Despite their status as one of English football’s biggest names, Arsenal have gone a mammoth 20 years without winning the Premier League title while the Gunners haven’t enjoyed success on the continent since their UEFA Cup triumph in 1994.
However, Arsenal have never been closer to reestablishing themselves as top dogs in England. Two years ago, Mikel Arteta’s emerging side had one hand on the Premier League trophy before a late collapse allowed Man City to successfully defend their crown.
Last season, the Gunners were within a whisker of the promised land when they took the title race to the final day before City prevailed again, though a renewed effort for domestic glory is expected from the Londoners this term.
Arsenal’s improvement under Arteta’s instruction has been remarkable, though trophies will always be the ultimate measure of success, and the Spaniard needs to deliver silverware this season. Below, we’ve used the latest available betting odds to analyse Arsenal’s prospects on four fronts for the 2024/25 campaign.
Premier League – could City’s case open the door?
A stage we relish ✊ pic.twitter.com/5OCqti1Gnn
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 16, 2024
Unsurprisingly, Man City remain heavy favourites in the Premier League outright winner markets for 2024/25, however, once again, Arsenal look like the best-positioned contender from the chasing pack to challenge the Mancunians’ dominance.
Despite being listed as underdogs behind City with best sportsbooks in the title market reckoning, Arsenal look ready to breach the 90-point barrier this season having collected 89 and 84 points across the previous two campaigns respectively.
Arsenal did relatively little business during the summer transfer window and beyond the signing of defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna or Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, no other major acquisitions were secured.
The dearth of new faces should allow Arsenal to tackle the season with a settled, well-oiled collective and a 2.40 points per game average should be the target for Arteta’s charges this year.
The elephant in the room, of course, is Man City’s impending courtroom battle, set for September, where they will face 115 charges for various rule breaches.
If, as expected, City are charged and punished, they would incur a hefty points deduction at the very minimum and in that punishment-led scenario, Arsenal would be thrust into the driving seat for first place in the Premier League.
Champions League – Arsenal have it all to prove
Arsenal are currently listed as third favourites behind Man City and current holders Real Madrid in the Champions League outright markets, though the Gunners have done little in recent years to suggest that success in Europe is around the corner.
Last season, Arsenal reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League before they were beaten over two legs by Bayern Munich and that was the Londoners’ best performance in the tournament since reaching the same stage in 2010.
While the talent at Mikel Arteta’s disposal is undeniable, the current Arsenal roster has little in the way of Champions League experience and the more battle-hardened outfits tend to rise to the top when the competition reaches its yearly climax.
If as expected, Arsenal are involved in another Premier League title race after Christmas, then a desperation to succeed domestically might take energy away from their efforts on the continent and another early knockout round exit could be the outcome.
FA Cup & Carabao Cup – most realistic chance of silverware?
Most observers agree that Arsenal’s unexpected FA Cup win of 2020 kept Mikel Arteta in a job after the Spaniard had overseen a hugely disappointing 8th-place finish in the Premier League the same year.
Arsenal’s FA Cup performances since, however, have been underwhelming to say the least with the club exiting at Round Three (twice) and Round Four (twice) in the four years since they won it last.
This season, the FA Cup is likely to be positioned down the list of Arsenal’s priorities, though the Gunners – who are the competition’s record winners – have still been installed as second-favourites behind Man City with bookmakers to win the cup outright.
Similarly, Arsenal have placed little importance on the Carabao Cup in recent years and Mikel Arteta fielded an XI made up of fringe first-teamers and youngsters in the club’s 3-1 loss to West Ham in Round Four of the tournament in 2023.
Arsenal, who haven’t won England’s secondary cup competition since 1993, were dumped out of the League Cup by Brighton in 2022 after Arteta deployed another scratch side in another 3-1 defeat.
Once again, a glance at the Carabao Cup outright markets for 2024/25 will show Arsenal sitting as second-favourites to prevail behind Manchester City, however, don’t let those listings fool you. An early-round exit for the third-year running is anticipated with Arsenal chucking their resources and focus on a different direction.