This article contains adult content that may be inappropriate for minors. Please confirm that you are 18 years or older to continue. This article contains images or details that some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. Arsenal will face Sporting in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League at the end of a season driven by dreams. The main objective becomes increasingly real with each passing week: winning the Premier League for the first time since 2004. With seven matches remaining, Arsenal leads with nine points more than Manchester City, who have a game in hand. The clash between the two teams at the Etihad, scheduled for April 19, just days after the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, does not haunt a club accustomed to failure as it once did. In the last three editions of the Premier League, Arsenal fought for the trophy but always finished in second place, mired in doubts. Mikel Arteta, who has been in charge for six and a half years, has redirected the Gunners towards the top of English football, but it took time to shed the label of losers. This could be the year that stereotype is shattered. Draws in consecutive matches against Brentford and Wolverhampton on February 12 and 18 could have sparked the beginning of the end, but Arteta's side exudes maturity this season. With about two months left in the season, Arsenal has the chance to win the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup in the same season. The first match point is this Sunday against Manchester City in the League Cup final. The clash against Southampton in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup opens the door to Wembley for a team that has not won a title since August 2023. Arsenal may not be the most exciting team in Europe, but the results justify the pragmatism. 23 of the 61 goals scored by the Londoners this season in the Premier League (38%) have come from set pieces. The pressure exerted on goalkeepers and opponents in man-to-man marking paves the way for goals that are more valuable than beautiful. The mobility and technical quality of Saka, Eze, Martinelli, Trossard, and Madueke allow for greater positional freedom and high-level long-range shots. Rice and Zubimendi are indispensable in a midfield weakened by the absences of Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino. The Spanish midfielder, sometimes used by Arteta as a number 9, is not expected to play against the Lions. The anchor of success, however, lies in the more defensive sector. Arteta sacrifices pure full-backs for greater quality in the first phase of build-up and a solid block that is among the best in European football: 32 goals conceded in 49 matches. The signings of Norgaard, Madueke, Kepa, Mosquera, Hincapié, and Eze have enhanced the depth and quality of the Gunners' squad, but Viktor Gyokeres was the standout signing of the summer of 2025. The price paid (€65.7 million fixed plus €10.2 million in bonuses) justifies the heightened expectations, which were initially unmet. Gyokeres scored only two goals in his first 11 matches for Arsenal, and doubts began to accumulate on the shoulders of the Swedish forward. His minimal influence even in offensive build-up, with few touches per match and early exits, drew much criticism and left few certainties regarding the fit of a player fueled by the team's depth. However, the turn of 2026 precipitated a new Gyokeres, more adapted and capable of donning the mask. Eight goals in 12 matches played between January 14 and February 22 increased the credit of the season's top scorer (16). Gyokeres returns to Alvalade more restricted in movement and less confident, but he is one of the main weapons to strike against the team for which he scored 97 goals in 102 matches between 2023 and 2025.
Arsenal Ending the Drought remains central to this story.
Arsenal Ending the Drought remains central to this story.
Read more in Premier League news. and related tags: Arsenal, Ending the Drought.