Arsenal’s season comes to a close this weekend as the Gunners finish the campaign with a game played purely for pride at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Mikel Arteta and his side will lap the Emirates Stadium at the end with a chance for some to say goodbye and for the fans to thank the players for their efforts this season.
There have been many successes during the campaign, but having not picked up any silverware and slumped toward the finish line there are lessons to be learned. Arteta, his players and sporting director Edu Gaspar amongst the other club executives are sure to have many meetings to debrief the campaign.
What is clear is that Arsenal are moving 'Always Forward' as their modern slogan suggests. With that in mind, football.london takes a look at five key lessons that the season has delivered that need to be considered for 2023/24.
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Strength in depth
For many, what ended Arsenal’s title hopes was the lack of depth to cover key injuries such as William Saliba. The Frenchman’s back injury which brought his season to an early close was timed simultaneously with the loss of Takehiro Tomiyasu to a knee injury also.
Had the Gunners had a player who could provide the traits that Arteta desires from a centre-half on the right then perhaps Rob Holding’s deficiencies would not have stood out so greatly. Alternatively, another right-back option to push Ben White into the centre was missing as the Spaniard reached for desperate measures at Nottingham Forest when he pushed Thomas Partey into the right full-back role with little success.
Midfielders, defenders and forwards are all on the agenda for the summer but the lesson he has to be quality. Arsenal cannot afford to recruit players not at the level of the existing starters or risk further setbacks in the future.
Improvement in tactical changes
Another defining point of the season was the trip to Anfield. Despite dominating the early part of the match and taking a two-goal lead, the game swung late in the first half after Mohamed Salah pulled one back before half-time. As the second half progressed Jurgen Klopp went for broke, taking off Fabinho in favour of Roberto Firmino.
This gave Arsenal a man advantage in the middle but just two minutes later Arteta sacrificed this by taking off Martin Odegaard for Jakub Kiwior. This only solidified Liverpool’s grip on the game and strengthened the inevitability of the equaliser which did eventually come.
Had Arsenal won this game, perhaps it would have continued the momentum that was lost, as well as the points, against West Ham, Southampton and notably Manchester City. Arteta needs to take these moments into account, with further reference to the triple substitution at Old Trafford, and consider how better to approach these situations.
Variation at full-back
Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu have been great assets to the club these past two seasons. In 2022/23, they both were the options at right-back for the majority of the campaign and White in particular transitioned to this role to become one of the league’s best.
However, there were points in the season, especially when the Gunners needed to find a goal, that having something different to bring off the bench as opposed to one of the aforementioned duo could have helped. Arteta needs variation and the transfer market - or maybe even the academy - can hopefully provide that.
Taking the away form to the Emirates
Arsenal have kept just three clean sheets at home prior to the final game of the season, meanwhile, they have kept nearly four times that amount on the road. The Gunners dropped points against Man City, Newcastle, Brentford, Southampton, Manchester City and Brighton at home which ultimately had a huge hand in losing the title race.
The Emirates Stadium needs to become an even stronger fortress where visitors scoring goals becomes as close to impossible as it can be. Making the north London home an intimidating ground for teams to play must become something of a priority next season
The January window can be transformative
Leandro Trossard and Jorginho in particular had huge hands to play in furthering Arsenal’s title goals this season. The pair have been two of the most successful January signings in the short term to have come through the doors in north London.
It has gone to show what an impact making smart moves in the winter window can have on a season. Although the club are admittedly not big fans of it, particularly Edu, it could be yet another asset for next season depending on the state of the squad and the opportunities on offer.
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