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Life under Mikel Arteta has been better than many expected for Arsenal. The Spaniard has managed to salvage a sinking ship at the Emirates Stadium and has given them a chance of finishing in Europe. Last December, nobody would have deemed that possible.
A Mikel Arteta-led renaissance at Arsenal
Unai Emery’s reign of terror took Arsenal to their lowest ever position and now Arteta has turned things around in dramatic fashion. Since January 1st, Arsenal have accumulated 26 points, the second-highest points tally in the league behind Liverpool.
That’s what you call improvement, but there is still much work to be done this summer and if the Gunners are to challenge for a top-four place next season, the 38-year-old must address a few obvious weaknesses this summer.
Here are five weaknesses of Arsenal that Arteta can address in the summer:
#5 Conceding from set-pieces
To be a real force in the Premier League, you must edge the fine margins in every department. The hit or miss nature of set pieces is something that has decided many a game. Of the 72 goals the Liverpool have scored this season, 11 of them have come from set-pieces. Jurgen Klopp’s men are standard-bearers of English football and have shown that goals can come through a variety of methods.
Sometimes, free-flowing attacking football can’t get you over the line. Instead, it's your ability to capitalise on dead-ball situations. That’s how some smaller teams make up for the difference in quality against the traditional top six.
Over the summer, Arsenal must learn how to neutralise opposing teams from being a danger at set-pieces. This season, the Gunners have conceded 41 goals in the league, with 12 of those coming from set-pieces. In comparison, Liverpool have only conceded three goals from set-pieces.
#4 Pressing as a unit
In modern football, what you do off the ball is almost as important as what you do on it. The great teams like Liverpool and Manchester City pride themselves on their ability to win the ball back as much as they dominate it. As much as wanting to have the lions share of possession, you must also want to make it as hard as possible for your opponents to have the ball.
When you hurry and hassle opponents, you deprive them of space and time on the ball, thus forcing them to make rash decisions which lead to turnovers.
Under Arteta, Arsenal have shown glimpses of counter-pressing off the ball. However, these have only come in phases but not sustained over an entire 90 minutes. The best example of this was Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at home to Chelsea where Arsenal and dominated for the first 60 minutes until they tired in the last quarter of the game, conceding two goals in that time.
Once the Arsenal boss addresses this weakness, Arsenal will be formidable opposition for anyone.
#3 Defensive organisation
I remember earlier in the season, a certain Gary Neville claimed that Arsenal’s defenders were ‘uncoachable’. A few months later, and Arsenal have kept 10 clean sheets in 22 games under Mikel Arteta. A temporary 3-4-3 system has allowed Arsenal to be relatively more solid at the back. Off the ball, this 3-4-3 turns into a 5-3-2 that looks to block all passing lanes.
However, Arsenal will eventually revert to a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1, which will rely on the team being more defensively organised with their decisions rather than positions. In simple terms, the reason Arsenal look more solid in a 3-4-3 is because there are more men behind the ball when a turnover occurs.
It’s all well and good showing a nice run of form but Arsenal must adopt stricter defensive organisation as a habit throughout next season. Throughout the campaign, Arsenal have faced on average 14.4 shots a game, for context, Liverpool have only conceded 9.3 shots.
The key for Arteta will be to implement an organised defence but not at the expense of his team’s expressiveness going forward.
#2 Develop an attacking philosophy
The story of Arsenal’s season in attack has been defined by individual moments of brilliance. If it’s not Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang finding the back of the net, it’s Bukayo Saka creating something out of nothing. Such a model is not sustainable and when those moments become few and far between, the team struggles.
Under Arteta, Arsenal are yet to develop a consistent style of play going forward. Yes, there are intentions to dominate possession and be compact in defence, but the Gunners have shown only a few patterns of co-ordinated attacking play.
Back in Arsène Wenger’s glory days, Arsenal were renowned for their crisp passing, speed of movement, and constant chance creation.
Once Arteta gets the personnel he wants in the summer, he can then focus on developing an attacking philosophy that is befitting Arsenal at the Emirates.
#1 Winning mentality
Quality in terms of talent is one part of building a successful team. Implementing a 'win-at-all-costs' mentality is what completes the equation. For far too long, Arsenal players have been accused of being soft, with some even questioning their integrity on the pitch.
Recently, we’ve seen Arteta emphasise the ‘non-negotiables’ in which he states that every player must work hard and be committed to the cause. Over time, these two traits will form the foundation for a winning mentality.
It shouldn’t feel like an achievement to win at Arsenal, it should be the bare minimum expected. Arsène Wenger once said, “at some clubs, success is an accident, at Arsenal it is compulsory.”
Through his training methods, team talks, and one-to one-sessions, the Spaniard must instil a winning mentality into these Arsenal players.
On a positive note, what we’ve heard from Kieran Tierney and Emiliano Martinez recently is that the players are fully behind Arteta and believe in what he says. That’s a solid foundation for what will hopefully be a new-look Arsenal team come next season.
