Arsenal… A team for the future or one of the best in the world right now?
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Arsenal currently sit in third place in the Premier League and are one of the favourites to win the Champions League this season, but Coral looks at whether or not they’re a team for the future, or if they’re real deal right now.
There’s no denying that Mikel Arteta, since becoming manager in December 2019, has turned Arsenal into a top side. His team not only play football in a beautiful way, with some of the most complex tactics on display, but they’re incredibly effective too at delivering results, as seen by their emphatic 3-1 win over Liverpool in February.
But are Arteta’s Arsenal side ready to be recognised as one of the best teams in the world right now? Coral tries to answer that question…
Are Arsenal one of the best teams in the world?
On their day, Arsenal can beat anyone in the world, there’s simply no disputing that. Despite being below both Liverpool and Man City in the Premier League table, at the time of writing, the Gunners have beaten both of their title rivals this season in rather impressive performances at the Emirates.
With the likes of William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus in their ranks, Arsenal have some of the world’s best players too, and at 22, 22 and 26, they’re going to be at the top of their games for quite some time. The addition of Declan Rice (25) has been fantastic for Arteta this season too, giving his side more stability and leadership in the middle of the park.
The concern that some fans have with Arsenal is that, in the biggest games against the best teams, when it really matters, they often crumble. That was on full display last year, where despite having a significant lead over Man City, the injury to Saliba saw the Gunners drop vital points and fall away in the title race, ultimately finishing second.
However, failure isn’t a big thing. In fact, Jurgen Klopp would probably argue that losing in the Champions League final to Real Madrid in 2018 contributed to Liverpool winning the competition in Madrid the following season. The German coach would probably also say that losing out on the title to Man City in 2019 by a single point gave his team the confidence that they could go again the following season, which they did, winning the Premier League in 2020.
Arteta will have been disappointed that his team didn’t manage to win the league last season, but if you asked him what his aims were for the campaign back in August 2022, he’d have probably said that he wanted to get Arsenal back in the Champions League, which he managed to do.
Now, the Gunners are not only back in the Champions League, but they’re one of the favourites to win the competition, according to Ladbrokes, with odds of 6/1. Arsenal are ahead of schedule right now, and find themselves mixing it up with the biggest teams in the world for the biggest honours.
Will Arsenal win the Champions League?
At the end of the day, no one can say whether or not Arsenal will end up winning the Premier League and Champions League this year, but there’s certainly no reason that they should be in that conversation.
They’ve got some of the best players in the world, and they’re playing some of the best football on the planet. They have all the makings of a world class side, not only in the future, but this season too.
Arteta knows how good his players are, but what he’ll be hoping to see during the remainder of the season is that his players learned lessons from failing win the Premier League last year, something that simply cannot be taught on the training pitch.
At the time of writing, Arsenal are currently 11/2 to win the Premier League come May 2024. They’re also 6/1 to win the Champions League the following month.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
