Arsenal and Arteta on the night of reckoning.

TPO - A dynasty cannot be decided by a single match, but the second leg of the 2024/25 Champions League semi-final against PSG is truly crucial for Arsenal and will have a significant impact on Mikel Arteta's future.

Everything was going great for Arsenal, until the fourth minute of the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Emirates, when Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal for PSG. That's when fear crept into the minds of the North Londoners. The 2024/25 season was in danger of falling apart.

Frankly, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are currently a worse version of themselves than they were two seasons ago. While the Gunners may finish second in the 2024/25 Premier League, it will clearly be in a far less impressive way. For much of the season, they never challenged Liverpool for the top spot.

Arteta recently stated that The Kop won the league with fewer points than Arsenal two seasons ago, but he overlooked one detail: there are still four games left in the season. If we only consider 34 games, the Gunners would have accumulated 77 points in the 2023/24 season and 78 in the 2022/23 season, fewer than Liverpool's 82 points but still more than their own 67 points this season.

Arsenal could even lose their second place in the Premier League if their inconsistent form continues.

Failing in both the FA Cup and the League Cup also means Arsenal could end the season empty-handed. Excluding the Community Shield, which was essentially a friendly match, they haven't won a major trophy in five consecutive seasons.

These also mark Arteta's five full seasons as Arsenal manager (he arrived midway through the 2019/20 season and won the FA Cup that year). The board and fans acknowledge what the Spanish strategist has accomplished, and have given him time to establish, fine-tune, and refine his squad before presenting a winning team. And now they are demanding results.

Therefore, the Champions League became their lifeline. Forgetting domestic failures, beating Real Madrid and reaching the semi-finals was seen as a sign of maturity. But that wasn't enough. Arsenal had to reach the final, and then make history with their first ever Champions League title.

If this scenario unfolds, it would be a monumental milestone and a turning point, propelling Arteta's reign to new heights. If nothing happens, North London would be shrouded in unparalleled disappointment.

Pressure is mounting on Arteta, and the board, fans, and players are beginning to question whether his methods can bring about victory. This is exactly what happened to Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United after missing out on the chance to win a title.

All of this puts Arsenal at a crossroads: either they have it all or they have nothing, a bright future awaits them or disaster looms. Will Arteta's team be able to pull off a miracle on this night of reckoning? We'll have to wait and see.

Thanh Hai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/arsenal-va-arteta-trong-dem-phan-quyet-post1740187.tpo