Arsenal finished second behind surprise champions Leicester City last season.
Quoted by the Daily Mail, Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has admitted it was a miracle that they finished second last season.
The last campaign was considered a hugely disappointing one for Arsene Wenger’s side after they collapsed in the second half of the year.
Arsenal had led the table heading into 2016, but a poor run of form saw them fail to keep up with Claudio Ranieri’s side as they ran away with the most unlikely of title successes.
Indeed it was believed Arsene were lucky to finish as high as they did and Mertesacker has admitted it was a miracle.
‘The way last season went, we were quite lucky to finish [second],” the Daily Mail quotes him saying.
‘We turned things around at the end but it was kind of a miracle we finished runners-up. What really disappointed us was that Leicester were able to take advantage of all the other big teams suffering and we couldn’t do the same.”
It now remains to be seen if Arsenal can better that finish next season, with the fans certainly demanding improvement.
They are going to face a fight to do so though, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool all busy in the transfer window and the likes of Tottenham Hotspur looking to continue their good work and Chelsea keen to bounce back.
That has next season set up to be one of the most competitive yet and Arsenal may struggle to make even the top four without serious additions this summer.
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