Arsenal - but they were Gunner do it?

As the Premier League season wraps up, it’s a prime opportunity takes a look into “how” Arsenal let this one slip away.

It’s easy to forget now that Arsenal only finished fifth at the end of the 2021-22 season. It’s even easier to forget that at the start of that same season the morale at the Emirates was not at all positive. Arsenal Fan TV became must watch TV for Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United fans. The season had started with a whimper and “Arteta out” was regularly trending on Twitter.

At the start of this season, 23 BBC Sport pundits gave their predictions for the top 4. None of them predicted that Arsenal would finish in the top 3 and only nine of them predicted that Arsenal would finish fourth. It must be right to say that, at the start of this season, very few Arsenal fans would have predicted that this season would go as well as it has done. Because, in the grand scheme of things, this has been a great season for Arsenal. Let’s just look at some of the highlights:

Arsenal Season Highlights

Arsenal FC v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League

· Arsenal were top of the table for 248 out of 295 days in this Premier League season;

· Mikel Arteta was awarded 'Manager of the Month' four times this season – only Jurgen Klopp has won it five times in a season;

· After an undeserved loss to Manchester United in September, Arsenal’s next loss was not until the start of February 2023 against Everton;

· This season Arsenal won 26 games – the most they have won in a league campaign since the “Invincibles” season of 2003-04 (ironically, they also won 26 games in that campaign);

· They scored 88 goals this season – the most goals an Arsenal team has ever recorded in Premier League history;

· Arsenal finished the campaign with 84 points – that would have been sufficient to win the league in 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2010-11, 2015-16. That’s also their third highest Premier League points tally in a single season;

· Six of their players in Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Granit Xhaka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard all had at least 10 goal contributions (goals and/or assists) across the course of the season – a feat only otherwise managed by Manchester City this season (naturally);

And yes, there are obvious caveats to Arsenal’s form this season – Liverpool’s lacklustre showing, City’s stuttering at earlier stages and the ruckus that has been created at Stamford Bridge. But that does not and cannot detract from the inescapable conclusion that football fans have to accept, bias or no bias – this was a great season for Arsenal, all things considered.

But I acknowledge that that sentiment will serve as nothing more than a meaningless platitude for Arsenal fans. They are now probably fed up of being told that they have “overachieved” and should be content with that alone. Even in the face of low expectations which are surpassed, it’s still possible to feel heartbroken – just ask England fans.

Injuries

Arsenal FC v Brighton & Hove Albion - Premier League

Like Harry Kane scoring on the last day of the season, injuries are an inevitability throughout any campaign. At the start of the season Emile Smith Rowe was out with a fairly significant injury that led to surgery (he was in fact kept out until the end of November).

There were also injuries to Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey which gave some concerns about Arsenal’s midfield. Yet, as hinted at above, this was arguably the most dominant period of their season.

On 2 December 2022, Gabriel Jesus sustained a knee injury. Given his fairly promising start to the season, Arsenal fans rightly thought that would lead to a significant downturn in their fortunes. To Arsenal’s credit though, others stepped up (including Eddie Nketiah).

Despite Jesus then missing 12 Premier League games and being out until 11 March 2023, it’s hard to say that, on form, Arsenal truly missed him. Arsenal lost two of those games (Everton and Manchester City), drew 2 (Newcastle United and Brentford) and were victorious in the rest.

The bigger issues appear to have been their injuries at the back. The pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes were formidable this season. Losing Saliba to a back injury in the middle of March was a big loss. That was then compounded by the loss of Takehiro Tomiyasu to a knee injury at the same time.

In reality, what did this leave Arsenal with? Gabriel Magalhaes (a CB), Rob Holding (a CB), Kieran Tierney (a LB), Ben White (a CB who has been playing at RB), Oleksandr Zinchenko (a LB) and Jakub Kiwior (a CB who we’ll come to below).

Ideally, Arsenal fans would have been fine seeing Ben White slot in at CB next to Gabriel, but then that left them without an option at right-back. Instead, Rob Holding had to slot in next to Gabriel. Despite having been a loyal servant to the club since joining in 2016, most Arsenal fans would likely accept that Holding is simply not good enough to be in a team that’s challenging for the title. And, sadly, the stats then bear that out.

