can or can’t is one thing, but I would like to discuss something else: how do we evaluate the team?
A similar question was raised at the end of last season: was the campaign a failure because we failed to finish in the top four?
I for one didn’t predict Arsenal to finish in the top four before the 2021/22 season and the club was a lot closer than many expected, but that led to changed expectations as the season progressed. This season is similar. Most thought that Arsenal would be in the fight for the Champions League positions again, but now 14 games into the campaign, Arsenal seem to be firmly in the title race. So, how should expectations change?
How to evaluate Arsenal’s expectations as the season progresses
Some say that expectations should constantly be changing, with some people believing that the 2022/23 season would now be a failure if the Gunners fail to lift the title next May.
That, however, is unfair.
When it comes to expectations, it doesn’t work to keep moving the goalpost when the original expectation is exceeded. Last season, Arsenal came up short of the top four, which did not make the entire campaign a failure – it was disappointing, for sure, but not a failure.
The difference is that you can change your perception of how a season is going but moving the goalpost of what constitutes success and failure doesn’t work. None of us expected Arsenal to be on top of the league when the World Cup rolled around and it’s exciting to think that we could be in a position to challenge for the title during the second half of the season.
But in the very real possibility where that challenge comes up short, this could not possibly be a failure considering our pre-season expectations.
As a fan, you have every right to feel disappointed or upset if that was the case. But in the grand scope, the season would be a success if the Gunners continue to grow and improve. We’re in a great position to return to the Champions League in 2023: our primary objective.