Arsenal are flying high in the Premier League at the moment, while they are still in the UEFA Champions League and aiming to go deep in the competition.
Mikel Arteta’s men have grown in the past few years and made significant progress since the Spaniard came on board and are now looking towards claiming one of the biggest trophies available.
Following the first-leg defeat to Porto in their UCL round of 16 first-leg clash, should the Gunners attempt a comeback or just go out of Europe’s finest competition to focus on the title chase in the Premier League?
To answer the above, we attempt to justify the headline as we enter the home stretch of the 2023/34 Premier League campaign.
Arsenal in the Champions League
Arsenal have not enjoyed success in the Champions League before. The Gunners reached the final back in 2005/06 and went on to lose to Barcelona.
Until their return to the competition this season, Arsenal last took part in the competition back in the 2016/17 season. Each of their past seven appearances in Europe’s elite competition have ended in the round of 16.
The last time the North London side got past the second round was in the 2009/10 season, which is more than a decade now.
This time around, there was optimism the Gunners could try and challenge realistically and perhaps reach a reasonable level in the tournament. However, all of those hopes now hang by a slim thread after Mikel Arteta’s men suffered a last-gasp 1-0 loss to Porto in the first leg of their round of 16 clash in Portugal.
Arsenal in the 2023/24 Champions League
Arsenal are preparing to face Porto on 12 March at the Emirates Stadium in the second leg of their round of 16 clash.
The tickets to the game are selling fast. You can get Arsenal tickets on Seatsnet.com.
Arsenal lost 1-0 to the Portuguese side courtesy of Galeno’s last-minute strike. The Brazilian curled home a wonderful strike from outside the area, giving David Raya no chance, to hand the LIga side the advantage in the tie.
After finishing in second place in the Premier League last season, the Gunners were grouped alongside Lens, PSV, and Sevilla. They amassed 13 points from six matches (4W, 1D, 1L) to finish top of the group.
By finishing top of their group, Arsenal were seeded in the round of 16 draws and ended up drawing Porto. Following the first-leg defeat in Portugal, the Gunners will now hope for a major turnaround to reach the last eight for the first time in 14 years.
Arsenal in the Premier League
While Arsenal have never won the Champions League, the Gunners have 13 league titles to their name but the last title win came in the 2003/04 season.
That remarkable unbeaten feat – the invincibles – still stands today, but the Gunners have not been able to enjoy success again in that regard.
Despite a lack of title wins (s), Arsenal remained in the top four until the 2016/17 season when they finished 5th on the log. Meanwhile, they have also finished league runner-ups three times since 2004.
Therefore Arteta’s men have not been far away and are currently among the contenders for the title this season alongside Liverpool and Manchester City.
In fact, the Gunners are by far the most in-form Premier League side in 2024 and have blown all the sides in their path away, including fellow title contenders Liverpool.
Arsenal’s chance in the Premier League
Having finished second behind Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City last season, Arsenal sit just two points behind Liverpool on the Premier League log as of the time of writing.
The Gunners have been able to maintain their consistency this season – 18W 4D 4L – and possess the best defense in the league with just 23 goals conceded after 26 matches.
In the remaining 12 games for the Gunners, they will face Manchester City (A), Tottenham (A) and Manchester United (A). These are games that could make or mar their season, but they have a chance because Manchester City and Liverpool do have a tough run of fixtures as well.
On the other hand, more than half of Arsenal’s remaining games will be against teams in the bottom half of the log – oppositions the Gunners have done well against this season.
Good for Arsenal, they are no longer in any other cup competitions like Liverpool, who have been hit by a serious injury crisis, and Manchester City. Both challengers are still in Europe and the FA Cup.
Arsenal finished five points behind Manchester City last season but have probably learned from that experience. They took four points off Liverpool and have already taken three points off the Citizens.
After Arsenal beat Newcastle 4-1 in the Premier League, Magpies boss Eddie Howe gave an honest assessment of the Gunners’ Premier League chances, saying: “Off the back of the game I have to say they’re right in it, the title race. They’re one of the best teams we’ve played this season.”
Having scored 25 goals in six games since the start of the year, Arteta also said: “The team is hitting form, we are in a good moment, the players individually are performing.”
“It’s not any secret things are flowing at the moment, we are scoring goals in various ways, and we want more. We score one and we want to go for the second and third and the fourth one and I love that mentality from the team.”
In the Champions League, they have a long way to go but they will need to first beat Porto to progress before facing European houses like Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and the like.
The route to a first Premier League win in 20 years would be better if they could shift focus to it and sacrifice the UCL campaign.