It’s time for the traditional Arseblog season preview post, and as we do every year we’ve got a couple of other Arseblog regulars to give us their ten cents.
All of these have been written independently of each other, so there’s no cross-contamination. So, this is what myself, Andrew Allen and Tim Stillman think of the squad – as it stands, fully aware the transfer window is open until August 30th – and its readiness for the new season.
Starting, as always, with:
GOALKEEPERS
ANDREW MANGAN
David Raya is the clear number 1, yet the goalkeeping situation remains complicated. If Aaron Ramsdale stays, we probably have the best number 2 goalkeeper in the league, but I don’t think that’s what he wants.
The problem is, where is he going to go? Who is going to pay what Arsenal want, and take on the substantial wage the club gave him when we handed him a new deal last May? It’s an unhappy situation for Ramsdale, and one without an easy solution. If he stays, will that unhappiness be an issue, or can he put it to one side and satisfy himself with the cup games … if he gets them?
If he does go, Arsenal will need an established back-up choice, as Karl Hein will spend the season on loan in Spain. Efforts to bring in Wolves’ Dan Bentley seem to have been unsuccessful, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens. It’s not necessarily a huge issue in the grand scheme of things, but it always feels like there’s something going on in the goalkeeping department and some stability would be useful.
TIM STILLMAN
There are a couple of areas that still feel a little unsettled ahead of the season (and looking across the Premier League, it seems to be very typical that clubs are going into the season with business still to do) and goalkeeper is certainly one. In many ways, I am not sure a tournament summer where he didn’t play was the best thing for Aaron Ramsdale in the absolute short term.
It feels as though that has kicked his future into the long grass somewhat when we have all known since last winter that a move was going to be likely. Raya will clearly be Arsenal’s number 1 but beneath that, Arsenal haven’t been able to secure a second or even third choice goalkeeper after the offer of a curly wurly and some training bibs for Dan Bentley was knocked back.
I suspect all of this will be resolved in the final days of the window and, at least, there is very little doubt over who our number 1 goalkeeper is and I think Raya really has added another dimension to how Arsenal play. Buying back up goalkeepers is always a bit of a crap shoot, I will be interested to see whether we are able to get a Raya type as back up, so at least Arsenal’s style doesn’t change too much.
ANDREW ALLEN
This time last year, Arsenal fans were in the dark when it came to Mikel Arteta’s plans for David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale. Most of us assumed there would be a power-sharing agreement of some sort with one getting minutes in the league and the other playing in Europe. It didn’t pan out that way.
By the end of September, it was clear Raya was Arteta’s man even if the wisdom of that decision remained open for debate. By Christmas, the conversation was over. Raya’s qualities on the ball, his commanding presence in the box and his calm demeanour had won over the majority of supporters and, despite a few individual errors, the data backed him up. When Ramsdale did get game time, his performances against Brentford (when Raya was three times ineligible) highlighted the unlikeliness of an Arteta u-turn.
Ahead of the new season, the big question is who will provide backup to Raya. Clearly, Ramsdale isn’t going to play second fiddle for another season and with Karl Hein completing a season-long loan move to Real Valladolid we’re one injury from calling upon teenage arrivals Tommy Setford and Lucas Nygaard (although he’s just broken his thumb). The uncertainty on this front, which has been a year in the making, is far from ideal.
Whether Ramsdale leaves on loan or permanently (more likely the former in my opinion), it’s hard to believe we’ll be in a stronger position on the keeper front than a year ago. There have been links with Wolves’ Dan Bentley and Espanyol’s Joan Garcia but the thought of relying on players with so little top level experience definitely makes me nervous. At the same time, I recognise it’s hard selling life as a bench-warmer to a player in the prime of his career.
At the moment, it’s a minor problem. But it could become a major one in the blink of an eye if we sign the wrong man and end up needing them. Here’s hoping Raya stays fit.
DEFENDERS
ANDREW MANGAN
I said last year that ‘I think this might be the most complete set of defenders I can remember at Arsenal’, a comment made after the signing of Jurrien Timber. Unfortunately, his opening day injury robbed us of his quality, and injuries for Takehiro Tomiyasu (as well as an international absence), meant it wasn’t quite as strong as we’d first hoped.
However, we were still so solid, conceding just 29 goals in the Premier League, and in Ben White, William Saliba, and Gabriel, we had a trio of high-performing defenders who were basically available all season. Left-back was a bit of an issue, one which might be fixed when Riccardo Calafiori gets up to speed, and Timber’s presence this season should give us greater depth.
