By Gabriel Landrein.
Emirate Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club (Klook)
It’s been an interesting start to the Premier League season to say the least. Teams like Manchester City, led by Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, have certainly lived up to expectations, as they continue to compete for the title. Other teams like Liverpool, who were given +220 odds to win the league before the season started, are sitting in eighth after a combination of being plagued by injury and repeated underwhelming performances have hindered their start to the season. However, arguably the biggest surprise of the season so far is the team sitting pretty in first-place, four points ahead of runners-up City. Given only +4500 odds to win the Prem (6th best odds) before the season Arsenal have outperformed even their most faithful supporters’ wildest dreams and currently leads the league having obtained a truly impressive 27 out of a possible 30 points thus far.
Having finished no higher than fifth-place in the past six years (with two disappointing eighth-place finishes to boot) nobody really expected Arsenal to do much of anything this season in terms of competing for the title. Even their most ardent fans had their sights set on the Champions League-clinching fourth-place. After last season, where the Gunners finished fifth after choking away the coveted fourth-place finish to London rivals Tottenham, many across the footballing world called for the firing of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s young Spanish coach and former captain who was hired in December of 2019 following the firing of Unai Emery. However, the Arsenal Board of Directors along with American owner Stan Kroenke decided to give Arteta one more shot this season which he has truly grasped with both hands.
Thus far, Arsenal has looked good. Really good. In the Premier League, they’ve won all but one of their ten games played, the lone loss being to Manchester United away from home. Their statement win was one at their home grounds, Emirates Stadium, where they defeated historic rivals Liverpool 3-2. After many years of continual struggles against top Premier League opposition, Arsenal truly showed their worth in this game. Twice was Arsenal's lead stripped away after leading 1-0 and 2-1, but retook the lead one last time through a confident Bukayo Saka penalty, which he coolly slotted past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker, once again quieting the critics of his Euro 2020 penalty miss. In seasons past, Arsenal, who had a bad rep for continually letting winnable games slip away, might’ve let this one get away from them. This season, however, things truly look different. Arteta, at times criticized for his unorthodox methods and particularly strong-worded halftime pep talks (which were on full display in the Amazon Prime Series All or Nothing: Arsenal), has managed to move this team away from their past failures and build a truly resilient group of players.
Young attacking stars Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard celebrating a goal in the Europa League against Norwegian side FK Bodø/Glimt (The Telegraph)
Arsenal has a distinctively young team, which can often mean mental struggles against older and more experienced opposition. Only two of the starting eleven against Liverpool were above 25 years old! Luckily for Arsenal this inexperience has not shown, and the relative youth of this team has only served more dynamic and entertaining performances. Arteta has Arsenal playing in a distinctive 4-2-3-1 formation which makes full use of their electric wingers: Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil) down the left and Bukayo Saka (England) down the right. These two continually stretch the field by playing out wide as they frequently create danger from wider areas. This serves to create more space inside for creative Norwegian playmaker Martin Ødegaard and star striker Gabriel Jesu s(Brazil). These four players are an ever-present attacking threat which is shown through their 24 goals scored (2nd most in the league) and 2.07 xG (expected goals) per game (3rd most). However, their league successes are not just due to their star-studded offense, but also a solid defensive front. Arsenal plays in a back four, with Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan) at left-back, Ben White (England) at right-back, and a center-back pairing of William Saliba (France) and Gabriel Magalhāes (Brazil). In front of these, the two holding midfielders are veteran Thomas Partey (Ghana) and captain Granit Xhaka (Switzerland), two defensive-minded players. This strong defensive lineup has led to only ten goals conceded, tied for second-best in the Premier League. Overall, through their stellar coaching, great starting eleven, and the underlying numbers, it is easy to see why they currently sit atop the league table.
However, Arsenal’s current success is not just a testament to the on-field product. Homage must also be paid to the front office and the Board of Directors. Now more than ever, club front offices are very impatient with their coaches if they don’t see success quickly. Fans and stakeholders alike demand constant results, and the coach is often used as a scapegoat for team failures Therefore, it is extremely commendable that Arsenal’s board was willing to stick with Arteta through thick and thin until finally ending up in the promised land. Despite the lack of consistent results throughout the first two years, the board clearly had seen a coaching philosophy and an on-field product that they liked and could be developed further into sustained long-term success. Despite past mismanagement, the Gunners have shown exceptional discipline and foresight into how to properly run a football club.
Mikel Arteta celebrating the win against Liverpool (The Telegraph)
In addition to the coaching situation, it is clear that the transfers have been well thought-out and organized. Too often big clubs like Arsenal content themselves with throwing astounding amounts of cash at big-name players to impress their fans and pray the player will seamlessly adapt to their system, helping them win more games. Predictably, this overly simplistic strategy often fails. Arsenal, however, have shown remarkable restraint in the transfer market and have only splashed cash on players they knew would fit their system. Over the last three seasons they have signed big-money impact players such as Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus($51 Million) and Ben White($57 Million), and made astute under-the-radar signings like Takehiro Tomiyasu from Bologna for $18 Million, and Gabriel Magalhāes for $26 Million. They’ve also been ruthless in shedding players they didn’t need or didn’t fit their philosophy, such as letting captain striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave to Barcelona F.C for free, transferring or loaning out an astounding 61 players since 2019. This transfer doctrine has allowed Arsenal to build the stellar team they are able to put out onto the field today, and that is thanks to the hard work of the front office, in conjunction with the needs and wants of the coaching staff.
Overall, Arsenal’s current success is one to be revered, and it sets the standard for how a modern football club can be run successfully. Fans hope they can continue their early season success well into the future, and I for one certainly think they can.
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