Arsenal have finished the 2022/23 season in second place in the Premier League, scoring more goals than they ever have before and had plenty believing they might have even won it all. Although the end of the campaign ended in contextual disappointment, work is already in place to look ahead to the next season.
Mikel Arteta is at the heart of all the decision-making and will be assessing what needs to be done to add further success and especially silverware next season. The Spaniard’s principles have been at the core of everything he has done to get this club back to competing at the top.
With that in mind, football.london takes a look at the priorities that Arteta must address for next season. From silencing the critics to an integral transfer mission, the Arsenal boss will be very busy indeed.
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Replacing a fulcrum
Granit Xhaka is expected to leave the club this summer with football.london understanding that a deal to move to Bayer Leverkusen is in the works for a fee in the region of £13million. The Swiss international has been a stalwart in Mikel Arteta’s squad after the Arsenal manager revived his career and brought him back into the fold.
His seven Premier League goals and assists are a huge amount of contribution to the season tally that needs to be replaced. Not only that but his leadership too, having been club captain for a number of seasons before then being something of a role model in his latter time for the younger stars.
Any player that signs this summer needs to have characteristics which not only provide the on-field contribution but off it too. Failing this and Arteta will be quickly fighting something of an uphill battle.
World class ambitions
This feeds nicely into a potential replacement for Xhaka. Declan Rice is the priority target football.london understands and the England international’s experience in the league but also his captaincy of West Ham demonstrates the qualities that the Gunners are after.
Most of all though is Rice who fulfils that world-class level of talent that Arsenal should be looking toward. Although shrewd signings can be successful, quality needs to be the absolute minimum expectation for any investment as Arsenal look to close the gap with Manchester City.
Arteta has overseen some errors in the market and mistakes have been made. The likes of Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga look like they’re going to struggle to establish themselves in a side trying to challenge for a title and perhaps Fabio Vieira is on a similar path but this summer needs to be nailed and the Spaniard has already publicly admitted this.
Always improving
Arteta himself can improve too. His in-game management has come in for scrutiny this season with substitution choices raising questions, particularly at Anfield and Old Trafford.
Both times Arsenal dropped points to Manchester United and Liverpool the Gunners boss was seen to have made some rash choices regarding the switches and surrendered control. Still learning, mistakes are to be expected but with the margins at the top so fine, going into his third full season the patience will be at its thinnest from the critics, especially with the aims now to be regularly challenging Pep Guardiola and City.
End all doubt
Those critics still remain despite a surprising season in which next to no one predicted that Arsenal would be this competitive in the league this season. Arteta may never be able to shake all of his haters, but certainly, the objective critics that have reservations about the former club captain can be appeased by yet more progress in 23/24 and potentially silverware.
There’s a sense this golden group of young stars need a trophy to hold onto, as a reference point of success. Yet at the same time the tagline of ‘Always Forward’ has been coined in the Arteta era and that will be expected in the league as the Gunners hope to push City even further next season.
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