Arsenal’s early-season review
The international break means the eyes of the fans are taken momentarily away from the non-stop action of the Premier League and are returned to their national allegiances.
This is the perfect time to take a moment to reflect on the season so far and take a look at how each team is doing and where they might go from here.
Arsenal are now in their second season post-Wenger and looking to improve on what was a decent start last year, where although they failed to win a trophy, pushed hard for fifth place and reached the Europa League final.
Current Position
Arsenal are currently sitting in third, one point ahead of everyone between 4th-6th but nine behind early leaders Liverpool. This is probably higher than I would have predicted for them at the start of the season, and with everyone behind them so close, I don’t expect them to finish here.
Performance Levels
So far, Arsenal have performed pretty much as expected to be honest, not causing any big trembles in the league, but beating the teams they should be beating (Watford aside) and putting in good performances against Tottenham and Man United for hard fought points.
They looked a little flat in their last game against Bournemouth, scoring an early goal but not hammering a side that has been performing above expectations up until now. Losing a two-goal lead against Watford was also poor, while they were quite fortunate to beat a Villa side whilst only having 10 men.
Manager Rating
Unai Emery joined the club knowing he had a huge task on his hand. He was in the dreaded David Moyes position of following a man who was greatly revered by the fans and had been at the club for over two decades.
Since then, he has gone about building the team in his image and making much-needed changes to what was already a strong squad.
He has got Aubameyang and Lacazette working together beautifully when both are two very different types of attackers, while probably missing the crucial third component of what could be one of the deadliest front three in the league.
Emery still has some organising to do defensively and the midfield is probably not the strongest it has ever been, concluding the Ozil saga must also be at the top of the list as this would free up cash and bring a fresh wind into the squad once such a negative factor is neutralised.
Overall, Emery is going about his job in an efficient manner and I back him to bring Arsenal closer to where they want to be. He isn’t letting the pressures of being at the helm of such a massive club get on top of him. Therefore, I am rating him 8/10 for his work so far.
Predicted Finish
I strongly believe that, having seen the competition, Arsenal can finish in the top four this season, should the Europa League not prove too much of a distraction. I don’t believe they will finish third, but I definitely think they will take fourth.
Strongest and Weakest Points
The strongest point of Arsenal this season has definitely been the performances of their academy players, who have looked impressive when stepping into the senior team. They have also shown a resilience rarely seen in the Arsenal teams of the late Wenger years to come through the tough games and “win ugly”, to use the much-loved analogy, against Newcastle, Burnley and Bournemouth most noticably.
Their weakest point has to be the defensive errors that have let them down on numerous occasions this season. As I have already said, this will need to be sorted out and, although I think the purchase of David Luiz has done a lot to settle their defence, he is certainly not a long-term option.
Sokratis is also above 30 and has been quite poor this season, making a couple mistakes that defenders at top clubs shouldn’t be making.
Possible January Signings
Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig was linked with a move to Arsenal in the summer before their bid was rejected. As it stands, Leipzig are supposed to be looking for €80 million.
Someone much more likely to sign would be Fabian Ruiz from Napoli, a holding midfielder who looks like the guy that could solve one of Arsenal’s biggest problems since Vieira left – having a midfielder who can defend and pass.
Ruiz stands at 6″ 2′ with great feet and an attitude for tackling that you rarely see these days. The one stumbling block could be that Napoli are doing well this season and other big clubs are said to be interested. If Arsenal can somehow beat them to his signature, it would go a long way to Emery achieving his goals.