Arsenal's situation ahead of 2021/22 Premier league season

 It's finally here , the 2021/22 Premier league season is upon us . Depending on your team this will either mean nine months of tolerating banter from your friends or nine months of pure ecstasy. For Arsenal fans well.....



It's just six days before Arsenal kick off their season against newly promoted Brentford. Normally this would not be an issue as Arsenal have a strong record historically against promoted sides but this comes after the worst Arsenal campaign for years. The fact that fact the club is not in any European competition speaks volumes. The club however do not seem to share these concerns .

In the words of Mikel Arteta last season

" I think what we have to do in the summer is unprecedented for a club of this stature. "

Those were the words of Mikel Arteta in March as he gave an insight into what was needed going into the transfer window. Twenty four days remain before the window shuts and the Arsenal first eleven looks exactly as it did three months ago bar Ben White. The club however do not seem to share the fans worries and frustrations as we are linked to everyone but no significant incoming yet.

The purchases of Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and Ben White will prove to be shrewd signings as the potential in all three is there for all to see. Lokonga especially has looked neat and tidy in midfield and with Thomas Partey currently injured, he will fancy himself to start ahead of Elneny on Friday next week. Ben White is an exciting addition with quality passing ability while Nuno Tavares has looked impressive in preseason. 




However Arsenal will need more than those three if they are to challenge at least for a top six place and in Europe. Looking around you will see stronger teams strengthening and one can only fear Arsenal will drift further behind the rest. 

Players like Sead Kolasinac , Ainsley-Maitland Niles , Elneny, Reiss Nelson , Eddie Nketiah, Hector Bellerin and Alex Lacazette are all still at the club despite the club being open to sell them. The lack of movement out has affected any attempts to strengthen the team. Edu and his team have their work cut out this month to sort out both departures and new arrivals, I don't not envy him. The fanbase is getting restless and only a star signing can appease them.

What Has Arsenal Been Like In Preseason?


Well the same old problems are still there. Arteta has stayed loyal to his 4-2-3-1 formation which becomes a 4-4-2 out of possession. However the lack of quality in crucial departments of the pitch make it a worrying prospect for Arsenal fans. Case in point last weekend's preseason friendly against Chelsea. 


The team was fragile on the counter and got caught out countless times by Chelsea's fast forwards. This is a pattern we saw a lot last season and one can only hope Arteta has taken notice of this. 

The midfield still lacks a driving force that can not only provide a spine defensively but also offer something going forward. With Xhaka staying it seems unlikely that Arsenal will be signing another midfielder but this current Arsenal side lacks the 'Arsenalness' that we identified with as Fans. The crisp passing and moving of highly technical players such as Cazorla , Ramsey or even Fabregas is no more. The midfield is static apart from Thomas Partey offering that quality, the rest is pretty flat .



Arteta has deployed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the left wing in majority of preseason. He however again looked lost in the opening 45 minutes against Chelsea and missed a couple of chances. Auba has scored goals all his Arsenal career but questions now have to be raised. He is regularly dropping 5/10 performances and for a striker reliant on goals that's a big problem.

Lacazette offers something different and seems better suited to this current side. He also gets along well with the younger players who seem to love playing with him . Only problem is he will not get you 20+ goals in the premier league and if your defense is leaking then top four becomes a problem. It's worth noting that some of Arsenal's best performances under Mikel Arteta have come with Lacazette as the 9. 

Nicholas Pepe finished the season strongly and seems ready for the new season. He looks sharp and remains our biggest goalthreat from the wings. Saka and ESR will obviously get better with age but Arsenal needs another goalscoring LW or attacking midfielder who offers goals. 


James Maddison is heavily linked with the club but Brendan Rodgers seemed confident that Maddison will be at the King power come 1st of September.
 Quoting him "I've not been told anything to say [he won’t stay]. He is happy in training and he is working hard, and he is a talented, important member of the squad. He had his season disrupted by injury last year but hopefully this season he can show what a real top player he is."


Goalkeeping is another area of concern as the club currently does not have a good enough number two. Leno too offers no confidence when the team plays out from the back but he is still a decent keeper. Long-term however the club will look to find a better ball playing keeper . Aaron Ramsdale and Andre Onana have been heavily linked. 

Arteta seems to want to build his team from the back going forward , as majority of his signings so far have been to sort out the defense and have us playing from the back. This is clearly seen by spending 50£m on Ben White when the club had the third best defense last season , surely the Money could have been used for an attacking midfielder? That signing tells us that he was high up in Arteta's shopping list , we can only hope he was not high enough to top it. 

Six days left till Arsenal kick off against Brentford and  it seems very unlikely that a new face will have arrived at the Emirates by then .  With Partey injured you might have to witness Xhaka - Elneny as your pivot for the opening day of the season Arsenal fans :)



That said Arsenal  should still have more than enough to beat Brentford and Kickstart the Premier league in style. 

Before then let's sit down and enjoy the curtain raiser - The Community Shield .

Premier league is back!!!!!

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