Arsenal Season 2022/23 Review

In a season of so close to the unexpected Arsenal close the season out on 69 points coming from 22 wins, 3 draws and 13 defeats to finish fifth narrowly missing out on Champions League football but will return to European competitions with entry to the Europa League. I wanted to break down the season personally here away from all the hot takes you will read on Twitter from people desperate for engagement throwing out nonsensical bullshit.

Realistically the goal for Arsenal this season was Europa League competition and more then likely a 6th place finish was targeted. To get so close to fourth place will sting but this must be looked at as a season of progress but also a season of late disappointment. I am to breakdown my thoughts of the season and what needs improvement before we kick off the 2022/23 season.

Transfers
I have to hold my hands up and say I was wrong when it came to the recruitment over the summer. The likes of Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale didn't strike me as great buys but that turned out to be wrong and both turned out to be some of the stronger players in the team. I do think the singings of Tomiyasu and Ødegaard were improvements over what we had and exactly the types of players the team needed. The first eleven in certainly stronger in terms of how Arteta sets up to play and therefore the summer business was positive 

However, where the summer transfer window was one of success the winter one must be one of failure. Losing Aubameyang (regardless of his lack of goals this season) and failing to replace him hurt the run in of the season with no top quality striker or one who had managed to score consistently as Lacazette isn't it and Nketiah has progressed this year (who knows if he will sign a contact or not) but we needed a proven goal scorer in 2022 and didn't get one a gamble was taken in January but it ended in failure. Something that needed to be rectified in the summer.  

Matches
Looking back at this season I was shocked to see Arsenal only drew 3 games. It really was a season of you win or you lose. Speaking of winning Arsenal recorded the third most wins this season with 22 joint with Tottenham and behind Man City (29) and Liverpool (28) however Arsenal also lost more games (13) then Manchester United (12) and Brighton (11) as well as the top four as well. It paints a picture of when Arsenal play bad they lose and when the full strength of the team is on show they win. A team which needs quality in depth have cost the team. What the results show at this level is Arsenal can't play badly and steal a draw or win a lot of the time. It has to be a point of reference, changing some of this losses to draws or wins is a way to improve to begin with. However looking at wins it is a positive and reflects a strong campaign when it comes to get 3 points. 

Speaking on matches an issue was lack of goals throughout the team. Only three players got above 10 goals in all competitions (Saka, Smith-Rowe & Nketiah), it reflects a real issue in goalscoring depth. You'd imagine more was expected from Aubameyang and Lacazette at the start of the season but that didn't happen, when your main strikers do not score it is an issue. Speaking of issues would be goals from midfield if you take Ødegaard out central midfielders contributed 3 goals all premier league campaign (2 from Partey & 1 from Xhaka) and that isn't good enough. Arsenal cannot rely on one player to score goals in order to compete and will need to look into how to resolve the goal scoring issue going forward.

The Summer Ahead
Onto what to expect for the next few months and I think it is obvious. I would expect to see both a striker being bought as well as a look to improve the depth of the squad with quality. Providing Saliba stays (and the story on that changes daily depending on who you ask) I don't expect massive changes but do expect sales to help invest in the team. The main goal is signing a new number 9 with names like Gabriel Jesus & Tammy Abraham linked to the team. I think striker options depend on Nketiah, if he signs a new deal (as I do believe Lacazette is gone regardless) then we may see only one striker signed with them, Nketiah and Balogun (or even Martinelli up front) as the main options which is fine if you get the recruitment right, if the price quoted for Jesus with one year left on his deal is that of £55 million I expect interest to turn to Tammy which would be an interesting move, other strikers like Jonathan David have also been linked but the previous two mentioned have the more substantial links as it stands. 

Strength in depth is also what I have said to expect and I can see this in a few places. With Elneny reportedly signing a new one year deal I don't expect too much in terms of midfield, maybe we will see someone join but it won't be the main focus and I do wonder if any pursuit of Tielemans is hampered by a 5th placed finish. Other signings like Aaron Hickey to improve full back quality are needed and the signing of Hickey would be one I'd like but we will see. However, I do think another winger is needed one who will score goals Cody Gakpo of PSV is someone who is lined as well as rumours of a Serge Gnabry return but we will see on that. I think getting someone in be it midfield or on the wing who will contribution 15 goal contributions (goals and/or assists) is the most necessary. 

However, I wonder if we will see a solution on this from the academy. Europa League group may see more academy players such as Balogun, Patino, Hutchinson, Azeez, Salah-Eddine and Flores may all get game time as well as players like Sousa, Biereth and Norton-Cuffy depending on how loans for academy players go but maybe an academy player will rise to the occasion and cement a place in the first team.

All in all it has to be regarded as a season of heartbreak and triumph. From losing the opening 3 games bottom of the table to so close to Champions League it is a season book ended in negativity but it shouldn't hurt the progress you can clearly see from the main team which with quality additions can progress, depth and lack of goals are an issue which need to be addressed. One final note if you look at Twitter as the voice of fans you miss a lot, you get hot take artists and children who just want to troll. Look to the stadium and I do not remember the last time I saw the team and fans in the ground so united. A fractured club feels united again with fans backing the team, we got back in Europe which was the goal at the start of the season. Targets achieved so it will be hoped Arsenal go further next season.  

North London Forever