2023/24 was a season of nearly but not quite for Arsenal. They did technically win a piece of silverware, the Community Shield at the start of the season, but fell tantalisingly short by just two points in the Premier League and could go no further than the UEFA Champions League quarter-final. Their challenge for this season will be to get over the final hurdle, but they could well find themselves held back by a new problem.
By Neel Shelat
By the incredibly lofty standards they have set themselves over the last two seasons, Arsenal have had a bit of an underwhelming start to the 2024/25 campaign. They have failed to win half of their matches so far, drawing three of their last four.
More concerningly, though, their performances have dropped off in recent matches after the injury-enforced absence of Martin Ødegaard. How well they can cope with such setbacks could well determine their fate this season.
Recent drop-off
Arsenal’s match against Manchester City this last weekend was quite extraordinary. Leandro Trossard’s red card and the Gunners’ incredibly deep defending in a 5-4 or even 6-3 low block in the second half made it a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of affair, so there is not much to be read from the full-time stats. Even in the first half, though, Arsenal had been second-best for the most part and on paper, were rather fortunate to be in the lead.
Being outplayed by arguably the best team in the world is nothing to be ashamed of, so alarm bells certainly need not have been rung on the back of this performance alone. However, Arsenal’s two previous showings should add at least some cause for concern.
The Gunners did win the North London derby away from home, but they did so with a rather uncharacteristic performance which involved a good deal of deep defending for the most part as they barely kept a third of the possession.
They then kicked off their UEFA Champions League campaign at Atalanta, looking second-best for the most part.
Arsenal’s performances have clearly dropped off without Ødegaard in the side, and it is quite easy to diagnose why. They simply do not have another creative midfielder of his ilk in the squad having sold both Fábio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe in the summer, so their possession-play has taken a significant hit in his absence. The Norwegian international also played a key role out of possession as the leader of the press, so the Gunners have had to drop back and cede possession much more in recent matches.
Any team in the world will perform at least slightly worse after losing a key player, but the point of concern is the extent to which Arsenal have been affected. They will likely need to rejig their system to get somewhere nearer to their best now, so how they adapt in the next few matches and weeks will be critical.
Other weak spots
Besides the troubles they are currently facing, the biggest cause for concern for Arsenal is the fact that they could well face these exact same issues in some other positions. Their lack of depth was the big talking point after the summer window in which they only made a couple of permanent signings and let go of a number of squad players. Evidently, it is already hurting them.
The right wing in attack is probably the clearest weak spot in the squad as Arsenal have been heavily reliant on Bukayo Saka in recent seasons.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with depending on a star attacker, but the lack of a second option in the position has to be a concern for the Gunners. Saka has played over 8,000 minutes (nearly 90 full matches worth of game time) for Arsenal alone since the start of the 2022/23 season, so his fixture load surely needs to be managed carefully going forward in order to ensure he does not join the injury list.
The other options in the squad include deadline-day signing Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus. The Chelsea loanee has played on the left more often than not lately and his form is a question too, while Jesus is much more of a striker than winger. Kai Havertz is another potential option, though he already covers the midfield and striker positions.
Either way, Arsenal will almost certainly have to tweak their system with Saka out of the lineup. First-choice right back Benjamin White tends to stay deep to afford his fellow Englishman spatial freedom in the advanced positions on the wing, which suits his dribbling qualities, but none of the other options seem well-suited to such a role.
Game time generally is not a concern among goalkeepers, but Mikel Arteta’s side will want to keep their fingers crossed for David Raya’s fitness. Their backup goalkeeper Neto has not shown himself to be as convincing as the Spaniard both with and without the ball, and his relative lack of familiarity with the back line as a new arrival could be another potential problem.
Similar tests for rivals
While injuries – especially ones to key players – are always unfortunate, club football has reached a point where the best teams have all sorts of contingency plans to make do without any of their players. Arsenal’s title rivals Manchester City, for example, had to make do without Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, John Stones and Ederson in certain periods last season, and they still managed to win the title. City’s squad depth and ability to soldier on without almost anyone is a big part of what makes them one of the best teams in the world, and it is sure to be tested once again this season following Rodri’s long-term injury.
Injuries were cited as the main reason why Arsenal fell short in the 2022/23 Premier League title race, but two seasons on, they should not be satisfied with the same excuse. The Gunners must find a way to make things work without anyone and should consider making a couple of signings in January to give themselves the best possible chance of finally lifting some significant silverware.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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