Arsenal followed their amazing victory against Real Madrid with an uninspiring draw against Brentford. While the fans are looking forward to the Champions League quarterfinal second leg with Real Madrid, the club’s Premier League title challenge fell off the rails, as Mikel Arteta’s side are currently 13 points behind the league leaders.
There are some things Arsenal needs to improve on next season to have a more sustained Premier League title challenge.
Arsenal dropped many points this season due to the disciplinary issues faced on the pitch. Yes, one could say that there was some inconsistency on the part of the referees, but the players had a role to play. Arsenal were leading against Brighton and Manchester City when Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard kicked the ball after the referee had blown.
Against Bournemouth in the Vitality Stadium, William Saliba got a red card after Trossard’s awry pass put the team on the back foot. Myles Lewis-Skelly had two red cards against Wolves and West Ham. While the Gunners were lucky enough to grab a win at Molineux, they didn’t have the same luck as they lost to West Ham.
These are careless points that were thrown away because of indiscipline.
This was an unprecedented season for Arsenal regarding players who suffered injuries. Martin Odegaard sustained an ankle injury away on international duty, and the club lacked sufficient depth to replace him in midfield. Bukayo Saka was the next big player to suffer a hamstring injury and this was a better pill to swallow.
As the campaign progressed, Arsenal lost its leading scorer, Kai Havertz, and key defender, Gabriel, to hamstring injuries. This further derailed performances on the pitch.
Arsenal had an unsuccessful pursuit of Benjamin Sesko last summer and failed to make any contingency moves. Mikel Arteta relied on Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to come up with the goods, but despite being good footballers, both players lacked the predatory instincts of a recognized center forward.
Arsenal has been linked with moves for Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak this summer, and that’s a move worth exploring in the summer.
Arsenal has finished second place for the past two seasons and is odds on to finish second at the end of this season. If the Gunners can sort out these issues next season, they might get over the line and win their first title in 22 years.
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