Declan Rice believes Arsenal can still win trophies this season | OneFootball

Declan Rice believes Arsenal can still achieve great things this season, despite being eliminated from both domestic cup competitions.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

Arsenal’s chances of winning a trophy in 2024/25 certainly took a hit in January, as the Gunners lost on penalties in the third round of the FA Cup against Manchester United and in the semi-finals of the League Cup against Newcastle United.

That 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle was compounded with the same result in the reverse fixture to deny the team a trip to Wembley this season, leaving Arsenal’s hopes resting on the Premier League and the Champions League.

Yet Declan Rice believes the team are still capable of taking the next step and winning trophies this season.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

“There’s still a really long way to go, we know what we want to achieve,” Rice told Sky Sports. “The manager said in a press conference the other week ‘no matter what, we can only worry about ourselves’.

“At the end of the season, we will be there. We can only keep believing in what we believe in, and working on what we’re working on, and have full trust in the manager and the players and everyone around us that we can achieve great things.

“It’s just down to us to get that over the line, and that’s the next step. Big things coming up, but we just need to stay positive and keep going.”

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

As Rice points out, there’s still a long way to go, but Arsenal are in a good position in the Champions League. By finishing third in the League Phase, the Gunners have avoided the February play-off round, and they also won’t face any of the other top-four teams until the semi-finals at the earliest.

The Premier League standings are somewhat less encouraging, with Liverpool six points clear having played a game less. But if anyone is going to catch Arne Slot’s side this season, it looks like Arsenal are the one team capable.

Reigning champions Manchester City are 15 points off the pace, and Chelsea are only two points better off, despite both having played a game more than Liverpool.

Nottingham Forest are only three points behind Arsenal, but their inexperience in title races is likely to show at some stage. A top-four run seems more realistic.

All Arsenal can do is keep winning games and hoping results go their way elsewhere in the final third of the season.