Holding started Arsenal’s next seven games at CB in the Premier League – Arsenal conceded in each of those games and conceded 14 goals in those games overall compared to only nine in the previous seven (three of which had seen Arsenal keep a clean sheet). It was not until 7 May 2023 against Newcastle when the option of Jakub Kiwior was tried (although the damage was largely done by then).

These injures, of course, hit even harder when the below problem is also factored in…

Lack of squad depth

Arsenal FC v Sporting CP: Round of 16 Leg Two - UEFA Europa League

At the start of the season Arsenal’s squad, in my view, appeared thin. There were a fair few departures (welcome ones, some might say) which had left the squad lacking proper depth in a number of places. When we look at the departures, there was:

· Matteo Guendouzi (CM) – transfer to Marseille;

· Lucas Torreira (DM) – transfer to Galatasaray;

· Bernd Leno (GK) – transfer to Fulham;

· Konstantinos Mavropanos (CB) – transfer to Stuttgart;

· Hector Bellerin (RB) – transfer to Barcelona;

· Alexandre Lacazette (ST) – transfer to Lyon;

· Nicolas Pepe (RW) – loan to Nice;

· Nuno Tavares (LB) – loan to Marseille;

· Ainsley Maitland-Niles (RM) – loan to Southampton;

· Pablo Mari (CB) – loan to Monza;

· Folarin Balogun (ST) – loan to Reims;

· Auston Trusty (CB) – loan to Birmingham;

· Runar Runarsson (GK) – loan to Alanyaspor;

Whilst it’s hard to argue with the quality of their signings in the summer of 2022, an argument can be made to say that these signings did not necessarily fix the depth issues identified:

· Gabriel Jesus (ST) – transfer from Manchester City;

· Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) – transfer from Manchester City;

· Fabio Vieira (AM) – transfer from Porto;

· Matt Turner (GK) – transfer from New England Revolution;

· Marquinhos (RW) – transfer from Sao Paulo (who played 2 minutes of Premier League football against Brentford on 18 September before being sent on loan to Norwich City in January);

They also had the benefit of Saliba returning from Marseille on loan and the significance of this should not be overlooked.

Nonetheless, I maintained at the start of the season that Arsenal’s squad, whilst having a quality first team, was lacking depth in a number of areas. Even when the good form rolled along the phrase which I regularly coined when discussing the Gunners was “just wait until the Europa League kicks in and then their lack of depth will cost them” (particularly, in a season with a December World Cup). Even when you have a first XI firing on all fronts, the unexpected will always happen.

In all fairness, I was not entirely correct with my prediction. Arsenal’s good form carried on, notwithstanding the introduction of games on Wednesday/Thursday nights. By Christmas, they were comfortably atop the Premier league mountain and had breezed through the Europa League group stages.

It seemed that Mikel Arteta, to his credit, foresaw the need for some insulation in the squad as the following signings were made in January to pad out that depth:

· Jakub Kiwior (CB) – transfer from Spezia Calcio (who was the most expensive of the lot);

· Leandro Trossard (LW) – transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion;

· Jorginho (DM) – transfer from Chelsea;

Yet, despite those signings, there was clearly still an issue with the team’s depth. For instance, without in any way challenging his quality, it is hard to see how Saka has realistically ended up starting every game this season for Arsenal from both a fitness perspective and a form perspective.

Even the staunchest Arsenal form would acknowledge that, from February onwards, there was a drop in Saka’s form. Yet Arteta did not feel able to either rest him or drop him, no doubt in part due to a lack of alternatives resulting from the squad’s insufficient depth.

There’s then the centre-back situation that I touched upon earlier. Again, the need for Rob Holding to feature so heavily came from a lack of depth. Albeit, in saying that, the case of Jakub Kiwior remains a curious one. He was signed for around £20 million in January. He made 17 Serie A appearances for Spezia Calcio in the first half of the season. He has had no injuries since joining Arsenal.

