Season Preview 2020/21

The new season is upon us with Arsenal kicking off proceedings at Craven Cottage at 12:30pm on Saturday. With a fresh start, Arsenal will be hoping to put last season’s troubles behind them having gone through 3 ‘head coaches’ and suffering their worst league finish since the mid-90s. Mikel Arteta has been granted the title of ‘first-team manager’ heading into his first full campaign in charge and having won the FA Cup and Community Shield during his short stint in management, there is plenty of scope for optimism. So what can we expect from the upcoming season?

(Image: Arsenal.com)

Tactically, Arteta has looked to set up his team in two ways, in a 4-2-3-1 before lockdown and a 3-4-3 post-lockdown. This change demonstrates his ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the squad whilst finding a way to maximise what is at his disposal. Heading into the season, it is expected that the 3-4-3 system will continue since it should help to ease in Gabriel Maghalães and William Saliba. Arteta’s core principles will remain regardless of the system so we can expect to see Arsenal look to mix playing out from the back with hitting long balls into the channels when in possession, and pressing from the front or dropping into a low block out of possession. Should Arsenal sign a midfield player, such as Partey or Aouar as the media are suggesting, Arteta would then have great tactical flexibility to switch between 3 back and 4 back systems. Arsenal have a clear tactical plan under Arteta going into the season, something they did not have a year ago.

In terms of the squad, Arsenal have made 3 signings thus far this summer, Willian, Gabriel and Ceballos, as well as having Saliba and Elneny return from loan. These players each add to the squad in some way which will improve the team this season. Ceballos returning allows him to recapture his form alongside Granit Xhaka, renewing a partnership which proved successful towards the end of last season. Willian offers an experienced, output driven attacking option who can rotate in and out of the team. Elneny is a hardworking bench option who should help to allow rest for Xhaka and Ceballos. Both Gabriel and Saliba represent composed, physically asserting centre backs with great potential, offering Arteta the tactical flexibility to switch between a 3 and a 4 back. There have been no major outgoings and with star forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set to sign a new contract, that doesn’t look like it’ll change. Should players leave, it looks as if it’ll be the likes of Sokratis, Torreria and Kolasinac, players which had limited roles last season so their departures won’t impact the squad in a negative way. All in all, the Arsenal squad has improved heading into the new season.

Behind the scenes there have been several changes over the last year. Most significantly Mikel Arteta has become Arsenal’s first-team manager, replacing previous head coach Unai Emery and interim coach Freddie Ljungberg. Arteta’s influence has continued to grow during his time at Arsenal and with Raul Sanllehi’s recent departure, Arteta, Vinai Venkatesham and Edu have assumed greater responsibilities. Aside from the owners, the men in charge of the football club seem to be the right men to take us forward. A number of coaching additions have been made during Arteta’s time in charge. He’s brought in Steve Round, Albert Stuivenberg and Carlos Cuesta to act as his right hand men whilst poaching both set piece specialist Andreas Georgson and goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana from Brentford. Set pieces are a noticeable area which Arsenal need to improve on with the team conceding the highest percentage of set piece goals in the league last season. Despite his limited managerial experience, Arteta is clearly and excellent manager and his success in surrounding himself with an experienced coaching team should only help the team to progress.

With the season underway tomorrow, here are a few predictions for the upcoming campaign:

Top Scorer – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Shock)

Player of the Season – Kieran Tierney

Young Player of the Season – William Saliba

Most Starts – Granit Xhaka

League Finish – 5th place

Adam Perry - 11/09/2020