I don’t see an issue in terms of numbers when you add Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and even Kieran Tierney to the mix, but it will be interesting to see how much Arteta is prepared to rotate at the back – that’s the one area where he has built foundations based on the consistency of selection and performance from his main men.
TIM STILLMAN
This is the area I have the least doubts over because I don’t think we need to add any more players here. I suspect Jakub Kiwior will depart in the final days of the window but I think we have a really fine bunch of defenders. Not just in terms of quality but adaptability. White, Timber, Calafiori, Tomiyasu and (for now) Kiwior can all play centrally or at full-back.
Ideally I would like for Gabriel and Saliba to be able to play every game together again but, in the event they cannot, I have far fewer anxieties here than I did last season, not least because, in Timber as well as Calafiori, we have effectively added two defenders to the group now. Calafiori coming in if Gabriel is injured and Timber or White if Saliba is strikes me as a strong situation.
I also suspect we will see greater rotation in the full-back roles according on how we want to play and so that we don’t have to run Ben White into the ground again. While Arsenal look nice and solid as a defensive unit, Arteta views defenders according to their ability to build play too and I think Timber and Calafiori add optionality there. I suspect Arsenal would have been open to selling Zinchenko but I also think we will see plenty of him at left-back, not every week, but I see him being a more important player than people think he will be.
ANDREW ALLEN
Arsenal may have had the meanest defence last season but Mikel Arteta admitted recently he was lucky to be able to call upon first-choice centre-back duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba every week. In buying Italy international Riccardo Calafiori he aims to mitigate risk by upgrading on Jakub Kiwior while also offering further depth at left-back should Oleksandr Zinchenko’s ‘decline’ prove terminal.
Jurrien Timber’s return from ACL surgery means Ben White might also get the occasional breather at right-back; no bad thing given he was nursing a knee issue towards the end of last season. Chuck (a fit) Takehiro Tomiyasu in the mix and it’s a strong line-up. I repeat what I said last year: “I’m struggling to recall an Arsenal squad with a set of defenders as physically imposing and versatile as those currently on the books.”
During the course of last season, even at the end of games that were already won, Arsenal players took to celebrating defensive actions like they were goals. There’s a passion for defending – not dissimilar to the Tony Adams clenched fist days of yore – and it provides us with the foundations we need for another title challenge. Teams that don’t concede, don’t lose. It’s that mindset that has probably led Arteta to spend twice as much on defenders as he has on attackers since he took over in the dugout in December 2019.
At the same time, the current crop of defenders are as capable of unlocking a victory as those in midfield and attack. I’m excited to see how we evolve and vary our play now that we have five players capable of inverting from full-back and I’m hopeful our power and prowess in the air results in even more set piece goals.
MIDFIELDERS
ANDREW MANGAN
At the time of writing, we’re down one from last season with the sale of Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham – but that’s not to say we don’t have options.
Arteta is capable of fielding a number of solid, different midfields with Declan Rice, Jorginho, Thomas Partey, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard at his disposal, but it does feel like we’re missing something in this area of the pitch. Fabio Vieira is an option on paper, but played exclusively on the right-wing in pre-season, and while Ethan Nwaneri impressed over the summer, this is a manager who is often cautious about introducing young talent before he feels they are ready.
On that basis, the ongoing links to 28 year old Mikel Merino make a lot of sense. His experience and quality would be very useful, not least because as someone who would likely operate primarily in the ‘left 8’ position, it gives you a bit more depth at 6 as that’s where you would deploy Rice.
I have some worries about the two veterans. Not so much about their ability on the ball, but how they have struggled off it as the legs get a bit older and a bit slower. Maybe over the course of the season Rice becomes more and more the anchor to the midfield, with Havertz/Merino sharing the job ahead of him.
As has been the case since his permanent arrival, so much involves Odegaard. The skipper is just such an important player, and it will be fascinating to see how teams try and negate his influence on the way we play. It’s not always true to say that we play well when he plays well, but it’s also not unreasonable to suggest that if he’s kept quiet, we find life a bit more difficult.
I think that’s something the manager will have given some thought to.
TIM STILLMAN
I have to say I am surprised by the links to Merino simply because I thought that Arsenal might prioritise a younger Partey / Jorginho prototype. As with Zinchenko, I suspect that Arsenal would have been have been open to selling Thomas Partey but the market had other ideas. I have some concerns over Partey and Jorginho job sharing the deep lying role.