Despite that, Kiwior did not make a single Premier League appearance until the 86th minute of 19 March 2023 when Arsenal were 4-1 up against Crystal Palace. He then did not appear again until the 80th minute of 9 April 2023 when Arsenal were beating Liverpool 2-1.

Notwithstanding the frailties in Arsenal’s defence after Saliba and Tomiyasu’s injuries his first start did not come until 2 May 2023 against Chelsea. So, even if Kiwior technically appeared to be a signing to provide depth, it did not appear Arteta felt capable of relying on him when the crunch time came in this campaign. I have previously used the word “curious” and cannot help but stand by that word.

The turning point

Liverpool FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League

Each individual Arsenal fan likely has their own view as to when the precise “turning point” in the campaign was. Some might say it was 16 March 2023 when they were eliminated from the Europa League by Sporting. Some might say it was 16 April 2023 when Saka’s missed penalty costed them a victory against West Ham United.

Some might say it was that fateful Friday evening on 21 April 2023 against Southampton when they found themselves 2-0 down at the Emirates inside 14 minutes. They were only able to salvage a 3-3 draw in the dying breaths of the game. And then some might say that things were not really wrapped up until the game against Manchester City on 26 April 2023 when, without being too blunt, Arsenal were pasted (4-1).

For my money the real turning point came at Anfield on 9 April 2023. Going into that gameweek, Arsenal were on 72 points and City were on 64 points (with a game in hand granted). Even gifting that game in hand to City, Arsenal were five points ahead of the Cityzens. It still very much felt like this was Arsenal’s title.

I was in fact at that game. Arsenal were dominant. They were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes. They were comfortable. They were composed. Salah’s goal at the end of the first half was against the run of play and it felt as if Arsenal would see the game out with ease in the second half.

But then, in the second half, something changed. Liverpool undoubtedly played better but, even still, Arsenal looked flustered, almost as if the pressure of not getting the three points in this match was catching up with them. And they capitulated under that pressure.

And, after that game, they found themselves drawing with West Ham (2-2) on 16 April 2023 and then ended up almost losing to Southampton (3-3) on 21 April 2023. By the time the City game came around on 26 April 2023 the pressure was on – City were still five points behind Arsenal but they had two games in hand. And, as we know, that pressure proved to be too much.

The Manchester City juggernaut

Of course, what should not be overlooked in any analysis of Arsenal’s season is the fact that they were trying to win the Premier League in a world where Manchester City exist. Even if the Cityzens may stutter at points in the season we have to now accept that they are going to get close to 90 points in a season and, by their standards, that’s verging on “average”.

They finished this season on 89. They scored 94 goals. Haaland has been breaking records for fun. Even if not wholly consistent at an early stage of the season, City have still had a phenomenal season, hence why they may be on the cusp of winning the treble.

Arsenal’s inability to hold on all the way to the end is not solely down to their own internal issues. To try and make that point would be unfair and overly critical. Rather, the imperious form of City in the latter half of the season has to receive credit. It’s just a shame for Arsenal that their own issues with injuries and with a drop off in the form of some players coincided with City’s call to arms.

Moving forward

Without seeking to condescend or patronise, Arsenal must take pride in this season. When you consider where they have finished in recent seasons and when you consider what the expectations likely were at the start of this campaign, it is an absolute triumph. This, particularly when they had the second youngest squad in the Premier League (24.6, narrowly bested by Southampton’s 24.5). There are so many positives to draw from this season for Arsenal and the future is incredibly bright for them.

It would be remiss to start making predictions for next year’s Premier League at this stage of the year but, ultimately, it would be wholly surprising to see Arsenal fail to at least mount some form of title challenge next season. There is a quality squad there with a manager who has shown he knows how to consistently string together victories.

There are lessons to be learned and areas where improvements can be made. Whilst I (as a staunch Liverpool fan) sincerely hope that this season lingers to haunt Arsenal next year, I fear that it will not. Rather, I fear that Arsenal will, quite rightly, see themselves once again as a team that is capable of hanging around the top three and mounting a meaningful challenge for the title on a regular basis.