Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka has expressed confidence that “this is the year” the Gunners will break their 21-year Premier League title drought.
Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has finished as runners-up to Manchester City in the past two seasons, with their last title win dating back to Arsène Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ squad of 2003-04.
Currently, the team sits third in the league standings, tied on points with second-placed City and just one point behind leaders Liverpool after six matches.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on us but I do think that this is the year [Arsenal win the title],” Saka told CBS Sports.
“I think we’ve been close the last two years and we’re getting closer, but this hopefully will be the year.”
In addition to finishing second in the Premier League, Saka was also part of the England squad that suffered back-to-back defeats in the European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024.
The 23-year-old forward says these disappointments are driving his determination to secure trophies this season. He pointed to victories like Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League win over Paris St-Germain as evidence that Arsenal can compete with the top teams.
“Previous years, I’ve come runners-up a lot. It’s just that spirit in me that I want to win this season and of course, I believe in myself a lot,” he told Amazon Prime.
“With those two things, it helps. We believe in ourselves, we believe we’re a top team. We showed that tonight [against Paris St-Germain]. I did tell the boys we have to make a statement when big teams are coming to the Emirates.”