Two defeats in the space of five days in May cost Arsenal a spot in next season's UEFA Champions League.
The Gunners had enjoyed a solid upturn in form following a disastrous start that saw them lose all of them first their Premier League outings but eventually, injuries to key players Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu derailed their campaign, allowing Antonio Conte's Tottenham Hotspur to pip them to a fourth-placed finish in the final stretch. Since then, plenty of the game's most famous talking heads have ruled out Mikel Arteta's side.
Blowing a chance to qualify for Europe's most prestigious competition has proved to Manchester United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane that Arteta's project was all hype and they will fall away this season. But does that actually make any sense?
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Neville took to social media on Sunday afternoon to poke fun at the north Londoners. Writing on Twitter, he said: "You blew up with the best chance you’ll have of finishing 4th! Is that the strategy?"
This sentiment was echoed by his former United teammate Keane. Speaking on a debate for Sky Bet, the Irishman said: "I couldn’t agree more I think this [previous season] was their opportunity [to return to the Champions League].
"They blew it, they got into a great position, four, five games to go in the season you think they’re in pole position and they blew it. They couldn’t get over the line.
They were poor, the Newcastle game was a real blow to them where they never turned up and the manager was quite critical of them after the game, some of the players were - senior ones - so you wouldn’t be putting any bets on Arsenal to finish top four next season because the other teams, Man United will better - you’d of thought. Tottenham will be stronger, you can’t see it, big set-back."
There is no doubt that their end-of-season collapse was a major blow to Arsenal. However, it would be massively short-sighted to write the Gunners off going into the 2022/23 campaign, especially when you take a look at the gradual improvement within the club.
The goal issue
First of all, the biggest reason Arsenal failed to finish in the top four last season was goals. Or more accurately, a lack of goals. Former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was severely misfiring during the opening months of the season, finding the back of the net just four times in the Premier League despite accumulating 6.89 xG (expected goals), as per Undersat.
Aubameyang left for Barcelona in January following a falling out with Arteta but fellow frontman Alexandre Lacazette proved to be much worse in the final third. In 30 league appearances, Lacazette scored a measly two non-penalty league goals, almost four goals less than his fbref total of 5.6 npxG (non-penalty expected goals).
However, the Gunners have addressed this problem this summer, offloading the Frenchman and replacing him with Brazilian centre-forward Gabriel Jesus. Jesus averaged a goal or an assist every 104 minutes during his Manchester City career, numbers that read even more impressive when you consider he was often deployed out wide under Pep Guardiola's stewardship.
Jesus has hit the ground running during Arsenal's pre-season, already finding the back of the net on seven occasions - including a devastating hattrick during Saturday's 6-0 victory over Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium. The clinical striker is a level raiser for the north Londoners and he could easily increase this season's points tally by double digits on his own.
Players developing
Keane and Neville's argument that last season was Arsenal's only chance to finish top four has little substance when you consider the fact that almost their whole squad should improve this season. The Gunners had the youngest starting XI last term and the return of 21-year-old William Saliba and the arrival of the aforementioned Jesus, who is still just 25, means they have only gotten younger.
Two-time player of the year Bukayo Saka is still only 21, with fellow attacker Gabriel Martinelli also the same age. The former provided just eight goals and assists over the course of the 2020/21 Premier League campaign before upping that tally by ten last season.
Comparatively, the latter scored six league goals and provided a further six assists from just 21 starts, nine more direct goal contributions than he managed the previous season. When looking at Arteta's starting XI from the match against Sevilla, Partey and Granit Xhaka were the only two starters not under the age of 26 and neither central midfielder have even turned 30 yet.
In short, almost every Arsenal player is going to develop and improve this season, not get worse.
Rivals compared
Chelsea and Tottenham finished five and two points above Arsenal last season respectively and it would be strange to assume that either side have gotten exponentially better this summer. The Blues lost their best central defender Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid whilst goals continue to be an issue for Thomas Tuchel's men, who allowed club-record signing Romelu Lukaku to rejoin Serie A giants Inter Milan on loan.
Whilst pre-season isn't the be-all and end-all, the west Londoners were completely outclassed by the Gunners in the United States last month, falling to an embarrassing 4-0 defeat as they struggled to deal with their Premier League rivals intense pressing from the front. Meanwhile, Spurs have done some solid business in the market, improving the depth of their squad with the likes of Yves Bissouma, Richarlison and Djed Spence all arriving in N17.
Although, one could easily argue that Bissouma is the only one of the Lillywhites' six first-team summer additions that would actually get into Arsenal's starting XI at this moment in time.
Tactical versatility
The aforementioned deal to bring Jesus to the Emirates Stadium wasn't the only piece of business Arsenal have done this summer. Technical director Edu has also brought in young winger Marquinhos, experienced goalkeeper Matt Turner, Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira and former Manchester City fullback Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Returning loanee Saliba, as well as Vieira and Zinchenko in particular, will give Arteta plenty of tactical versatility this season. Saliba slotting in at right centre-back can allow Ben White to play right-back, especially when you consider Tomiyasu's regular fitness problems.
In possession, White would tuck inside to form a back three with Gabriel Magalhaes and Saliba, allowing left-back Zinchenko to invert in midfield and form a double pivot with Partey. This means against deep blocks, there is no need to play Granit Xhaka, allowing Arteta to deploy two number 10s in the form of Vieira and Martin Odegaard to break down the opposition defence.
Alternatively, Zinchenko can also play as a left-sided central midfielder whilst Kieran Tierney operated as an attacking touchline left-back - something that could make a devastating left flank alongside either Martinelli or Emile Smith Rowe.
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