So, the 2025/26 season reaches its conclusion...how will you reflect on it?
Honestly, after losing the Champions League final, it's hard for me to not feel utterly desolate at the moment. But when the pain settles, and once I can think a little less emotionally/more rationally, we've made tremendous progress.
Arsenal are Premier League Champions. That is the foundation. Not runners-up. Not “nearly.” Not “young team with potential.” Champions.
After three consecutive 2nd-place finishes, this group of players and manager finally crossed the line. That matters enormously. Why? Because it changes the identity of the team. They have proved they can handle pressure, win a league over 38 games, and finish above everyone else.
The Carabao Cup final loss was frustrating and disappointing, but the disappointment subsided the moment we had won the league. However, the Champions League loss clearly hurts because Arsenal were close to something even bigger. But reaching the final after going quarter-final, semi-final, final in three consecutive seasons shows a strong trajectory, even if it doesn't feel that way right now. Make no mistakes - this is not a one-off cup run. It is evidence that Arsenal are now a serious European force.
In terms of how to feel. Honestly, this is probably the most emotionally complicated type of season: Arsenal achieved something massive — first league title in 22 years — but ended it with the sharpest kind of pain: a Champions League final loss on penalties. Penalties are cruel because they leave you stuck in “what if?” mode.
But I am trying hard to not lose perspective. And the perspective is this:
Arsenal did not have a failed season.
Arsenal have had a successful season.
Arsenal had a historic season with a heartbreaking ending.
All those statements are true.
I know there is a lot of narrative around Arsenal at the moment and that devastating/gutting feeling is still extremely fresh. I am trying to frame the season as:
We won the Premier League and came within penalties of becoming European champions. That is not copium. That is a more accurate description of reality.
A bad Arsenal side does not lose a Champions League final on penalties. A nearly elite side might. A truly elite side gets there, learns, and comes back. And isn't that what we aspire to be?
First, Arsenal now have the psychological burden of the league drought removed. That is huge. Our squad no longer has to carry the “can they actually win?” narrative. They have done it.
Second, the team has now experienced the biggest possible European occasion. Painful as it is, that matters. Many great sides had a brutal European loss before winning it later. Bayern lost the 1999 final and later won it. Chelsea lost in 2008 and won in 2012. Liverpool lost in 2018 and won in 2019. Manchester City had years of Champions League disappointment before finally winning it. Even PSG had spent 12 years of countless spending and chopping/changing managers before they finally did it with Luis Enrique.
Third, Arsenal’s status has changed. They will go into next season not as hopeful challengers, but as defending champions and Champions League finalists. That changes recruitment, mentality, sponsorship, global attention and - I hope - the belief. We shouldn't see this as an end of a cycle, it should be the beginning of something special.
The objectives next season become clearer: Retain the league and win the Champions League. That is a painful yet powerful place to be.
It's worth reiterating Arsenal waited 22 years for this league title. This team deserves to be remembered as champions, not just finalists who lost. This season should ultimately feel like pride with unfinished business.
Not failure. Not collapse. Not “same old Arsenal.” Definitely not that.
Arsenal ended the league drought, proved the project and came within a shootout of the biggest trophy in club football. The pain is real, but it is the pain of being close to greatness; not the pain of being nowhere.
And from here, there is something very real to build on.
Until next season
Honestly, after losing the Champions League final, it's hard for me to not feel utterly desolate at the moment. But when the pain settles, and once I can think a little less emotionally/more rationally, we've made tremendous progress.
Arsenal are Premier League Champions. That is the foundation. Not runners-up. Not “nearly.” Not “young team with potential.” Champions.
After three consecutive 2nd-place finishes, this group of players and manager finally crossed the line. That matters enormously. Why? Because it changes the identity of the team. They have proved they can handle pressure, win a league over 38 games, and finish above everyone else.
The Carabao Cup final loss was frustrating and disappointing, but the disappointment subsided the moment we had won the league. However, the Champions League loss clearly hurts because Arsenal were close to something even bigger. But reaching the final after going quarter-final, semi-final, final in three consecutive seasons shows a strong trajectory, even if it doesn't feel that way right now. Make no mistakes - this is not a one-off cup run. It is evidence that Arsenal are now a serious European force.
In terms of how to feel. Honestly, this is probably the most emotionally complicated type of season: Arsenal achieved something massive — first league title in 22 years — but ended it with the sharpest kind of pain: a Champions League final loss on penalties. Penalties are cruel because they leave you stuck in “what if?” mode.
But I am trying hard to not lose perspective. And the perspective is this:
Arsenal did not have a failed season.
Arsenal have had a successful season.
Arsenal had a historic season with a heartbreaking ending.
All those statements are true.
I know there is a lot of narrative around Arsenal at the moment and that devastating/gutting feeling is still extremely fresh. I am trying to frame the season as:
We won the Premier League and came within penalties of becoming European champions. That is not copium. That is a more accurate description of reality.
A bad Arsenal side does not lose a Champions League final on penalties. A nearly elite side might. A truly elite side gets there, learns, and comes back. And isn't that what we aspire to be?
What to look forward to
There is a lot.First, Arsenal now have the psychological burden of the league drought removed. That is huge. Our squad no longer has to carry the “can they actually win?” narrative. They have done it.
Second, the team has now experienced the biggest possible European occasion. Painful as it is, that matters. Many great sides had a brutal European loss before winning it later. Bayern lost the 1999 final and later won it. Chelsea lost in 2008 and won in 2012. Liverpool lost in 2018 and won in 2019. Manchester City had years of Champions League disappointment before finally winning it. Even PSG had spent 12 years of countless spending and chopping/changing managers before they finally did it with Luis Enrique.
Third, Arsenal’s status has changed. They will go into next season not as hopeful challengers, but as defending champions and Champions League finalists. That changes recruitment, mentality, sponsorship, global attention and - I hope - the belief. We shouldn't see this as an end of a cycle, it should be the beginning of something special.
The objectives next season become clearer: Retain the league and win the Champions League. That is a painful yet powerful place to be.
It's worth reiterating Arsenal waited 22 years for this league title. This team deserves to be remembered as champions, not just finalists who lost. This season should ultimately feel like pride with unfinished business.
Not failure. Not collapse. Not “same old Arsenal.” Definitely not that.
Arsenal ended the league drought, proved the project and came within a shootout of the biggest trophy in club football. The pain is real, but it is the pain of being close to greatness; not the pain of being nowhere.
And from here, there is something very real to build on.
Until next season
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