Tony Adams claims 'this could be as good as it gets' for Arsenal
Arsenal legend Tony Adams warns ‘this could be as good as it gets’ for Mikel Arteta’s side after they ‘massively over-performed’ to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title
- Arsenal held top spot in the Premier League title race for the majority of 2022-23
- Tony Adams suggested that Mikel Arteta lacks faith in his supporting players
- The Gunners have ‘no intention of letting Emile Smith Rowe leave this summer’
Arsenal legend Tony Adams has warned that this season’s campaign could be as good as it gets for the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta’s side pushed Manchester City to the final few weeks of the 2022-23 Premier League season but fell agonisingly short.
The Gunners had not been tipped to fight for the English top-flight crown but surprised in holding on to top spot for the majority of the season, before running out of steam towards the climax and ceding top spot to Pep Guardiola’s side.
The north London side still achieved their primary goal of returning to the Champions League, but perhaps raised expectations for more than a runners-up place with their performances earlier in the season.
The ex-Arsenal and England defender, writing exclusively for the Sun, warned that many of the current crop of players may have ‘already peaked’ and could struggle to replicate their heroics from this term.
Tony Adams claimed that many of Arsenal’s stars might have ‘already peaked’ this season
The Gunners were pipped to the Premier League title by Pep Guardiola’s Treble-chasing Man City side
Adams also suggested that Mikel Arteta might not have full faith in some of his supporting stars
‘I do fear that this could be as good as it gets for them,’ he wrote.
‘I hate to sound like a prophet of doom, but I do believe that a lot of this team has already peaked.
‘They’re definitely not going to challenge Manchester City next season and without serious recruitment this summer it will be a struggle for them to finish runners-up again.’
Adams warned that for Arsenal to push on and challenge Treble-chasing Manchester City, they would not only need to make at least four signings, but recruit physical leaders with experience.
The club have been linked with a big-money move for West Ham captain Declan Rice, but the midfielder could cost them in the region of £100million, with Adams claiming that the club might be best served by signing an entertaining attacker instead.
Although the strength of the Gunners’ starting XI has been bolstered by a huge spend of around £400m since Arteta’s arrival, the club icon claimed that there was not enough quality able to make an impact in games from the bench.
Arsenal made few changes throughout the campaign, with the vast majority of the starting side only making way due to injury as the Gunners sought consistency.
The Gunners have been linked with a move for West Ham captain Declan Rice this summer
Adams remained confident that Arsenal would not challenge City for the title next season
However, the legendary defender argued that the Spaniard’s reluctance to make alterations comes as a lack of faith in his supporting stars.
‘I get the impression that Arteta didn’t have much faith in his back-up players and so he picked the same team week after week when some of them were crying out for a rest,’ he continued.
‘Every time I won the league with Arsenal, we always had magnificent back-up players sitting on the bench.
‘There’s no one of that calibre currently waiting in the Emirates wings and that’s why they couldn’t sustain their title challenge all the way to the finishing post.’
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