Arsenal secured a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United in their final home game of the season, thanks to a brilliant second-half goal from Declan Rice, but the mood at the Emirates was more reflective than celebratory.
The win all but confirmed a third straight second-place finish for Mikel Arteta’s side, yet the sense of anti-climax was hard to ignore.
With just one win in their last six prior to Sunday, the Gunners had long since fallen out of title contention, and dreams of silverware were dashed in painful fashion by PSG in the Champions League and Newcastle in the League Cup.
Arteta addressed fans with visible emotion after full-time, urging them not to lose faith:
“We had a dream, it was to be here or in a week’s time and bring the big trophies to you guys, and we couldn’t do it for many circumstances. But we need to make sure that chasing a dream doesn’t get blurry and make sure we chase the dream with positivity and enthusiasm for next season.”
Captain Martin Ødegaard echoed the sentiment, calling for the team to use this season’s near-misses as fuel to finally bring home trophies next year.
