What has changed at Arsenal this season?

Arsenal from being mediocre at best to become one of the best teams in the country this season is something not many people foresaw anytime soon. This just shows the amount of work Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, has done and how his managerial abilities should not be overlooked. His first few months at the club were promising, as Arsenal were playing some expansive football despite him inheriting a pretty poor squad. Despite these challenges, he won the FA Cup and community shield early on in his reign and things seemed to be positive for Arsenal with a sense of hope rekindled amongst the fans. 

However, their 'honeymoon period' soon ended as their form did not improve in the Premier League. He finished 8th back to back in the 19/20 and 20/21 seasons - for Arsenal standards that are very poor. However, in hindsight, these results in the league were not his fault but rather all he could achieve with the squad at his disposal. They had very poor squad depth and their activity in the transfer market was purchased, which wasn't beneficial for them in the longer term. It was clear to see Arteta was not being backed properly in his first two years at the club. 

Then in the 21/22 season, there were periods of Arsenal showing brilliance, especially towards the end of the season when they began to chase that elusive 4th place spot for Champions League qualification. They had picked up form at the right part of the season and 4th place was theirs to lose. They did lose out again to their archrivals Tottenham on the penultimate day of the season, when their poor performance away at Newcastle snatched away any hopes of Champions League qualification. Following that loss, an interview by Xhaka which caused controversy in the media when he called out the players saying “If someone isn’t ready for this game, stay at home. It doesn’t matter your age." This caused him to receive much hate from pundits and the media as he was blamed for throwing his teammates under the bus. However, in my opinion, it was the correct assessment for the Arsenal team. They could play neat football but none of the players was leaders or experienced enough to compete with the elites. Whenever there was a big test, they would crumble. They needed a mentality shift from accepting mediocrity to having a hunger for the big prizes.

And thus going into the 22/23 season, many had them as top 4 favourites or another season in the Europa League spots. However, their transfer market activity changed those expectations quickly. They bought Jesus and Zinchenko from Man City, which for me is the smartest business they have done in quite a while and perfect to take this Arsenal team to the next level. They are experienced winners who have constantly played at the elite level and also know Arteta and his demands from when he was assistant to Pep at Man City. These two players would bring that mentality shift that Arsenal desperately needed. Recalling Saliba was also smart as he has been a class player in Ligue 1 for years and has certainly made the defenders around him at Arsenal improve their performances this season. Thus, so far it is clear to see that Arteta has finally got his transfers and backing and managed to find a proper balance to the team with key players such as Saka, Odegaard, Nkhetia, Xhaka and others finding form when called upon. Arteta was given time to steady the ship at Arsenal and rightly so as in the modern game it seems as though managers are hardly given a chance to adopt and transition a team to their methods.  

But now looking at Arsenal, I am sure the trend will shift to give managers time as in the long term it may prove to be beneficial to stick by a manager and trust them. Arteta has taken mid-table Arsenal to the top of the league in 3 years, which should be given huge plaudits considering all the toxicity and deadwood that was rotting the club from owners to players. Quality over quantity in their transfer business has also boosted their squad depth as well as players' leadership and mentalities to win the big prizes. It is not a coincidence that Arsenal is first, they have just been better than the rest and deserve to be top. Hence I think they can win the league but it will be a very close fight with Man City, who always turn up at the right moments for a title fight.