By Kairouan Boin, Year 12
This season, Arsenal has taken the football world by storm, with what appears to be their best start to a season in over a decade. Manager and Head coach, Mikel Arteta, has defied expectations and critics as his squad continues on its near-perfect start to the 2022/2023 campaign.
To understand why Arsenal is doing so well this season, we need to look back at the end of last season. After mounting an epic comeback from last place to fourth place, Arsenal slipped up near the end and handed their historic rivals Tottenham Hotspurs (Spurs) a Champions League spot, forcing them to settle for another season of Europa League football. Everyone expected Arsenal to do what previous seasons had suggested and miss out on Champions League football for the seventh year in a row.
Behind the scenes, however, Mikel Arteta was plotting. He and Edu Gasper (the technical director at the time; he has now been promoted to the sporting director) worked their charm and got the signings of Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko, both from Manchester City. These signings were significant as both players had Premier League experience and had even won the league, which no other current Arsenal member has. Mikel had a process that his current players and transfer targets trusted and respected. Over the remainder of the summer transfer window, Arsenal completed the signing of a couple of other young players with the potential to grow into this Arsenal team. Mikel also made another gamble by trusting a young center-back by the name of William Saliba to reinforce the Arsenal defense. Saliba spent the last two years on loan at Ligue 1 clubs Nice and Marseille where he flourished with the opportunity of a starting place in the squad.
Arsenal has the youngest squad in the Premier League, with an average age of 23.7. Bursting with talent and ferocity, this young Arsenal side is shocking everyone as they sit atop the Premier League table and their Europa League group. With a staggering 17 wins in 21 games in all competitions, Arsenal has cemented itself as a team to watch out for this season. They have three losses all season and look to keep it that way with an unbeaten streak of eight in their last Premier League games. They are the second-highest-scoring team and have the joint-best defense in the Premier League this season; on top of that, Arsenal plays an appealing style of football that consists of fluid attacks and composure on the ball. Arteta is having a masterclass of a start and has the attention of all football fans around the world on his Arsenal team.
Great article! It’s always a joy to hear success of great teamwork. I hope Arsenal continues to achieve big wins through collaboration and resilience!