What We Learned From Arsenal's Season — And What That Says About Our Mental Health

Let’s talk about Arsenal.

Another season, another second place. You can look at it and say it was progress — which it was. You can point to big wins, dominant stretches, and moments of brilliance. But there’s one glaring lesson I can’t shake, and it applies to your mental health, my mental health, all of us.

Arsenal's season was a story of potential met with pressure. Of progress collided with pain. Of external chaos hijacking internal control.

And that’s life, isn’t it?

Week in, week out, Arsenal showed flashes of greatness. But every time they started flowing — an injury hit, a ref made a garbage call, fatigue set in, or something just didn’t go our way. Sound familiar?

It should. Because that’s how life works too.

You’re finally in a groove — eating right, sleeping decent, showing up for work, in a good rhythm. Then boom — your car breaks down, your kid gets sick, your mom says something that triggers the worst version of you, or the money doesn’t come through. Chaos.

And just like Arsenal, we start to give our energy to all the wrong places. We get angry. We blame. We spiral. We lose our edge — not because we don’t have what it takes, but because we handed over our power to something we couldn’t control.

Arsenal’s Big Mistake: Giving Away Their Power

Let’s be honest. Arsenal had a brutal schedule. The injuries were real. The referee decisions were trash. The fixture congestion was insane. But the problem wasn’t that those things happened — the problem was where they put their attention after they happened.

Instead of keeping the focus on performance, we let distraction creep in. Instead of doubling down on the basics — our press, our training, our composure — we started pointing fingers.

And if we’re honest with ourselves, we do the same. We blame the weather. The boss. Our past. Our parents. Our addiction. Our financial situation. And listen — all of those might be real. Just like Arsenal’s injury list was real. But the moment we make them our focus, we’ve already lost.

This is what the Stoics called the dichotomy of control. And Arsenal, just like most of us, forgot it at the worst possible time.

When It’s Easy, It’s Easy

Let’s not forget — there were stretches where Arsenal looked unbeatable. When we had a full squad, when we were coming off a clean week of training, when the games were spaced right — we were flowing. Fast. Lethal. Confident.

And isn’t that how we feel when life lines up?

When the paycheck lands, your sleep’s good, your body’s right, your people are showing up — it’s easy to be locked in. Easy to say you’re "in control" when the conditions are perfect. But conditions don’t stay perfect. That’s just not how life works.

Champions — in sports, in recovery, in life — don’t win because everything goes their way. They win because they stay rooted when nothing does.

We Didn’t Close

There’s one more truth that hurts to say — we didn’t finish. We didn’t have the killer instinct when it mattered most. We beat Madrid. We kept pace at times. But when it was time to go all in, we blinked. We hesitated. We didn’t stay hungry.

Why?

Because somewhere along the way, we let the story change. We started hearing, “Wow, what a season.” “You guys are right there.” We started soaking in the praise before the job was done. And that little voice — the one that whispers, “This was good enough” — started winning.

You’ve heard it too. After a good week. After a moment of healing. After you made it 30 days sober. After you got that one good workout streak. And then... you let up. You loosen your grip. You lose the killer mindset.

The finishers, the closers, the mentally tough — they keep going when the noise gets loud. They aren’t seduced by early praise or distracted by the critics. They stay dialed in to why they started. That’s the difference.

So What Do We Take From This?

If you’ve made it this far, here’s the real takeaway:

Stop giving your power away.

You don’t control the injuries.
You don’t control the referee.
You don’t control the weather, the mood of your spouse, or the curveballs life throws.

But you do control your response. Your work ethic. Your mindset. Your recovery routine. Your attitude. Your enthusiasm. Your nutrition. Your choices.

And just like Arsenal, if you want to win this season of your life, you better stop blaming the outside and start building from within.

So here’s the play:

• Stop watching the scoreboard and start showing up to practice.

• Don’t overthink the loss — get your reps in anyway.

• Get your workout. Hit your journal. Read something real. Meditate. Breathe. Hydrate. Repeat.

That’s where the win is.

Not in the perfect week. Not when everyone’s cheering you on. Not when you’re healthy.
It’s in the response — when it’s hard, when it’s unfair, when nothing’s lined up.

This is what Arsenal’s season taught me.
This is what mental health is.
This is what life demands.

Stay focused. Stay grounded. Keep your eyes on what you can control.

One love.