It makes me think that Rice is not yet done as the deepest player but, I won’t lie, I really liked him in the more box-to-box role last season. But if Arsenal do sign Merino, I suspect it is because Arteta trusts him to play more minutes than Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira have in recent seasons and it gives us a fair degree of optionality as we have in defence.
We will see plenty of Kai Havertz in midfield too, which is fine by me. I think variety and unpredictability are going to be a big part of Arteta’s wish list for this season. I have a level of trust in the manager and the club to wait and see what they have planned, especially as Arteta has a big capacity to pleasantly surprise. But if you had asked me in May, I would have said a deeper, passing midfielder would have been close to the top of my shopping list and hoped that Arsenal would really push to move Thomas Partey on.
ANDREW ALLEN
Is Declan Rice a number 6 or a number 8? Is Kai Havertz a number 8 or a number 9? After 102 appearances (and 38 goal involvements) between them in their first season as Gunners, it appears they’ll be whatever Mikel Arteta wants them to be depending on injuries, opposition and game state. Personally, I’m fine with that, they are good enough not to be pigeonholed.
Judging by our reported interest in Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino, Arteta wouldn’t mind adding to the versatile brigade. The Spain international is another player experienced in juggling responsibilities and could variously play behind / alongside Rice or instead / behind Havertz. Either way, he’d represent an opportunity for Arteta to wind down residual reliance on Thomas Partey and Jorginho.
While the Italian was recently awarded a contract extension, I’m sure he knows to expect more time on the bench than on the pitch. As for the Ghana international, his repeated fitness issues mean he can’t be trusted/expected to play week in, week out. Were Partey open to a move, Edu would drive him to the airport tomorrow. Alas, it sounds like he’s happy to see out the final 12 months of his contract.
While there are no concerns about the quality of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka – the creative heartbeat of our team – you can harbour doubts about the readiness of the man sitting behind them in the pecking order.
Following Emile Smith Rowe’s departure, all eyes are on Fabio Vieira. If last season was supposed to be a defining one for the Portuguese, this year he’s very much in the last chance saloon. Clearly we’ve kept him around for a reason (you sense Arteta is taking his lack of development personally) but he has to prove he can deliver when he’s given opportunities. The pressure is on. If he doesn’t, Hale End duo Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly will be snapping at his heels.
FORWARDS
ANDREW MANGAN
When Arteta spoke about how his first job is to get more out of the players he has available to him, the two that spring to mind are Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. Both had disappointing seasons in terms of their numbers/end product last time out, and there is significant room for improvement from both.
Leandro Trossard is very capable, both from the left and the centre where he is sometimes deployed; Kai Havertz looks well settled and integrated, and whether he’s up top or further back I expect him to continue producing; while what can we say about Bukayo Saka? His consistency and end-product increases every year, and if he can do that again this season, he’ll be a match-winner on a regular basis.
For me the big question mark is what we do with Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah. I hope for both their sakes they move on, because they have become bit-part players in this version of Arsenal, and when you look at how we upgrade this squad, they are the two who you immediately think of.
I think it’s clear Arsenal want something else in attack, the pre-Euros attempt to bring in Benjamin Sesko is evidence of that, and I do expect a signing to be made in this area to give us a bit more quality and depth. I have no idea who, and no idea when exactly, but I’d be hugely surprised if we didn’t make an attacking addition before the window closes.
TIM STILLMAN
Assuming Nketiah and Nelson are sold and Havertz and Jesus have a rotation of sorts upfront, I am happy with the collection of forwards we have and hope that we can juice more from Martinelli and Jesus next season, while hoping the likes of Trossard and Havertz continue to contribute with end product.
But the first thing that Arsenal tried to do this summer was to buy Benjamin Sesko, which tells you that the club are probably thinking what many of us are thinking: we need one more forward. I very much doubt the absolute gold plated 30 goal a season option is on the market, but one more forward – be it a striker or a wide player – is really needed in my view.
Arsenal have a strong defensive and physical aura now but they failed to score in five Premier League games last season. They didn’t score from open play away at Bayern Munich, Porto, Liverpool (scored from a set-piece), Manchester City, Newcastle or Aston Villa. In truth, we didn’t really look like scoring at any of those grounds either.
Arsenal need to have the ability to power up the attack from the bench and make teams sweat over the quality of the attacking substitutions. If we are talking about gaining some of the fine margins needed to win the Premier League and / or Champions League, this is the most obvious place to find that edge.
I will be disappointed if another attacker doesn’t come in before August 30th.
