The summer season naturally brings quite a lot of give attention to the switch window and who Arsenal may purchase to enhance their lot forward of subsequent season. That’s, after all, the predominant and most vital means a membership can strengthen forward of a season- not least since you don’t get one other alternative to do it till January and we’re speaking about transactions of tens of hundreds of thousands of kilos right here.
Even for a membership of Arsenal’s wealth, spending £50-60m on charges and no matter else in wages poorly has a ripple impact. Nevertheless, the summer season additionally gives golf equipment the chance to mirror on natural enchancment. How can they do issues higher? How can they maximise their present expertise? These conversations will likely be nicely below means throughout the workers.
Earlier than I speculate on what a few of these dialogue factors is likely to be, it’s value reflecting on the truth that we will’t assume that every one the excessive baselines for Arsenal in 2023-24 will stay the identical. Perhaps Leandro Trossard’s ending will not be as proficient subsequent season, maybe Arsenal aren’t as prolific from setpieces, perhaps (gulp) one in all Saka, Odegaard, Saliba, Rice or Gabriel will get a medium to long-term damage. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at some marginals that Arsenal may need to goal forward of 2024-25 utilizing the useful resource they have already got.
Make Arsenal Brazilian once more
In 2022-23, in lieu of a very prolific striker, Arsenal had been good at spreading targets across the assault. Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus all acquired into double figures for Premier League targets. Leandro Trossard was added to the squad in January 2023 and Kai Havertz was added just a few months later.
Trossard and Havertz each obliged with double figures for Premier League targets in 2023-24 whereas Saka repeated that feat. Odegaard had eight targets however, alongside along with his 10 assists, he can really feel joyful about his output for the season (not least as a result of the followers voted for him as Participant of the Season). The difficulty for Arsenal is that, as a substitute of considerably including to the pool, Trossard and Havertz kind of changed Jesus and Martinelli’s output.
Accidents had been a difficulty for the Brazilians, after all, notably Jesus and by the top of the marketing campaign, Trossard and Havertz had taken Martinelli and Jesus’ locations within the staff. However neither Gabi made adequate affect from the bench. Admittedly most of those minutes had been dispersed into sub appearances, however Gabriel Jesus performed 490 minutes after his last objective of the season away at Nottingham Forest with out scoring (he had three assists).
With Jesus, I do imagine the difficulty to be health based- he was excellent within the aforementioned sport on the Metropolis Floor in January however, presciently, Arteta admitted after the sport that he had performed by means of the ache barrier. Assuming he isn’t sold- and I’ve to say I’m not certain I see many takers given his health situation- getting Jesus match and firing once more would assist Arsenal immeasurably.
They may not have a Haaland, a Son or an Ollie Watkins upfront however having a totally match Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz as centre-forward choices (allied to the truth that Jesus can play out large too) makes Arsenal stronger in assault. Following his damage towards Sheffield United in March, Martinelli returned and performed 372 additional minutes throughout the season.
Once more, many of those had been finely chopped into substitute minutes however he didn’t make a objective contribution in that point. That could possibly be right down to health or perhaps Arsenal had been within the ‘playoff’ section of the season and their play turned much less adaptable to substitutes but when Arteta and co can get extra from Martinelli and Jesus- even when they will’t power their well past Trossard and Havertz within the team- that is likely to be sufficient to make the distinction subsequent season.
Restabilise the left-side
A fortnight in the past I wrote a bit speculating on Martinelli’s diminished returns for 2023-24. One among my fundamental theories for his decreased productiveness associated to quite a lot of upheaval on the left facet of the staff. Rice and Havertz got here in and moved round just a little on the subject of their respective roles.
Granit Xhaka departed and Oleksandr Zinchenko turned much less of a fixture at left-back, with Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu timesharing the position as Zinchenko was relegated to the bench. That is in stark distinction to the proper facet of the staff, the place White, Odegaard and Saka have been everlasting fixtures. It feels as if Arsenal want not less than some semblance of a first-choice participant at left-back.
Whether or not that’s Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber or a participant sourced externally stays to be seen and whereas Arsenal ought to rotate, it does really feel just like the staff wants a firmer ‘sport in your life’ choice there. In my opinion, Declan Rice has made the left six / left eight position his personal. I believe he’s at his greatest enjoying moreover a Jorginho or Partey sort to his proper, sitting as a left six out of possession earlier than fanning out into the left midfield lane when Arsenal assault.
It took Arsenal just a few months to work out whether or not Rice needs to be a pivot participant or a box-to-box participant and, personally, I believe it’s clear the left box-to-box position fits him the perfect. If Arsenal can play close to sufficient an entire season below that decision and have higher readability at left-back, it would diminish among the ‘rising pains’ we skilled final autumn.
Jurrien Timber LANS
Jurrien Timber performed 71 Premier League minutes for Arsenal final season. 45 on the opening day at house to Nottingham Forest, adopted by 26 on the ultimate day at house to Everton. The ACL damage enforced pause between these appearances gave rise to the largest ‘what if?’ of final season. Not solely did Timber handle to look very spectacular in these 71 minutes, in addition to the pre-season minutes that preceded them, there may be additionally curiosity as to how he might need been utilised.
Given Zinchenko’s relegation of types and damage points incurred by Tomiyasu, it feels as if he might need been an everyday presence at left-back. Nevertheless, I’m not certain whether or not that was the preliminary plan when he was bought. For the second consecutive season, Ben White’s muscle mass have been bathed in lactic acid. He has appeared in 75 of Arsenal’s final 76 Premier League video games, beginning 71 of them.
Timber might share a few of that load, in addition to present higher assurance at proper centre-half within the occasion that William Saliba is unavailable. Timber could possibly be the first-choice deputy in each place throughout the again line, he could possibly be the first-choice left-back or else he may strong-arm his means into one other first-choice spot.
What he does give Arsenal is flexibility, resilience and high quality within the again line. Arsenal had been barely lucky that Gabriel, Saliba and White held up nicely bodily in order that Timber wasn’t missed as a heat physique but it surely’s thrilling to think about the variability and assurance he can supply to the defence subsequent season. The phrase ‘like a brand new signing’ has descended into parody these days however Timber actually, actually is LANS.
