It’s fair to say that Arsenal has been one of the best and most surprising teams in European Soccer this season. The Gunners have been rolling so far and could look to win their first English Premier League title since the 2003/04 season. This squad of players looks as passionate, energetic, and eager than ever before.
Past Struggles
Arsenal have struggled big time since the days of Theirry Henry. After years of Arsenal Wenger not spending enough money on players, the struggles kept piling up. Arsenal made the contention to get into the top 4 for a number of consecutive years with far worse starting 11’s.
In 2011, Robin Van Persie won PFA Player of the year and was the last Arsenal player to do so. Following that season, Van Persie made a shock move to Manchester United and ended up winning the EPL title in first year. Arsenal has been known during this time to let go of instrumental players and see them gain bigger success and the new clubs they for.
Arteta Era
Mikel Arteta has surly turned the culture and dynamics of the club since his arrival as Manager. Arteta was a former Arsenal player and served as team captain for two seasons.
After his playing career, he started to work as an assistant with Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola. From gaining an experience to learn from Arsene Wenger and Pep enabled Arteta to think and become extremely tacitial in how he saw the game.
Arteta really struggled in his early seasons and did not have the right squad to fit his game. After disappointing seasons and fans calling the team out to fire Arteta, things took a big turn.
Arteta made big moves signing star midfielder and current captain Martin Ødegaard. This would really help the squad in terms of leadership and playing more creative Soccer. A number of squad players signings would also help shape up this squad to work very well as a team.
Arteta has really helped Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli increase their talent ability. The pair today has become the best winger duo in the English Premier League and are two of the most promising young stars of the game. The transformation of both players have shown they are very capable to become long-term leaders for this squad.
Last Summer, Arteta splashed the cash to sign Manchester City Striker Gabriel Jesus. Already a proven EPL player, Jesus has shown how much he means to this Arsenal squad this season. Missing nearly 3 months with an injury did affect this team in a negative way due to the fact that Jesus is their main Striker.
Arsenal will really need to win every single game from here on out in order to win the league. With a 5 point lead in the table, and a game in hand against Manchester City, it is extremely pivotal to either draw or win that game.
Mikel Arteta has proven at the age of 40 that he is one of the best managers in the world. He could easily be part of Arsenal for a very long time and it is possible that he becomes one of the longest tenured Managers in history.
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