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The 2021-22 Premier League season commences this Friday (August 13) with Brentford hosting Arsenal. The Gunners will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing campaign last season and challenge for a top 4 finish.
Arsenal finished last season in 8th and missed out on European football for the first time in 26 years. This could be seen as a positive, as it lets Mikel Arteta's side focus solely on their Premier League campaign.
This season will be make-or-break for the Spanish tactician as he looks to bring Arsenal back to its former glory.
5 predictions for Arsenal's 2021-22 Premier League campaign
#1 Thomas Partey shows his class
Thomas Partey's first season at Arsenal was marred by injury, but expect the midfielder to be one of Mikel Arteta's most important players this campaign.
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The Ghanaian had a stop-start 2020-21 campaign and couldn't really get a consistent string of games for Arsenal. But this season, the Gunners will hope that Partey can stay fit and show what he's capable of.
The Ghanaian will be required to anchor Arsenal's midfield. His mobility and defensive prowess is going to be massive for the Gunners, who have lacked a player of his stature in the past.
Gunners fans will be clamoring to see the Ghanaian produce the same kind of performances he used to at Atletico Madrid, and one wouldn't put it past him to finally announce himself in the Premier League this season.
#2 Young Gunners take the next step
Last season saw the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe break into the first-team and establish themselves as starters in Mikel Arteta's side. Their rapid rise to prominence has been one of the few positives that Arsenal fans can take away from the past few seasons.
Arsenal have a promising crop of youngsters coming through the academy and there should be some new faces getting involved with the first team this season. Players like Folarin Balogun and Miguel Azeez have shown signs of promise, and Mikel Arteta seems ready to introduce them into the first team picture.
If they can show the same progress that Saka and Smith-Rowe made last season, Arsenal will have a great foundation to build upon for the future.
#3 Saka and Smith-Rowe have big seasons
Speaking of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe, the two Englishmen are set to be a huge part of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side next season. Saka was Arsenal's player of the year last season and is ready to take his game to the next level following his impressive 2020-21 campaign.
Smith-Rowe also made strides last season, but is in line for a more prominent role this season. The midfielder signed a long-term contract extension earlier this summer and was handed the No.10 shirt by the club. The massive decision by Mikel Arteta to put his faith in these two young players looks certain to pay off in the long run. But the Spaniard will need them to consistently put in strong performances in the 2021-22 season.
This will be the duo's first campaign as part of the starting XI for Arsenal and expect them to have a huge say in where the Gunners finish the season.
#4 Nicolas Pepe finally announces himself
Nicolas Pepe has been a polarizing figure at Arsenal since his £72 million move from Lille back in 2019. The Ivorian has shown that he has the ability to be one of the best wingers in the league, but has been very inconsistent for the Gunners since his arrival.
Last season, however, he displayed the consistency and end product that Arsenal fans have been clamoring for since he joined the club. Pepe finished as Arsenal's second-highest scorer even though Mikel Arteta gave him a limited number of starts. The winger ended the season with 10 goals from 16 league starts and had an incredible final month of the season, scoring five goals in three games.
Pepe has only kept getting better since joining Arsenal and the 2021-22 season is his chance to finally show the world why the Gunners broke their transfer record to buy him back in 2019.
#5 Lack of reinforcements come back to bite Arsenal
Arsenal have a clear plan laid out for this transfer window, with Mikel Arteta identifying the areas of weakness that need to be addressed. However, with less than a month left for the window to close, the Gunners are running out of time to do so.
Ben White is the only significant addition to the Gunners' starting XI so far, with multiple other positions needing to be addressed. Mikel Arteta still needs to sign an attacking midfielder, a right back and maybe another striker in order to have enough squad depth for the 2021-22 campaign.
Arsenal haven't always addressed their obvious problems in the past and that seems to be the case again for the upcoming season.
If Arsenal fail to bring in at least 3-4 more players in this window, it could be another long season for the Gunners. Failure to qualify for European football once again would be disastrous for the Gunners and would definitely see Mikel Arteta get the sack.
