MY ACCOUNT
Arsenal have opened their 2022-23 campaign in style by winning their first two Premier League games — a far cry from last year’s horror start.
The Gunners join Manchester City as the only other team to boast a perfect record so far.
This time last term, Arsenal were yet to pick up a single point, or even score.
Injuries, illness and fitness issues combined to rob Mikel Arteta of a number of key players as they lost their first three games against Brentford, Chelsea and City — the worst start in their history.
Arsenal rallied to mount a top-four charge before five defeats in their final 10 matches saw them slip to fifth.
However, there were signs of progress throughout the season and it appears the Gunners have taken another step up this term thanks to the work of Arteta and technical director Edu.
We take a look at the North London club ahead of today’s trip to Bournemouth.
Depth in defence
There have been a raft of personnel changes at the Emirates in the last three transfer windows and Arsenal are clearly stronger for it.
Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers and Sead Kolasinac each started at least one of the first three games of last season and the trio have since departed the club.
Last summer saw the arrival of Takehiro Tomiyasu, who proved a substantial upgrade at right-back, as well as Ben White, who struck up a formidable partnership with Gabriel in the heart of defence.
With everyone fit, Arsenal were able to field a back four of real quality.
Tomiyasu and left-back Kieran Tierney suffered injury issues throughout the campaign and the drop-off to Cedric and fellow summer 2021 signing Nuno Tavares was notable.
This term, the addition of versatile left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko from City and the return of centre-back William Saliba from two years out on loan have bolstered the quality of Arteta’s options.
With White able to deputise on the right for Tomiyasu, the Gunners now possess six starting-quality defenders.
A shiny new striker
Centre forward was a problem position throughout 2021-22.
Disciplinary issues and patchy form plagued former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before he was to Barcelona in January, leaving Alexandre Lacazette as the club’s first-choice striker.
The Frenchman’s lack of mobility hindered the team and he scored a paltry four Premier League goals in 30 appearances — only two of which came from open play.
However, Arsenal’s attack has been revitalised by two strikers.
Gabriel Jesus is this summer’s shiny new marquee signing and the Brazilian demonstrated his considerable talents by scoring twice and assisting twice on his home debut in the 4-2 victory over Leicester.
He is not alone, with academy graduate Eddie Nketiah proving a worthy option up front.
After usurping Lacazette for the final eight league games of the campaign and scoring five times in that run, Nketiah almost left on a free transfer before re-signing.
The England youth international will provide Jesus with healthy competition in 2022-23.
A ball-playing goalkeeper
Bernd Leno was by no means poor between the sticks for Arsenal.
The German proved himself a fine shot-stopper — particularly in his first two seasons as No1.
But it became clear that he lacked the technical skills to build from the back.
That quality is fundamental to Arteta’s system and in Aaron Ramsdale, the Gunners have a goalkeeper who possesses classy distribution without compromising on shot-stopping ability.
After Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace to kick off the 2022-23 Premier League campaign, Arteta hailed his goalkeeper’s performance.
He said: “That’s the resilience we need to win football matches and to see football matches through.
“You need your goalkeeper, because to be honest they had the biggest chance in the game, that one-vs-one.
“Aaron did incredibly well and he won the game for us.”
Trust the process
Arteta and Edu both deserve a great deal of credit for turning Arsenal’s fortunes around.
It has not all been plain sailing but Arteta has laid out a clear vision for the club and Edu has been crucial in making that a reality.
In the last two summer transfer windows, Jesus, Zinchenko, White, Ramsdale, Tomiyasu and new club captain Martin Odegaard have been the young, hungry improvements the squad desperately needed.
What they can achieve this season remains to be seen — the campaign is only two games old, after all — but Arsenal finally seem to be on the right track.
