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Football players go through rough patches at certain periods in their careers, this could be due to physiological or physical reasons like injury. However, in most cases, most players do not put in the required work needed to put such bad periods behind them and make a full comeback. This is one of the reasons why several talented players have fallen off the radar after suffering a slight setback.
Last season, many key players were out of form and were no longer reliable for their respective teams. Some even lost their place in the starting XI because of their poor form. Some of these players have considerably improved their game in the 2022-23 season and have now become key players for their teams.
Without wasting any more time, let’s take a look at the five players who bounced back and found form in the 2022-23 season.
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#5 Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
Gabriel Martinelli, the young, talented Brazilian forward, has been at Arsenal for a couple of years now but had failed to establish himself as a key player for the team until last season.
Martinelli had a fair 2021-22 campaign in the Premier League as he scored just six goals across competitions in 36 games. A below-average performance considering the fact that he plays as an attacker.
In the 2022-23 season, however, has been entirely different for Martinelli in terms of individual performance and development. He has improved considerably and is now one of the key players leading Arsenal’s title charge.
He has scored 13 goals in 38 games across competitions so far in the 2022-23 season, doubling the amount he scored throughout last season’s Premier League campaign.
#4 Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
Ademola Lookman, the Nigeria and Atalanta striker who is currently being hyped as one of the best in Serie A this season, had a poor outing last season. Lookman, who joined Leicester City last season, couldn’t adapt to the intensity of the Premier League, scoring just eight goals in 42 appearances across competitions.
Since leaving Leicester City to join Atalanta in Serie A, Lookman has since exploded on to the scene in the Italian top flight. His performances in the 2022-23 season have already attracted attention from several top clubs from across Europe.
He has scored 14 goals in 28 games so far in the 2022-23 season across competitions, more than doubling the number of goals he scored last season. It is also important to note that he is the third-highest goalscorer in Serie A. From the look of things, he could emerge as the highest goalscorer if he continues in this vein.
#3 Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was one of the most criticized Manchester United players last season. In almost every single game, he committed mistakes that made the team concede goals and sometimes even drop points.
Wan-Bissaka lost the support of most Manchester United fans, who argued that he was not talented enough to wear the famous red shirt. With the arrival of a new coach in Erik ten Hag, many thought that would be the end of Wan-Bissaka at Manchester United. Surprisingly, that has not been the case.
The Englishman lost his place in the starting XI under the new regime at the Red Devils. Instead of complaining, he kept working to regain the trust of the new manager and now, he is now being called upon to play even in key games in the 2022-23 season.
He may not have played in most of their games this season, but in every game that he gets featured in, he drops nothing less than a 10/10 performance.
#2 Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Spanish goalkeeper who was signed by Chelsea on a record-breaking deal (€80 million), couldn’t live up to the hype. In the 2021-22 season, he wasn't the first-choice keeper at the club.
Under former manager Frank Lampard, Arrizabalaga struggled to stay in form. At times when he got selected, he ended up making costly mistakes in goal. At one point, Lampard even publicly criticized him for committing a mistake that led to the team conceding a goal.
But since the arrival of manager Graham Potter at the club in the 2022-23 season, Arrizabalaga has re-emerged and is the only player who currently seems untouchable currently at Chelsea.
Though Chelsea are not in the best of form in the 2022-23 season, their situation could’ve been a lot worse if not for the in-form Spanish keeper.
#1 Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Marcus Rashford was among the list of players who were blamed for Manchester United’s poor form last season. He had a disappointing season and only found the back of the net four times in the Premier League.
The situation was quite embarrassing as fans began turning on him, with some even suggesting that he be sold. But following the arrival of new manager Erik ten Hag, he opted to keep him even though he had the chance to sell him off.
Rashford enjoyed a successful pre-season where he showed a glimpse of the monster he could be under the right manager. Since then, he has been a key man for Manchester United, scoring goals and being instrumental in their good run of form so far this season.
The homegrown talent has taken his performances several notches higher, scoring an amazing 27 goals in 44 games across competitions so far in the 2022-23 season. He has been on fire ever since coming back from the World Cup, scoring 19 goals in 25 games across competitions.
