Arsenal have now been Premier League title challengers for the last two seasons thanks to the management of Mikel Arteta. The Gunners have been in stellar form and seem to have found the correct tactical style that works for them.
Granted, this is largely due to the north London clubs persistence with Arteta following a couple of finishes outside of the top four during his tenure where many thought that the Spaniard would be relieved of his duties.
Despite this, Stan Kroenke decided to stick it out with the Arsenal playing legend and, thus far, it has seemingly worked out. However, Arteta has yet to pip either Manchester City or Liverpool to the title.
The 2022/23 season was where they came closest to doing so, but they narrowly missed out on winning the title by just five points. This season has been no different as the Gunners are still challenging for the title.
#1 Liverpool
24
32
54
#2 Man City
23
21
52
#3 Arsenal
24
31
54
#4 Tottenham
24
15
47
#5 Aston Villa
24
14
46
They currently find themselves in third place, just two points off of the top spot. Their performances this season have been something of a mixed bag, with the side losing to the likes of Fulham but then prevailing over fellow title rivals, Liverpool.
The signing of Declan Rice has been inspired, with the former Hammer scoring and assisting twice against his former employers in that 6-0 romp on Sunday.
It was a particularly happy day for everyone associated with Arsenal, particularly their fringe players who got a rare chance to show what they were capable of. Chief in question were Mohamed Elneny and Cedric.
How Cedric played against West Ham
The defender came on in the 77th minute and had a cameo appearance which lasted a total of 13 minutes, as per Sofascore.
During that time, it was the right-back's chance to show Arteta what he had been missing out on all season and gave him his first chance of game time all season in league. Which, for a player who is reportedly on £75k-per-week, is not what you want to hear.
However, with the time he had, Cedric did little to nothing as the game petered out. As per Sofascore, the Portugal international made zero clearances, interceptions, tackles or blocked any shots throughout the entirety of his appearance. That's hardly a surprise when you consider what the Irons had to offer though.
In fact, the only positive from his performance was that 89% of the nine passes he attempted were accurate. This cameo will have been far from how Cedric would've wished it to have panned out, but, what's done is done, and he has just shown Arteta that he has been right to exclude him from making any further first-team appearances.
Why Cedric could never play for Arsenal again
The Gunners are currently on an unbeaten run of five games and are showing no signs of slowing down. In their most recent clash against West Ham, the London-based club managed to slot six past the Hammers in what was one of their best showings of the season.
Since arriving at the club, the Portugal international in Cedric has played a total of 62 games in all competitions, but only seven of those have come in the last two seasons.
Although these numbers make it seem like he's been something of a regular fixture in the squad, his involvement over the last couple of seasons has been minimal to say the least.
So much so that last season the 32-year-old was shipped out to Fulham on loan and, even then, he only played a total of eight times for the Cottagers.
As per Transfermarkt, the right-back's contract is set to expire at the end of the season and, with his distinct lack of game time this season – featuring for just 13 minutes in the league – it would be a surprise if firstly, we saw him again this season, and secondly we didn't see the defender pulling on the shirt of another club during the 2024/25 campaign.