The Arsenal mantra: keep calm, stay fit, recruit well

Miguel Delaney details why a disappointed Mikel Arteta remains so confident in his side, plus the names discussed behind the scenes to make the difference next season

- 

It was a message some of the Arsenal players didn't quite expect.

In the hours between the Champions League elimination to Paris Saint-Germain and tomorrow's trip to Liverpool, the mood was naturally downbeat, and a few players needed to be picked up.

Mikel Arteta didn’t quite indulge self-pity, though. Anyone feeling that for too long will be discarded. The Arsenal manager instead proclaimed that he has never been more convinced his team is on the brink of glory.

Some in football will feel that such stories are typical of the “delusion” around the London club, especially as they travel to Anfield having to give a guard of honour to a team that stole in ahead of them for the title.

This Arsenal might yet become the fifth English team to finish as runners-up three times in a row, and that’s only if they actually hang on to second place. Arsenal have to battle to just be bridesmaids again.

All four of the sides previously responsible for that record, including Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal 1998-2001, actually won the title around those periods. The closest parallel is probably Sir Matt Busby’s first Manchester United, who eventually built up to the Scot’s first title in 1951.

Arteta has to convince himself that Arsenal are on a similar path. Otherwise, that semi-final defeat to PSG will only foster the sense of a “nearly team”, of a club that has suddenly gone backwards. A trip to newly crowned Liverpool couldn’t come at a worse time. It just emphasises another disappointment. Arteta, who found it difficult to watch Liverpool’s title celebrations, now has to be in the middle of it all.

The message to the players will be to remember what it feels like. Arteta's staff don't necessarily feel the same as everyone else, though. They would describe this as a "frustrating" rather than a bad season.