Why Arsenal Will Be A Force to Reckon With (Next Season)
Arsenal have long been trolled and mocked by Premier League fans and the general football crowd alike for a long time now.
The club, which was once at the pinnacle of English and European footballing excellence, has now been reduced to a team that people just don’t take seriously. However, looking at Arsenal’s performances over the last 10 to 15 years, we notice a trend of failures and disappointing losses, capped by the exit of legendary manager Arsene Wenger.
However, the Gunners may have a bright future ahead. The man behind all of this? Mikel Arteta.
Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man and protege recently took reins of the club, and while they have had multiple disappointing games, there may be reason to believe that they could be on the verge of something new.
The Gunners just won the FA Cup, beating a strong Chelsea team amid a lot of ‘controversial’ referee decisions. While the majority of people may not have been looking at Arsenal too closely, there is an immense change in their style of play.
Arsenal are, to put it simply, playing smart and beautiful football. Take, for instance, Nicolas Pepe’s disallowed goal in the first half of the game. It was great play, with Arsenal building up from the back, and then increasing the speed of play in the attacking half before perfectly setting up Nicolas Pepe for the shot.
This Arsenal side is inspired, and playing exciting football. The squad itself has great depth to begin with.
The front three of Pepe, Lacazette and Aubameyang have quickly built a good chemistry, and play extremely well together, with Aubameyang’s quick runs down the left flank proving devastating.
The midfield of Ceballos and Xhaka have also been playing well, effectively moving the ball from defence to attack and helping win the ball back quickly in the midfield area.
The defence, admittedly, can be improved. David Luiz is an excellent ball player but an average defender at best. Their defence lacks the confidence after being trolled so much, that mistakes almost happen involuntarily, leading to goals. However, with the likes of Pablo Mari gearing up, and the young William Saliba returning after a stint at St Etienne, things can be improved.
Aubameyang has been linked to leave for a while now, but perhaps the FA Cup win could help him stay. However, the linking with Philippe Coutinho would be promising to help fill in the large gap Auba would leave behind.
Another exciting link is Thomas Partey. The Atletico midfielder is a great ballplayer and more defence-minded, which will help strengthen the back for Arsenal.
In all, I think Arsenal are definitely going to be a force to reckon with next season. Now, given the time to settle with Arteta and his new style of play, things could be looking up for the Gunners. If the transfer window goes their way, we may be looking at a top 6 side at least, if not top 4 or top 2.
