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This is Mikel Arteta’s make or break season

Mikel Arteta has worked wonders at Arsenal, turning them from midtable Premier League fodder when he arrived in December 2019 into genuine title contenders. But the issue is, that sentence could have been written in 2022; in the three years since, the club hasn’t been able to make the final leap and the pressure is growing on him to do so. This season it could be make or break.

There has always been an excuse for Arsenal, perpetuated from somewhere. Arteta has often pushed them himself – the most humorous possibly being after the Carabao Cup semi final defeat to eventual winners Newcastle United, when he blamed the ball. That was then said again on Sunday, after defeat to Liverpool in the first big Premier League title clash of the season at Anfield. It is true that the Premier League ball switched from Nike to Puma this season, incidentally the same as is used in the Carabao Cup, but that change has impacted every team and nobody else has complained.

But the excuses have also been pushed in the media, too. They haven’t had a striker, Manchester City have just been too good. Liverpool won the league last year with Mohamed Salah scoring most of their goals from the right of midfield, while City crumbled away. Arsenal were not ready to take advantage of that opportunity despite finishing second the previous two seasons. This summer, all their shortcomings were amended in the transfer market, particularly up front with the signing of Victor Gyokeres.

More than just that, though. More than £300m has been spent on back-up goa defensive reinforcements Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie, new midfield anchors in Martin Zubimendi

and Christian Norgaard and creativity in the shape of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke. The squad is stacked with options and quality throughout and is arguably the best in the league. Liverpool have added unbelievable talent, too, but there are issues in defence and Arne Slot has to integrate Alexander Isak alongside Hugo Ekitike and that could cause some problems.

It is early days, but at Anfield, Arteta and Arsenal failed their first test. Losing to Liverpool is one thing, but their approach was disappointing. Over the last year or so, Arteta has changed the philosophy, pulling away from the Manchester City blueprint he worked to while assistant to Pep Guardiola, to being more defensive. Liverpool were there for the taking on Sunday, and the choice to play Gabriel Martinelli without either Eze or Martin Odegaard.

Although Odegaard was an injury doubt pre-match, it was an ideal opportunity for Eze to make his debut after joining from Crystal Palace. He has been playing for the club since pre-season and would surely be ready to offer something more of a threat from the start. They mustered just one shot on target.

But the pressure on Arteta runs deeper. Although he won the FA Cup just six months after taking over at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners have not added any more silverware since. In some ways, he should be credited for creating a team with the quality to expect more than domestic trophy wins now, but that means nothing if they don’t actually come through on it.

Arteta has always maintained the support of most Arsenal fans and he has deserved it every step of the way. Not only are they challenging, which seemed a world away six years ago, but they are also taken seriously; there is a fear factor that hasn’t been there since the height of Arsene Wenger’s reign two decades ago.

You can see what Arteta is doing with Arsenal. He has made them serious, capable in attack and defence. But now he must simply deliver and there is nowhere else to hide.