ANDREW ALLEN
Writing this a few days before the start of the season, I’m surprised more attacking players haven’t been linked with Arsenal in recent months. Gabriel Jesus’ injury issues have been well-documented, Bukayo Saka (250+ games for club and country in five years) continues to play on the edge of potential burnout and Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson want to leave the club.
Sure, we can lean on Havertz as a striker, Jesus could play off the flank and Martinelli and Trossard provide decent depth on the left, but with games every three days for much of the season parachuting another high-class attacking prospect into the mix wouldn’t go amiss. The failed pursuit of Benjamin Sesko suggests the club aren’t immune to the idea, even if our attempt to lure him from RB Leipzig was predominantly driven by opportunism.
While it’s true this crop of players has set new club-record goal tallies in consecutive Premier League seasons, Arteta rightly emphasises a need to be more efficient in the box. Goals in games already won are all well and good (who didn’t enjoy that run of away games against West Ham, Burnley and Sheffield United?!), but goals in tighter games are another matter.
At home last season, points were left on the table due to hapless finishing against Fulham, West Ham and Aston Villa. In Europe, we nearly came unstuck against Porto before Bayern got the better of us. Small margins. Big price paid.
If Martinelli can rediscover his form of the 22/23 campaign that would help, but I still think another attacker should be a priority if Nketiah departs. Do I think that will happen? With the clock ticking, I’d be surprised. But it would be a serious declaration of intent. Over to you Edu.
OVERALL
ANDREW MANGAN
While I still think we need a couple of additions to really give the squad the kind of depth we need across the Premier League, expanded Champions League, and two cup competitions, we also have to remember that this bunch of players got us to within a whisker of the title last season. I think this group need some tangible success, so having a squad deep enough and good enough to continue a title push while being serious about the cups is important.
This is a very good team though, and I think we should expect them to challenge again. It’s going to be hard to replicate what we did last time out, and we might even need to do better, but I have no concerns about our motivation or desire to compete. The difficult start, when you also add into the equation truncated holidays for key players like Saka, Rice and Saliba, is a bit of a worry but you have to play these games some time.
My hope is that it’s third time lucky in terms of the title, but of course it won’t be luck. It will be hard work, organisation, discipline, and all the other things Mikel Arteta has instilled to make this one of the best teams around. We have the ability to win the league, it’s about how we manage key moments, and perhaps what we’ve learned from the last two seasons will stand us in good stead.
TIM STILLMAN
Arsenal still have a bit of work to do in midfield, upfront and sorting the supporting goalkeeping cast. But we have the same core as last season, coming towards its prime years with another year’s experience around the course under their belts. Arsenal are going to be really strong again this season, I have no doubt about that.
They still need another attacker to really push the dial in my view and I will be really curious to see what our midfield most typically looks like next season. I suspect we will be solid and difficult to play against again. Arsenal could have pretty much the exact same season with the same players again and win the league comfortably. But there are just a couple more details I think that need to be taken care of before August 30 to be sure that we are pushing every margin imaginable to get over the line this time.
ANDREW ALLEN
Arsenal are not just a good football team, we’re one of the best teams in Europe. It’s fantastic being able to commit that statement to paper and mean it.
The next challenge for Arteta is securing silverware and a long-overdue open-top bus ride around the streets of Islington. The 2020 FA Cup success was a moment to cherish but against the backdrop of the pandemic, it feels like it belongs to another era. So much has happened to rebuild the club on and off the pitch in the last four years that the manager will be desperate for a success that reflects the effort put in by everybody who ‘trusted the process’, including the supporters.
After twice running Manchester City close, it’s going to take relentless excellence from his players to get over the line. Do we have the numbers, experience and quality to balance the weekly demands of Premier League football with an expanded Champions League schedule? Do we also go hell for leather in the domestic cups because they are comparatively low-hanging fruit? Time will tell.
I believe we can win the league. But we’ll certainly need luck on the injury front and to master our emotions during the season’s usual highs and lows. No more ‘Newcastle’ meltdowns, Mikel. We also know from experience that poor performances and results can’t be allowed to fester as one bad week could kill us on several fronts. Remember, there’s no room in this year’s calendar for a restorative mid-season jaunt to Dubai.
All the same, I remain confident. And part of that is down to the state of our opponents. I don’t know what the mood is like at City at the moment but with 115 charges hanging over them, Guardiola hinting at a departure next summer and some of their best players already eyeing the next chapter in their careers, I’m hoping the noise around the Etihad proves to be a distraction.
What’s more, the other ‘Big Six’ clubs are in such a state of flux that it’s hard to judge how they’ll fare. We have to take advantage of the fact their foundations aren’t as strong as ours.
