Mikel Arteta assesses Manchester City as the strongest club in Premier League history, and Arsenal may need to reach the 100-point mark if they want to claim the title.

In the final round at the Emirates Stadium yesterday, May 19th, Arsenal came from behind to defeat Everton 2-1 thanks to goals from Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kai Havertz. However, this result was not enough to bring them their first Premier League title in 20 years, as at the same time, Manchester City defeated West Ham 3-1 to clinch the championship with a two-point margin.

Nevertheless, tens of thousands of fans remained in the stadium, applauding and cheering for Mikel Arteta’s team. “All of this is happening because you’ve started to believe,” Arteta addressed the home crowd. “You’ve started to be patient, understand what we are trying to do, and all the credit goes to these players and these fantastic staff. I think now is the time to rest, think, analyze, and continue to work, continue to inspire. Don’t be satisfied because we want more, and we will get it. Thank you very much.”

At the subsequent press conference, when asked about the belief that Arsenal will win the Premier League, the 42-year-old coach responded: “If we do what we have to do, we will get closer and eventually win the title. When that will happen, I don’t know. But we will continue to compete and strive in the title race. Eventually, it will happen.”

Manager Mikel Arteta applauds and thanks the fans after Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Everton in the 38th round of the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on May 19, 2024.

This season, Arsenal earned 89 points in the Premier League, just one point shy of the club’s peak in the unbeaten title-winning season of 2003-2004. 89 points were also the same tally Manchester City achieved in the previous season when they clinched the title, and it could be enough for Arsenal to claim the crown in 20 out of the total 31 Premier League seasons prior.

When asked about the possibility of reaching the 100-point mark to win the Premier League, Arteta agreed and recalled achieving this feat with Manchester City in the 2017-2018 season as an assistant to Pep Guardiola. “I spent four years at Man City, and I know what it takes to reach that level, not just in one season,” he added. “We are on the right path, in the right journey, and witnessing rapid development to a level I haven’t seen before.”

The Arsenal players went around the Emirates Stadium to thank the fans after defeating Everton 2-1 in the 38th round of the Premier League on May 19, 2024.

Although not winning the title, the “Gunners” achieved many impressive records, such as scoring 91 goals – a club record in the Premier League and the highest in a single domestic league season since 1952-1953. Arsenal also secured their 13th consecutive final-day victory in the Premier League (the last defeat being against Birmingham City in the 2004-2005 season).

In the year 2024 alone, Arsenal won 16 out of 18 matches in the Premier League. The two matches they dropped points were a 0-0 draw away to Manchester City and a 0-2 loss at home to Aston Villa. The Spanish coach believes that the defeat to Aston Villa cost Arsenal the title, while also mentioning Son Heung-min’s missed chance in the Tottenham’s 0-2 loss to Manchester City midweek.

“We should have won 4-0 against Aston Villa by halftime, and perhaps things would have been different,” Arteta said. “And what happened in the Tottenham versus Manchester City game, perhaps we could have become champions. The difference is very, very small. We have to compete with the strongest club in Premier League history.”