Mikel Arteta has admitted that he knew Arsenal would fall short in the Premier League title race before the season even started.
The Gunners, whose exit from the Champions League last week confirmed yet another season without silverware at the Emirates, are primed to finish second in the Premier League for the third straight campaign following Liverpool's title triumph.
The Reds, who host Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, won the Premier League with seven games remaining as Arteta's side continued to drop points while focusing on Champions League knockout ties with PSV, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
The north London club, who sit 15 points behind Liverpool ahead of Sunday's match, will be looking to wrap up Champions League qualification with Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa all within four points of the 67 they have tallied.
Despite heading into 2024-25 season as one of the favourites to win the title, alongside perennial winners Man City, the Gunners have struggled for consistency throughout the campaign due in part to a wealth of injury problems.
Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Jesus are among those to have suffered lengthy spells on the sidelines throughout the season, with Arsenal experiencing a shortage of options in particular up front.
'There are a lot of factors,' Arteta said after being asked about Arsenal's title challenge. 'We knew from the beginning of the season that our squad was super short.
'Being super short we had some players that had a high probability of getting injured, because that's what they had in the last few seasons.
'So we knew that and we cannot do anything about it.
'But we will do everything that we can to improve the team and especially improve the players that we already have.
'That is not something we have just started to talk about now. If we were only having those meetings now we would be doing it very late.
'Whatever the market offers to give us a better chance to win for sure we will try to do it.
'Over the season there are many things you need to go your way.
'In the clinical moments, does the ball hit the post and come out, or go in? That's the fine margins.
'What we have to try to do is to amplify the margins. The bigger the margins are, even if those things happen, then it will be very difficult for the opposition.
'We have to do it our way. We have to be authentic with ourselves and what we believe, what we can do and what we've been doing. That's it.'
Arsenal were hoping to end the season with a historic Champions League honour, but the north London club were unable to surpass PSG at the semi-final stage.
The upcoming summer transfer window is likely to be an extremely important one for Arsenal and Arteta, with Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi already understood to have agreed a deal to sign ahead of the new campaign.
Arsenal are also in the market for a new striker, with Sporting Lisbon forward Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig star Benjamin Sesko among those linked with a move to the Emirates.