Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta promised that is much more to come from his team, while captain Martin Odegaard vowed to bring trophies to the club next season.
A 1-0 win over Newcastle United secured a top-five finish and a place in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League, but the Gunners have gone another season without any silverware.
Declan Rice‘s second-half goal was enough for Arteta’s men to beat Newcastle, who went into the match with their own aspirations of leapfrogging Arsenal into second place.
Instead, Newcastle remain third, looking over their shoulders at the chasing pack and needing a home victory over Everton on the final day to guarantee a return to the Champions League.
That is already secured for Arsenal, who need only one point at Southampton in their 38th league fixture to be confirmed as runners-up for the third season in a row.
Arsenal’s sights in the immediate aftermath of the match were already on going one better next season after falling short of a trophy again.
“We had a dream. It was to be here today or in a week’s time and bring the big trophies to you guys,” Arteta said to the fans, in his post-match speech on the pitch.
“Unfortunately we haven’t been able to do it, for many circumstances, but make sure that chasing a dream doesn’t get blurry and you don’t see what these players, these staff and this football club are doing, and make sure that we chase the dream with positivity and enthusiasm towards next season.
“We have to start creating our own history here in this stadium. There is much more to come and we have to do it altogether. It’s not going to be easy but this group of players, I’m telling you, they have the hunger, they have the quality, they have the talent. And we’re going to make it happen.”
When asked by Sky Sports about the “mixed reviews” for Arsenal after reaching the Champions League semi-finals, almost certainly finishing second but ultimately not winning a trophy, Arteta replied: “That’s fine. I think if you raise the expectations, that [criticism] is what is coming.
“You have to make sure that [criticism] is with realism and analysing properly what you have. We are there [second], nobody wants us to be there. We have been there now for three seasons and they’re going to want to take us from there, and that is going to be difficult.”
On the subject of what a big summer it could be for Arsenal, in terms of assessing what the club needs to improve next season, Arteta alluded to the work that colleagues, such as new sporting director Andrea Berta, are tasked with in the transfer market.
“[We will] finish the season, go to the beach, enjoy a few days – and make sure the ones upstairs do what they have to do.”
“We can be proud of what we’ve done, especially in the Champions League, we had a great run there and some great experiences,” he said in a post-match interview on the pitch.
“We have to accept we haven’t been good enough in the league, but we have to take all experiences, good and bad, take them into next season and be better.”
Reflecting on matches such as the home win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, Odegaard added: “[They’re] unbelievable, those are the nights we live for. To play here at home with that support.
“It was a great game and hopefully we can have many moments like that next season. It’s unbelievable to feel that and the love from the fans.
“We want to thank the fans. We always feel the love, the support we have is amazing so thank you. We have to use all our experiences from this season, to feel that pain of not winning and take it to next season and come back stronger and bring the club some trophies next season.”
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