Arsenal Finally Has That Trophy Feeling. Now Comes the Hard Part.

The champagne has dried. The parade is over. And Arsenal finally has a Premier League title to show for all those years of almosts.

But here’s the thing about winning your first trophy in two decades. It doesn’t guarantee the next one. Ask Leicester City. Ask any club that climbed the mountain once and then spent years trying to find the trail again.

Mikel Arteta’s squad answered the big question last season. Could they close? Yes. They did. Twenty-six league wins matched the Invincibles’ total from 2003-04, even if the unbeaten part stayed out of reach. They also made it to a Champions League final and lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties. That run, by the way, went further than Wenger’s Invincibles ever got in Europe.

The bottlejob tag is dead. Long live the expectations.

Nobody can call them chokers anymore. Not after three straight title races that fell apart late. Not after Man City fans sold merch making fun of them. That narrative got buried the moment the final whistle blew on title night.

But winning once doesn’t fix everything. The Premier League is too competitive for that. City will reload. Liverpool will be back. Chelsea is spending like they’re printing money in the basement. Retaining the title is going to be brutal.

Arsenal also has to replace Leandro Trossard, who bailed them out more than once last season. The club says they’ll add quality this summer. We’ll see. Transfers in July sound great until August reveals who actually showed up.

Time to treat the Champions League like it matters most

Here’s the uncomfortable truth Arsenal fans don’t love hearing: Tottenham came closer to winning the Champions League than this club has. Spurs lost the 2019 final to Liverpool. Then they won the Europa League two seasons ago. That stings to type, but it’s real.

Arsenal lost the 2006 final and just lost another one to PSG. That’s two chances gone. The window to win Europe’s biggest prize doesn’t stay open forever. Ask Juventus. Ask Atletico Madrid.

Another trophy that’s been collecting dust? The League Cup. Arsenal hasn’t won it since 1993. That’s 33 years. They lost two finals to City in that stretch, including earlier this year. Some fans will say the League Cup doesn’t matter. Those people have clearly never watched their club lift silverware.

Winning the Premier League felt like exhaling after holding your breath for two decades. But if Arsenal wants to be mentioned with Europe’s elite again, they need to prove last season wasn’t a beautiful one-off.

One title breaks a drought. Two titles build a legacy.

The next chapter starts now.