Durban - Arsenal may still be a bit off challenging for the Premier League but the future of the club looks promising under manager Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu.
The club didn’t play good football week in, week out last term but there has been progress. Consecutive eighth place finishes were followed up by a fifth place finish last season and the club narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification.
The club has invested a lot of money into player development and recruitment over recent years but it looks like they have a strong research strategy in place before they fork out. Edu more or less recently confirmed that they thoroughly research a player, their conduct and style to see if they will fit well into the club’s direction. This is done to reduce the risk of flop signings.
The problem for the Gunners last season was the lack of a prolific scorer. Bukayo Saka was their top scorer last season with 12 goals. If the club wants to challenge the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, they should have players who can breach the 20 goals a season mark.
Arsenal have taken steps to resolve that by bringing in Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian is an experienced Premier League player as he won four Premier League titles during his time with Manchester City. By arriving at the Emirates, Jesus will likely get to play in his preferred position as a main striker.
For the first time in over a decade, Arsenal also have a clear football identity. We are finally seeing “Arteta ball” take effect. This is exemplified by good first touches, quick passing and crafted team goals.
The “Arteta ball” we saw last season was good on the eye and showed Arsenal have a lot of potential, though ultimately it was not good enough to gain the club Champions League qualification.
We are also seeing play reminiscent of the golden years under Arsene Wenger. Sambi Lokonga has the potential to become the engine of the team as Patrick Viera was in his prime years. Nuno Tavares is fast and boasts a lot of physical power. If groomed properly, he can potentially develop similar attributes to those of Ashley Cole.
Ben White is a defender who reads the game properly and who was well worth the money spent on him a year ago. If properly guided, he can become one of the best in the league and world in his position.
The Gunners took a chance last year by roping in Aaron Ramsdale, a player who at the time experienced back to back relegations. Not only was the Englishman well worth the money but he distributes the ball well and the club has lacked that quality in a goalkeeper for several years.
Ramsdale is likely to be part of the England squad that will play at the World Cup in Qatar later this year. Some would argue that he should be starting for the Three Lions ahead of Jordan Pickford.
@EshlinV