After years of near-misses, Mikel Arteta finally got Arsenal over the line last season, delivering a first Premier League trophy in more than two decades.
A historic double was also on the cards, with the Gunners a penalty shoot-out away from beating Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final.
The long-awaited Premier League did come at the expense of the free-flowing football Arsenal fans were used to in their title-winning days under Arsene Wenger, with Arteta's pragmatism frustrating sections of the Arsenal fan base.
The siege mentality Arteta helped forge at the Emirates will be harder to sustain as they head into a new season with a target on their back as defending champions, and the Basque tactician may need to be more trusting of his back-up players this term having been overly reliant on his deputies.
Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi missed just two combined Premier League games last term in midfield, though the addition of Bruno Guimaraes should ease the workload somewhat.
Arsenal fan and content creator Rory Cook admitted Arteta will need to use his squad better in pursuit of a second consecutive title.
"I’m concerned about the fatigue of some players," said Rory. "William Saliba and Declan Rice are carrying things, Bukayo Saka’s got an ongoing injury. I’m hopeful that bringing in Bruno Guimaraes is massive for the midfield, that’s where we were most fatigued last season.
"I’m hoping with that and more rotation – and that is something Arteta needs to work on – we’re able to keep players fit and fresh."
Speaking to bet365 News, we got Rory's thoughts on the upcoming campaign.
What are you most looking forward to seeing from Arsenal this season?
Confidence and a bit of fluidity and a feeling that the shackles have been let off now we’ve won the league. I think we all acknowledge we just needed to get over the line and we were kind of accepting of some of the football being a little bit dry to watch.
If Arsenal could sign one more player this summer, who would it be?
It still needs to be that left-wing spot. We’ve been looking to make a big upgrade there for three seasons. It’s not a great position generally – you look at the market – Bradley Barcola seems massively overpriced.
Kenan Yildiz is the one for me. He had a poor World Cup but from what I’ve seen from him in the UEFA Champions League with Juventus I think he’s a top talent, 21 years old, I’d like to see us get him.
What's a good season for Arsenal?
I think a good season is winning the Premier League again. I think that has to be the standard now. We won it once, we’ve never gone back to back, but of the previous times we’ve won the league and failed to go back to back, I think this is by far and away the best opportunity.
You look at City losing Pep and potentially Rodri, none of the other teams look put together at the moment.
What's a bad season for Arsenal?
A bad season would be going without any trophies. We’ve put ourselves in a position now where at our absolute bare minimum is winning silverware year in year out, so not doing that would be a step backwards.
