For the last three seasons, Arsenal have shown they are capable enough to win the Premier League. The issue is that they still haven't since 2004. Mikel Arteta's side have recorded a hat-trick of second-place finishes and twice surpassed the 80-point mark, yet are without a major trophy of any kind in the five years after the first coronavirus lockdown.
It's been a paradoxically heartwarming and agonising half-decade for the red half of north London. The Gunners have been completely reinvented under Arteta and have shaken off the shackles of crisis that restricted them during the final seasons of Arsene Wenger's tenure and Unai Emery's short-lived spell, but haven't been able to turn performances into tangible success. Perhaps Arsenal fans are merely grateful for being back in the title picture at all.
The club want more, however. Arteta and his squad want more. At the end of each of the last three campaigns, the manager has given a rousing speech to a united Emirates Stadium crowd - an achievement in itself given their post-Highbury struggles - proclaiming the team will come back stronger and hungrier. As he heads into his sixth full season in charge, Arteta is now close to assembling his ideal squad in his near-perfect image, though that will come with the pitfall of further pressure. Arsenal now have to deliver on their promise.
