Highly-respected loyal Arsenal supporter Akhil Vyas reflects on the 2023-24 season following Mikel Arteta's side home and away, near and far. 

Read popular Akhil's take on a 'remarkable' campaign

As the football season wraps up for The Arsenal, I find myself reflecting on what has been a truly remarkable year.

Despite relocating outside of London and managing the chaos of life with a two-year-old, I astonishingly attended more live games this season than ever before.

Out of 52 matches, I made it to about 48, and even managed to convince my wife to join me on a trip to America, where we caught two games on tour.

This season took a toll on me physically and mentally, more so than any previous year.

Two key factors contributed to this exhaustion:

First, the title race went down to the wire, making every game critical and every minute intense.

Second, my day job involves significant travel, and juggling work trips with game travels was demanding – sometimes even overlapping.

Every time I left for a game, I felt a pang of guilt leaving my son at home.

To balance it out, I tried to dedicate the other day of the weekend to family time, packing each weekend with activities, which added to the exhaustion.

Despite the challenges, it was an incredible journey.

Watching the team grow and improve with each game was mind-blowing. They learned from past mistakes and became better and stronger.

Football is a game of fine margins. If Arsenal had won just one more game instead of drawing, or if Manchester City had drawn one game instead of winning Arsenal could have been crowned champions. It came down to one goal. One single goal!

But as fans, we dust ourselves off and look forward to the next season.

The players and the club do the same, and so do we.

Next season will likely bring some changes for me. With a second child on the way, I’ll have more responsibilities at home, which might mean attending fewer games for a while.

But the passion remains undiminished.

I’m eager to see my beloved club lift the Premier League title again. Believe me, we are close.

Gooner editor Layth adds: It was great to catch up all round good guy Akhil and his lovely family last summer on the US tour in Washington DC and I can attest to how tired he must feel at the end of a long and memorable season, as I certainly do too! Akhil is an integral member of the brilliant AST - as a member myself as Gooner Editor I would urge everyone who cares about Arsenal to join. Details here