It is all starting to unravel for Arsenal after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Let’s be honest, morale was low in the camp heading to Germany after the defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend.
Yes, the ardent fans would have believed they could still progress and Mikel Arteta would have done everything to pick his team up after they dented their Premier League title hopes at the hands of Unai Emery.
But it was still an uphill task for the Gunners, who faced a very familiar feeling!
Added to the fact that Arsenal failed to beat Thomas Tuchel’s men in the first leg, the game at the Allianz Arena was always going to be a big ask, even if they had gone there with a lead.
When teams entered the quarter-final stages, Thierry Henry predicted his former side to go on and win the Champions League outright.
After Arsenal were booted out, even he admitted that was more ‘hope’ and ‘wishing’ than actually believing it could happen, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (17/04/24 at 11:15 pm).
Under Arteta’s stewardship, aside from winning the FA Cup final when he joined midway through the campaign, his team have struggled to balance out all the competitions.
Henry was sure to send a brutal reality to Arteta and how his team simply can’t play three games a week.
The legendary forward feels Arsenal always go on great runs, like their most recent one, when they don’t have midweek matches and then the inevitable collapse starts.
Arsenal in the Champions League
“I just think at one point, and I said it before, you asked me so many times as an Arsenal fan,” said Henry.
“Do I think Arsenal could win the Champions League? Yes, because that’s hope and wishing. Do I think after that we could if I take my Arsenal hat away from my head?
“I have said it so many times, when we play three games a week, we struggle. Maybe it could be a good thing now for us, in the Premier League. Are we equipped to play every 3 days? That’s my question. I am just saying that throughout the last two years, we always went on a good run and we didn’t have midweek games.”
The Premier League title race is still on
Yes, Manchester City should do what they have always done from here and win a fourth title in a row.
But the gap to the leaders is still two points. Arsenal still have to believe that absolutely anything can happen.
Plus, from a pressure standpoint, with Pep Guardiola’s side due to play Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals at the weekend, this is Arsenal’s chance to go top of the table for the time being.
Points on the board are points on the board! And, at a bare minimum, if Arsenal win their remaining games then, at the very least, they will take the title race to the final day, something they failed to do last season.