As every Gooner knows, the 2025/26 Premier League and European campaign is turning into potentially a great one for manager Mikel Arteta. It could soon get better this weekend as we continue our preparations for the League Cup Final clash with Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
We are well into the business end of the season now and as the month of April nears we continue to occupy top spot in the table with a league best win, goals scored and goals conceded record. We fully deserve the nine point buffer zone we have on Pep Guardiola’s second placed side and having played runners up for too long, it finally seems to be our year and for fans who use the tools available at the likes of OddsScanner.com as they formulate their own bets and predictions ahead of match days, they will have been very pleased with the offerings available for Arsenal wins of late.
The league is understandably the priority as we look to put recent disappointments behind us and whilst few would have predicted it at the start of the year, we could be on for the quadruple if our potency and consistency holds.
With all eyes on Sunday’s showpiece final, it should not be forgotten that we open next month with Southampton in the FA Cup quarter finals, and then travel to Sporting Lisbon for the Champions League quarter final first leg.
Most fans would have understandably just taken finally getting over the Premier League line this year but steady first team squad improvements over the last few years have really come to the fore, and with Arteta wanting the side to be prepared to really dig in and play far more ugly on the occasions that it is needed, we have reaped those benefits as well.
Expectations will be high this weekend but nobody will be underestimating City and we will see an appearance from co-chairman Josh Kroenke who has flown in from the United States specifically for the game, and rumours have it that he could be joined by Stan if schedules allow.
The positive result that we all want will help grease through contract talks for Arteta given his current deal expires at the end of next season, but it remains open for debate what, if any, progress is made in talks on our summer plans as our finances will be wildly different depending on what happens between now and the summer – particularly the money available for going even further in European competition.
That is for the future though as there is more than enough to keep fans thoroughly preoccupied right now, and that starts on Sunday afternoon.
For both sides in reality, the teams will largely pick themselves and the only potential surprises will likely be injury driven. From our point of view fans will also be interested in knowing the answer to Arteta’s selection dilemma’s and his attempts to rotate given the equally important games that we have on the near horizon.
Whilst he admitted that he will wait until Saturday’s training sessions to make final decisions on the inclusions of Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber, at some point players will need a 90 minute rest and it just depends on whether we get past these three matches and view Bournemouth as providing safer wriggle room given our league advantage.
Arteta will have his thoughts though and fans will just be wanting us to enter a new week with fresh silverware in the trophy cabinet.
Image Source: unsplash.com