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Arsenal have come a long way since the start of the 2021-22 Premier League season. Not long ago, there was unrest among the Gunners fanbase and a decent chunk were calling for the head of manager Mikel Arteta. However, the Spaniard continued to believe in his philosophy and his team.
As things stand, there is positivity in the Arsenal camp having finally entered the Premier League top-four with 20 matches played. This is an exciting time to be an Arsenal fan and it won't be wrong to say that Arteta and co. have turned a corner with their young guns involved heavily.
Mikel Arteta demands consistency and discipine from his Arsenal players
The manager has not been shy about demanding the best from his players in a bid to restore the culture Arsenal once had under Arsene Wenger. Most of his personnel have responded in the affirmative and have delivered assuring performances. But the Premier League is as competitive as ever and the Gunners have had their ups and downs.
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There are some players who have been inconsistent and given that the bar is set high, their performances in 2021 were underwhelming. Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has struggled for goals in the Premier League and is sidelined due to a disciplinary breach.
His future with the club is now doubtful and he may be on his way out in January. However, there are other players who need to switch up a gear or two as regular starters. And some of them need to start giving Mikel Arteta a selection dilemma.
Here are five Arsenal players who must improve in 2022:
#5 Folarin Balogun
Arsenal are establishing a policy of building their team based on a core of young and promising talent and Folarin Balogun fits the bill perfectly. After numerous meetings with the youngster and his agents, Arteta managed to convince him to commit his long-term future to Arsenal.
The Gunners are in somewhat of a crisis situation as far as the centre-forward spot is concerned. Both Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are bound to leave in the summer of 2022. With Aubameyang's future already up in the air, Balogun has a chance to cement his spot in the first team.
The 20-year-old has made 10 appearances for the Arsenal senior team in all competitions, amounting to 209 minutes of football. He has scored two goals and provided an assist in those games. However small that time may be, it has shown that the striker still has some way to go before he can lead the Arsenal attack.
His numbers for the U-18s and U-21s have been outstanding. Balogun is used to outsmart his opponents both technically and physically on a daily basis in junior-level football. But the step up to senior football has been a little daunting.
He played the most minutes of his game time in this season's Premier League opener against Brentford and in the EFL Cup quarter-final against Sunderland. The striker found it difficult to leave an impact in those games. The club will mostly be sending him out on a loan and the onus will be on Balogun to improve by a fair margin.
With regular football, he will have a chance to acclimatize himself to greater physicality than what is on offer at the U-21 level. The arrival of a high-quality striker is imminent in the summer and Balogun must make the most of his loan opportunity in 2022.
#4 Thomas Partey
It could be a controversial pick for many given how Thomas Partey started the year 2022 with an impressive performance against Manchester City. But that recency bias apart, the midfielder has had his own struggles.
In an honest assessment of his Arsenal career so far, Partey, while talking to Sky Sports, said:
"I give myself four [out of 10], because there are moments I can really hurt the other team but there are also moments where I allow myself to lose focus and that's when everything goes down."
For the most part in the Premier League so far, the midfielder has been loose and indecisive in possession and timid with his passing. There is always the odd spell in every game when he looks extremely lively and progressive, but he hasn't been able to sustain it.
Partey had a minimal injury record while at Atletico Madrid, but he has found himself sidelined due to fitness issues quite frequently at Arsenal. Due to those issues it has been difficult for him to carry the momentum from one game to another.
The Ghanaian is better than these wayward displays and the show he put on at the Emirates against Man City was an example of how good he could be. Winning second balls, crucial interceptions and carrying the ball forward are elements Arsenal fans would like to see more of.
The 28-year-old's €50m price tag could be weighing on him, but he's an experienced customer who shouldn't be bothered about it.
#3 Pablo Mari
Over the last few years Arsenal have had issues with their defense. The lack of a solid and consistent figure in their rearguard has hurt the Gunners on many occasions.
However, their current centre-back pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White has looked the most promising that Arsenal have had in a while.
But a top club can never have its regular starters getting too comfortable and must always be challenged by those on the bench. When Pablo Mari was brought in at Arsenal he looked like a decent signing. But he has delivered mixed performances and finds himself away from regular action.
Now one could argue that he is not part of Arteta's plans but in a season where the Gunners will look to win the EFL Cup and FA Cup, they need backup. Gabriel picked up a suspension against Manchester City and will not start in the EFL cup semi-final against Liverpool.
COVID-19 cases in the Premier League have also been on the rise, and in circumstances like these, the chances of Mari getting a game are higher. If he really wishes to play games for Arsenal then he needs to buck up right now. Perhaps an improvement in his performances will benefit Arteta in finding a buyer come the summer and the player in receiving a move of his wish.
#2 Cedric Soares
Now by no means is Cedric Soares a bad right-back cover to have on the side, but the presence of Takehiro Tomiyasu has raised the bar significantly. It goes on to show how important it is to have a full-back who has a balanced style of playing.
Tomiyasu is not shy to run forward whenever he sees the space, but he is also quick to cover the ground while retreating. Cedric has become almost a liability on the backline in that sense on some occasions. He is too involved to join in the final third and does not track back in time.
It has taken Arsenal significant time to solidify their defense and lapses in judgment like that of the Portuguese have not helped the centre-backs. In the Leeds United game, the penalty that Ben White gave away could have been avoided had Cedric been quick to come back into position.
He was only on the field for the last 26 minutes and Leeds found more freedom to move on the right. Similar things were noticed when he started games against Chelsea and Man City in the Premier League and on occasions in the EFL Cup.
Arsenal are short of backups in right-back positions and even though White can deputize effectively, Arteta may not get the chance to use him there. Hence, Cedric needs to improve in this area of his game to give Arsenal a better shot at the EFL Cup, FA Cup and even the top-four.
#1 Nicolas Pépé
Should Arsenal fans give up on the hope of seeing the true colors of Nicolas Pepe? The deadly winger that he was, signed for a record fee of £72m has hardly had a period in the squad when he has felt irreplaceable on the pitch. Maybe that valuation has burdened him beyond our imaginations.
The price tag is not in his or anyone's control anymore but the performances are and he has failed to deliver this season. In nine Premier League appearances, four of which were from the bench, Pepe has only managed to provide one assist.
The major problem, however, is that he's failed to fit into Arteta's tactics.
In the EFL Cup quarter-final between Arsenal and Sunderland, the 26-year-old ran the show on the wings. Taking on defenders for fun, he had the freedom to run at them, provided two assists and scored one.
But that was rather worrying, because Sunderland are not at Premier League level. Pepe has consistently attempted similar tricks but the result in the league is failure because the defenders are high quality. The Ivorian has to find a way to ditch his trickery and skillful style and switch to being a more direct player to have a greater impact at Arsenal.
He wants too much time on the ball to do his thing and usually delays the opportunity to link-up with another teammate. If Pepe wants to secure his future at Arsenal and not be a benchwarmer, then he needs to start improving, and fast.
