Arsenal before the new season: Will the Gunners finally celebrate the title? Without an elite cannonballer, it will be tough

For the last 2 seasons Arsenal have been competing with Manchester City for the title until the last few rounds. Will it work out at the third attempt? Mikel Arteta has kept his team together for several years now and is just getting the last pieces of the puzzle. The London outfit, similar to the Citizens, has not been significantly active in the transfer market, but they are still going for a very tough fight for the English title once again.

Mikel Arteta still remains on the Gunners bench and would like to surpass his mentor Pep Guardiola and finally take the English throne from him. The Spanish manager is accompanied on the bench by assistants Albert Stuivenberg and Miguel Molina. The entire implementation team, from masseurs to coaches, remains the same as last season.

Defence

The stopper duo Gabriel – William Saliba will not let anyone in. Jurrien Timber, who hasn’t played much despite his injury, knows that. Even so, the stopper position is the only one that has received new reinforcements. 22-year-old Riccardo Calafiori cost the Gunners 45 million euros. The Italian can also start on the left, where we will most likely see him most often.

Arsenal only received 29 goals in the Premier League last season, so it is not essential to make any big changes.

Moreover, the stoppers were great in the attacking phase, especially from corners. Both Gabriel and Saliba scored several goals just from standard situations. It will be interesting to see the position of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who didn’t play much last year.

Backup

Emile Smith Rowe left the midfield, opting for a transfer to Fulham due to low playing time. Mohamed Elneny’s contract expired and Albert Sambi Lokonga went on loan. The transfer of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad in Spain was in talks, but it looks unlikely that the Spaniard will arrive.

At the current moment Arsenal’s midfield line-up on paper numbers 6 names. However, if someone gets injured, Arteta and the whole Arsenal could be in big trouble. The team has no adequate replacement for captain Martin Odegaard, while there are three players at the defensive midfielder position.

Attack

Gabriel Jesus came as a big reinforcement in the attack. However, he has only netted 19 goals in 65 games in an Arsenal jersey. It is the inability to find their cannonballer that is taking away Arsenal’s championship hopes.

Yes, Bukayo Saka is extremely productive and can score goals, but any of the top teams should have a striker capable of scoring more than 20 goals in a season. 8 goals last season is certainly not enough, at least not at the highest level.

Eddie Nketiah has been linked with a move to Marseille for some time. However, the English striker still remains in the service of the Gunners, and he too should increase his productivity, although with his game load it is not going too well. Gabriel Martinelli dropped out of the lineup last season at the expense of Leandro Trossard, so the Brazilian has extra reasons to score more goals.

Arsenal’s ideal line-up:

Raya

White – Saliba – Gabriel – Calafiori

Odegaard – Rice – Havertz

Saka – Jesus – Martinelli

Source: Premier League, Transfermarkt