Five years of rebuilding: where does the Arsenal process go from here?

Trust is ebbing from the Arsenal process.

It formed a key part of those early Mikel Arteta days, when his subpar team stood 11th in the Premier League table and fans were urged to show patience in their new boss (or even “be excited” about the upcoming transfer windows).

Of course, that faith has been largely justified since then and, today, the Gunners boast a competitive edge not seen in north London since the late noughties; a time when Arsene Wenger brought us near title glory and deep into the Champions League knockouts.

But where do Arsenal go now? After two years of title near misses, the club seems to be regressing at a startling rate. This past week has left our FA Cup hopes in tatters and any Carabao Cup interests hanging by a thread, while anything less than three points vs Sp*rs on Wednesday might spell the end of the Premier League dream too.                 

That leaves Europe as the best (and only) chance of silverware this term as we are third in the league table and could all but guarantee a top-eight finish with victory in either of our last two games – even if recent form and our poor track record indicate the Champions League bubble will also burst before long.

What next for Arsenal after a dismal week?

It all makes for a dire picture and has led to much soul-searching amongst fans, many left wondering about the direction this project is going in (an awful thought given the optimism of recent years) and what the hierarchy might do to stop this current slump.       

But Arsenal will not panic and there are several mitigating factors they can cite to assuage fears of a long-term/terminal decline: injuries to a host of key figures (e.g. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, etc.); moments of individual stupidity (e.g. red cards); poor finishing (not too reassuring, but at least suggests our problems could be down to individual errors rather than any significant tactical deficiencies).

For now, one can only hope that the team responds against a similarly unconvincing Sp*rs side and at least keep the gap to leaders Liverpool at nine points. Then, a UCL knockout spot ‘should’ be secured next week and the final week of January can be spent pursuing those ‘market opportunities’ which might get us over the line in May.  

Patience has been exercised throughout the Arteta reign and, though the 2024/25 campaign is close to ‘write-off’ territory, Arsenal will believe that small changes – rather than large-scale reform – can get them back on track.

But there is no more room for error.

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