After their latest triumph over Bournemouth, Arsenal now sit at the top of the table with 63 points to their name. They are 5 points clear from title rivals Manchester City. Arsenal are on their way to tally their points at the end of last season before they reach the 30-game mark. Arsenal ended their 2021/22 campaign having taken 69 points from the 38 total games played, they narrowly lost out on a Champions League Spot to North London rivals Tottenham Hotspurs.
So what exactly have Arsenal done to improve by such a huge margin as compared to last season? Let’s have a look…
1. Mentality
Mentality has always been the one aspect that Mikel Arteta wants his players to master. Arteta has his half time talks that inspires the group. But on the pitch you need players who can continue implementing that bit of inspiration they need to win games. However, a strong mentality isn’t something that is present as dominantly in every player, Arteta needed absolute mentality monsters to enhance the mindset of the entire group.
With the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko before the start of the season, Arteta got precisely who he wanted, a mentality monster. Zinchenko has no doubt had a massive impact on the entire group of players, him along with Granit Xhaka have helped keep the squads spirits high.
The entire Arsenal squad now have more of a fighting spirit and positive attitude which helps them win games despite how bad things may seem. Every single player on the pitch has that belief that they can still win it and it is a massive factor contributing to their impressive performances.
2. Sitting back after scoring a goal
Last season Arsenal had a recurring theme of where they would sit back after scoring a goal. All of a sudden the high energy game would just get toned down and this led to them conceding goals and losing games.
However, since the start of this season Arsenal have not once dropped their levels of energy throughout the game. They are constantly hungry for goals and do not stop after scoring one. This helps them seal wins, if anything goes against Arsenal they have their safety net of extra goals.
3. Lethargic Press
This lethargy is massively related to Arsenal sitting back after scoring a goal. But this season, Arsenal have been nothing but brave on the pitch. They trust each other more and that’s why they become confident to go and press high up the pitch.
Arsenal press high and press hard but most importantly press organised. And because they keep their energy levels consistently high during the game they have the ball in their possession more often. And we know that the more time you have on the ball, the more you can create. This also enables them to defend counter attacking scenarios more often.
Defending counter-attacks is always a huge task because counters are quick and very often lethal. The defending team’s players are often in a 1v3 or a 2v4 situation. This almost always ends in a goal but with the players actively tracking back and with Arsenal’s two Centre Backs performing at their highest level, they have been able to defend counters more often.
4. Chance Creation & Clinicality
Arsenal have been far more creative this season as compared to last season. This season in the Premier League, Arsenal have created 49 big chances having played only 25 games. Whereas, last season they created 39 big chances in 38 games. (Stats source: Premier League Official website)
However, that isn’t solely what has helped Arsenal win games, it’s the improved clinicality as well. Arsenal have been far more clinical when they are presented with big chances. While there is still room for improvement they have done a good enough job to help them stay atop the Premier League table.
All of these aspects which Arsenal have improved upon has massively impacted their overall game. It has led them to win more games and fight for the Premier League title. So much has improved not just because of Mikel Arteta but also because of the players currently in our squad. They simply know what they have to do and leave only if they achieve their objective.
