I think there goes more into this when Arsenal is up for discussion because in their case you need to add some context. Arsenal didn't play a bad season and that is for sure. But how would you call a season when Arsenal comes 2nd for the third time in a row? That is a problem because with every 2nd place in the standings at the end of the season, the desire to finally win the EPL title becomes bigger. It is never a bad season when they finish 2nd, but I don't think they will be happy with finishing 2nd forever. If you look at it from that perspective, in my opinion it is more appropriate to say that they can't be satisfied with what they have achieved.

Ask the players and Arteta what they were hoping for after 10 games have been played, 20 games have been played. They were fighting for the title and now they say the season was ok, but they wouldn't say that the season was a big success.