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Mikel Arteta has been appointed Arsenal's new head coach after he signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the north London giants on Friday. The Spaniard leaves his assistant manager role at Manchester City to replace Freddie Ljungberg, who took over the club as an interim manager following the dismissal of Unai Emery last month.
The 37-year-old returns to the Emirates after having played 150 games for the club as a midfielder, winning two FA Cups and two Community Shields under Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal currently sit at tenth place in the Premier League after suffering one of their longest winless runs under Emery and registering only one win in five games under Ljungberg.
Arteta will be looking to salvage any chances for a top-four finish in the remainder of the season but having inherited a squad full of imbalances, he will be faced with the difficult task of solving multiple issues across the field before the club can mount such a challenge.
In this article, we take a look at three key areas of concern as the Spaniard takes his place in the managerial seat at the Emirates:
#1 Defensive instability and lack of urgency
Arsenal have long garnered a reputation for possessing the most notoriously leaky defence in the Premier League and, as such, sorting out this never-ending barricade crisis must be Arteta's top priority upon his arrival at the Emirates.
It would be difficult and naive for the Spaniard to overlook the catastrophe when the numbers that are churned out after every fixture demand a cry for action. The Gunners have conceded more goals (27) in 17 games than in any Premier League season, with this campaign being the first time they have ever had a negative goal difference after as many games. They have the joint-worst record of clean sheets (2) in the English top-flight and are conceding an alarming number of shots (16.4 per game), a statistic which is only better than Norwich City and Aston Villa.
The only consolation behind the horrendous defending is Bernd Leno, without whom the Gunners' rate of conceding goals would have been much higher than the already-abysmal record. The German shot-stopper has made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League and has played a pivotal role in either keeping the scoreline down or salvaging a point for his team.
Much of the issues have stemmed from the lack of stable and commanding figures at the heart of the Gunners defence. Neither Wenger nor Emery has been able to find an effective centre-back partnership, with the likes of David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos appearing as though they are struggling with the basic tenets of defending.
Meanwhile, the full-back positions have been ravaged by injuries with the likes of Kieran Tierney, Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Sead Kolasinac having made their way to the medical table in recent months. While Bellerin is easing his way back into the squad, Tierney picked up a shoulder injury against West Ham United and is set for yet another spell on the sidelines. Kolasinac also limped off with a suspected ankle problem against Manchester City, leaving the club with a host of injured full-backs and no effective replacements.
Considering Arsenal's history in the transfer market, Arteta may either be forced to wait until the transfer summer window to find a long-term solution to the centre-back problem or he may have to depend on the return of William Saliba from his loan spell at St. Etienne. Until then, the former Gunners captain will have to re-acquaint the current group of players on basic positioning, awareness, movement and the art of taking responsibility for individual defending.
Also Read: 3 reasons why Olympiakos can beat Arsenal in the Europa League Round of 32
#2 Uncertain futures of his key attackers
Arsenal may have seen three managers in the last two seasons but, much like their centre-back crisis, none have been able to figure out how to effectively utilise Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in the same team.
The attacking duo have rescued the north London giants on several occasions with 69 goals between them since the start of the previous campaign but the underlying problem lies in the frustrations that will blow up if Lacazette continues to be used as an impact substitute.
Furthermore, various publications have reported that the Gunners' general air of complacency and inability to challenge for trophies have made the prospect of an exit incredibly attractive for both players, who are highly-rated among Europe's best clubs. What further muddles the situation is the fact that both strikers will enter the final years of their deals next summer but have shown no signs of wanting a contract extension.
Another big decision that the Spaniard will have to make upon his arrival is the choice between keeping Mesut Ozil, the club's highest earner, at the Emirates or cutting his losses by allowing him to leave this January. The German playmaker has long been criticised for his lethargic and inconsistent displays and many believe selling him could help the Gunners afford a more spirited player and leader
The Independent recently claimed that Aubameyang leads a group of Arsenal players who have no desire to commit to a long-term future at the club as they believe their chances of winning trophies are higher elsewhere. Figuring out how to handle such a volatile situation will prove to be immensely difficult for Arteta but will be vital to the future of the team.
#3 Imbalanced midfield full of gaps
Arsenal's defenders may have borne the brunt of their team's catastrophic run of form in recent years but the midfielders are equally to blame for their vulnerability.
Since the start of the previous season, the Gunners have made more individual errors leading to opposition shots than any other team in that period, with Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi among the players who are most prone to such mistakes.
Having worked with highly-rated defensive midfielders at the Etihad, Arteta may take some time getting used to error-prone players like Xhaka, who lack pace and movement on the pitch, and will have to sharpen young players like Lucas Torreira and Guendouzi by recommunicating the importance of discipline, tactical positioning, and defensive support during counter-attacks.
Dani Ceballos, on the other hand, may offer plenty of creativity and control in the final third but he is certainly not inclined to the defensive facets of the game.
This leaves Arteta with the task of bringing positional organisation and structure to an incredibly imbalanced midfield, a change that would be crucial to his attempts of rebuilding a more compact team.
