What next for Arsenal following title-showdown defeat to Man City?

 

After Wednesday night's 4-1 defeat to fellow title chasers Manchester City to make it four games without a win, it would appear Arsenal’s hopes of a first league title in 19 years are over. 

 

They are still top, and as has been seen so often the case at this stage of the season, freak results do tend to pop more often. However, with Pep Guardiola’s experienced outfit, led by Erling Haaland, hot on their heels, now just two points behind with two games in hand, it is now almost certain that the Cityzens will claim their third title in a row. 

 

Rival fans have mobilised quickly to label Mikel Arteta’s side bottlers as so often is the phrase used when a team has led for the majority of a season and comes away empty-handed. 

 

But can anyone really say that Arsenal ‘bottled’ it? 

 

The Gunners were nigh-on perfect going into 2023, having lost one, drawn one and won the other 14. They were seven points clear at the top and are a team that has let a great opportunity go, especially as only two other teams, Manchester City 2017/18 (46) and Liverpool 2019/20 (46), have recorded more points after 16 Premier League games than Arsenal (43) this season. 

 

Throughout the campaign Arsenal have been one of, and in some ways the, best team in the Premier League, even after this four-game winless run. 

 

One of Arsenal’s biggest Achilles heels in recent years has been away form. But at the time of writing, they are the only team in the league to record double figures for away wins (11) and have secured 36 points from a possible 51 on the road. A stark difference to the 28 points recorded on the road last season, where they only won nine times. 

 

Prior to William Saliba’s injury, Arsenal had only conceded 25 goals in 27 games with only Newcastle (18) shipping fewer at that point. That figure has gone up by 13 (38) in just six games, which makes their defensive record far worse of course, but for the most part this season; the backline has been a solid unit, difficult to break down.

 

 

At the other end of the pitch, City are the only team to better the north Londoners, scoring 82 goals to Arsenal's 78 and are averaging 16.1 shots per game to the Gunners' 16 per game. Arsenal’s 393 key passes is however the highest in the division and goes someway in highlighting the positive work under Arteta, switching to a midfield three, playing Granit Xhaka in a more advanced role and allowing the young duo of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka to continue to flourish. 

 

However, as good as they have played this year, were they even meant to be in this position in the first place? Arguably probably not, and so the term ‘bottlers’ does seem a little harsh. 

 

If we go back to the end of last season, Arsenal ended the campaign two points off a top four finish, something they have already secured this season, despite the fact that with two games to go, they were one point clear of fifth-placed Tottenham, even after they were beaten 3-0 by their arch-rivals. Many were quick to judge what was, as is the case this season, the youngest squad in the league, who in reality weren’t expected to even be in the conversion for a top four finish having finished the previous season in eighth and had started the 2021/22 season bottom without a goal scored after their first three games. 

 

That season Arsenal finished the campaign with a total of 69 points, which they are already six clear of (75) with five games to go, while in front of goal, wise they could only manage 61 goals last season, and have scored 78 this season. 

 

It seems like this season is a case of Déjà vu where the team has overperformed at stages of a campaign and an opportunity to surpass targets set at the start of the season, namely being to win the league, have presented themselves and when they are not achieved, the set of players are harshly judged by outside critics. 

 

At the end of the day, last season was about getting back into European football, which was achieved and 2022/23 was about qualifying for the Champions League, which, thanks to Nottingham Forest, is confirmed. In all honesty, the Arsenal faithful will still be disappointed, as there was at the conclusion of last season. 

 

No matter how 2022/23 ends, the youngest squad in the league must be given enormous credit for going toe-to-toe with one of, if not the, strongest teams in world football for nearly the entirety of a domestic campaign. 

 

But Arteta will know that if they are to take things up a gear they will have to invest, even if the starting XI is effectively complete. Their strongest starting XI has only been fielded together six times in the league this season and on all six occasions Arsenal have won. This may be a small sample size, but it goes some way in underlining the importance of consistency for Arteta, and that his fringe players aren’t so associated to his way of thinking.  

 

When it comes to City, not only do they have depth, but they have quality in depth and if Arsenal want to get to the next level, then that is what needs to be brought in. While criticism has been laid on Rob Holding for Arsenal’s decline in defence since Saliba’s injury, the main issue isn’t that he isn’t a good enough defender, it is that he is obviously not as aligned with the style of play Arteta wants from his team, which clearly has an effect on the side, as the balance is slightly broken. Another example came when Oleksandr Zinchenko was injured against West Ham and Kieran Tierney was trying to replicate the inverted full-back role, which he clearly wasn’t as comfortable in. 

 

Players need to be identified not just to fill a gap, but must have the quality to fit into a system, almost to make it seem like there has been no change at all, as is so often the case at City. 

 

Last year it was an injury to Thomas Partey that ultimately cost the Gunners a Champions League spot and this year, it’s looking like Saliba’s injury will do so likewise to their title hopes. What that emphasises is that that they need to be ready to deal with these issues before they arise, starting this summer. 

 

There are a number of areas within their squad where they need to strengthen, and of course many players are being linked with summer moves to the Emirates. Fortunately for Arsenal, securing top four this year will make life a lot easier in luring the top talent on the market. The likes of Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo, Mason Mount and others are the early links for the summer and whether as starters or squad players, they are the types of players who can take Arteta’s project, still in its early stages, to the next level.

 

Ultimately after spending much of this season in a title race, where the Gunners have been top near enough for the entirety, and securing qualification to Europe’s elite competition for the first time since 2017, the aim next season will surely have to go up a notch once again. With rivals such as Chelsea and Liverpool, who have massively underperformed, looking to strengthen in the summer, the task may be just that little bit more tricky. But if Arteta, backed by the board, along with his young squad and some new additions can push on from the progress made this season, then there is every chance that they could go from title contenders to title winners.

 

 

What next for Arsenal following title-showdown defeat to Man City?