In the world of sports, certain teams sometimes go through rebuilding processes to go back to the dominant forms they once were. One of the biggest examples of that is Arsenal FC. After appointing Mikel Arteta as their head coach in late 2019, a move that made shockwaves around the sports betting news realms, Arsenal has been seen more as a team going through an apparent rebuild process rather than a team who just needed a new manager to pick up the pieces and become contenders once again. Great expectations were held upright from the get-go for Arteta and his team, but after failing to even land the team in European competition qualifying spots in the EPL standings for the last two seasons, the 2021-22 Premier League season has become a season where either results are delivered or walking papers will be handed over.
Now, after a horrendous start to the season, one which saw Arsenal lose the first three games of the season, including a 2-0 loss to Chelsea and a 5-0 beating on the hands of Manchester City, Arsenal have bounced back winning four of their last 5 games, including a very convincing 3-1 win over historic rivals Tottenham, showing that Arteta’s lifeline is a strong one and that there are signs of promise and hope for Arsenal after all. But what does Mikel Arteta need to do to continue riding this wave of positive results towards a strong 21/22 EPL season? Here are two keys for Mikel Arteta to still be able to succeed as Arsenal coach this season and moving forward.
He Needs To Continue Having Full Control Of The Squad
One of the main tasks that Mikel Arteta was appointed with as soon as he took over as Arsenal manager was to find a way to bring order to the locker room. Before his arrival Arsenal had been dealing with various outbursts of misconduct and disrespect from the players towards former manager Unai Emery. While at first Arteta tried to deal with the club’s issues at the utmost level of privacy, once players like Mezut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, and Sokratis Papastathopoulos were let go, it was clear that those players were at the front end of the corrosive and damaging culture that had been ruling over Arsenal’s dressing room for some time.
While some of his moves were met with criticism and controversy, especially the one involving Ozil, Arteta stood firm by his decisions and has gone on to try and turn a rather disruptive team culture into a positive ambiance. Arteta then took on the task of trying to take a team whose winning culture had been damaged to becoming a relevant squad once again. He has been on top of every move the team has made, be it signings, loans, tactical and executive moves, and everything in between. He’s been the main component behind trying to lure some of the best up and coming talent towards south London and even if the team has been lacking in certain areas, his work has started to show signs of promise, with the team starting to take a more serious fighting shape, one that wasn’t expected when Emery was around. If Arteta can continue having full control of the squad and its functioning, this could end up paying huge dividends back for the teams moving forward.
Focusing on Smart Signings And Young Talents Before Splurging Is A Must
Many fans and football experts have been very critical of Arsenal’s moves in the last summer transfer market, with no flashy moves being made and the team focusing on securing some young, up-and-coming talents that could come in very well towards the future. But in perspective, and taking into account that Arsenal has always been a team that is known for picking young, up and coming starlets and turning them into world-class football players, the team, with Mikel Arteta at the helm of all team signing decisions have come up with various moves that have the potential of becoming great signings down the line. For example, while Arsenal is still trying to find the best way to get their striking group of Aubameyang, Lacazette, and Pepé going, players like Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka have shown that they could very well be two of the most important players in Arsenal’s attacking plans looking towards the future. If Arsenal can find a way to sign another imposing young striker come January or even in the next summer transfer market like Fiorentina’s Vlahovic or Nice’s Gouiri for example, they could end up being the last piece of the puzzle for Arsenal moving forward in attack.
Another example is that of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. Ramsdale, who was signed in the summer from Sheffield United is a clear candidate to become Arsenal’s next great goalkeeper and a promising fixture for England’s National Team in the future. With Arsenal being known as a team that has always had great goalkeepers, signing Ramsdale, who’s only 23 years old, is a move that will end up being of enormous positive results for the gunners.
Arteta has been a critical character in being able to bring in young talents to Arsenal’s senior team like the previously mentioned and others like Martin Odegaard, Ben White, and Thomas Partey and if he continues this way, the future seems bright for Arsenal.Â