Ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League season, Alex Keble takes an in-depth look at each of the 20 clubs.
Arsenal
For the first time in more than a decade Arsenal supporters go into August with a calm certainty that life is good. Usually their season begins with a sense that it’s make-or-break time - that the stasis has to be broken somehow – but for once Gunners fans already know which direction their team is heading in.
The Emirates finally feels like a fitting home. Mikel Arteta is widely regarded as one of the brightest young managers in the game. The squad is youthful and talented. Better yet, any lingering fear their title challenge last season was a one-off have been extinguished by a summer spree that signals their return to the top.
The Premier League title might have slipped through their fingers last season, but the feeling is that Arsenal are at the beginning of something, not the end.
Performance last season
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +61 | 89 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +45 | 84 |
| 3 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
38 | +15 | 75 |
| Competition | Performance |
|---|---|
| FA Cup | Fourth round |
| EFL Cup | Third round |
| UEFA Europa League | Round of 16 |
PL performance last five seasons
| 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th | 8th | 8th | 5th | 2nd |
How to improve on 2022/23
Finishing second with 84 points, their highest points tally since the "Invincibles" of 2003/04, was a brilliant achievement. It did, however, feel like an opportunity missed after taking 50 points in the opening half of the season, followed by 34 points from the second 19 fixtures.
At 1.8 points per match in the second half of the campaign, Arsenal regressed to almost exactly the same points average as across their 2021/22 season. The objective this year, clearly, is to win the Premier League – but also to find consistency until May.
Arteta appears to be working on increasing his team’s flexibility and their variations on the training field, while new signings have added depth to a squad who were hit hard by key injuries to Gabriel Jesus, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko last year.
Key transfers
Arsenal reportedly smashed their transfer record to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United - and with good reason. Rice is the real deal. He is able to play in multiple positions, developing into a brilliant all-action No 8 over the last couple of seasons.
Kai Havertz is another signing who adds tactical intelligence and versatility to the squad. Although he never quite lived up to his potential at Chelsea, he should benefit from greater stability at Arsenal.
Jurrien Timber, too, can play in a number of positions, arriving from Ajax with expectations high.
Tactics
Arteta’s Pep Guardiola-inspired tactical ideas matured last season. Arsenal are easy on the eye, a possession team of consistent and repeated patterns. It doesn’t take long to notice how the team follow certain grooves, passing and moving across the width to release Bukayo Saka or Gabriel Martinelli into space.
Arguably this became a little predictable in the second half of last season, hence the addition of Havertz and Rice to mix things up and provide new angles. The 4-3-3 will remain, as will Arteta’s trademark style of "Guardiola football" twisted with a greater acceptance of breakneck counter-attacks and transitions. But expect a few surprises down the line.
Reasons to cheer
Everyone at the club is pulling in the right direction and there is unanimous belief in the Arteta project. That is a rare commodity, as is the collective strength of an explosive attack that includes Saka, Martin Odegaard, Jesus and now Havertz.
UEFA Champions League football is back for the first time in six years and, having won seven of the eight league matches that immediately followed Europa League outings last season, we know Arsenal can juggle multiple competitions.
Reasons to fear
Pessimists will point out that last season might have been a unique opportunity to win the title. Manchester City are likely to better their total of 89 points while Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are all in a strong position to improve.
Still, when your greatest fears have nothing to do with your own team, you know these are good times.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Opening six matches
Arsenal are eased nicely into the new campaign, with matches against Nottingham Forest (H), Crystal Palace (A) and Fulham (H) offering the chance to build some momentum and quash any concerns about how 2022/23 ended.
September could prove to be a defining month as Arsenal host both Man Utd and Tottenham Hotspur, with a trip to Everton sandwiched in between. This will help set the tone and tell us whether Arsenal have what it takes to push for the title through until May.
Predicted XI v Forest
4-3-3: Ramsdale; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey; Rice; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli.
