Seven days before kick off against Palace at Selhurst Park, excitement and optimism is certainly high amongst Emirates faithful. Edu and Arteta have done a blinder in the transfer window and at the moment, it seems they aren’t done with incomings just yet. The aim for the Arsenal hasn’t changed; finish in the top 4 and or compete with the top dogs (Manchester City and Liverpool) but there are still some milestones that will no doubt be an improvement to Arteta’s tenure hence, the following brave and nigh on optimistic predictions ahead of Arsenal’s 2022/2023 season…
Arsenal wins Europa league and finish above Spurs
I’m going bold from the off. Arsenal lost the Europa league final in 2019 and haven’t finished in the top 4 since the 16/17 season.
This season however, fans wouldn’t be satisfied with just scraping by for the top four, and considering the fact that we finished just two points short of top 4 and those other guys, an early, comfortable and sustained spot in the top 4 will be welcomed by all associated with Arsenal.
Alternatively, winning the Europa league will kill two birds with one stone. Although, I don’t recommend pinning all our champions league qualification hopes on a match by match basis in Europe, lifting the Europa league trophy will give further credence to our seriousness of challenging the best teams in England and Europe.
My guess is, Arsenal will have priorities set more realistically for a top four spot in the league and hope to secure that to an extent, before prioritizing Europa league glory.
Jesus wins Arsenal player of the season
Gabriel Jesus also known as; The Messiah, The redeemer, The Chosen one will bring a wealth of league title winning experience to us at Arsenal. The £45M man will have not only goal scoring burden on his shoulders, he will also have the intangible task of changing the mentality of his new teammates at London Colney. With 8 goals and 8 assists in 28 games for City’s title winning campaign last season, and, with more playing time at the Emirates, all parties will expect a higher goal contribution.
His versatility will do us a world of good according to Mikel – “He creates chaos, he creates uncertainty and he’s always on your shoulder.” “He has a lot of leadership skills, I can see straight away what he’s doing with the boys and he’s the type of guy that we want.” the boss said.
If pre season so far is anything to go by, he’ll hit the ground running as soon as the season starts. The confidence is brimming.
Saka and Ødegaard finish in top 3 Premier League assist chart
Saka and Ødegaard aren’t necessarily the duo that we instantly think of but, there is more to it that meets the eye. Both left footed players, the former was arguably Arsenal’s best player last season with 7 league assists and 11 league goals while the Norway captain had just 4 assists. Owing to the lack of top notch finishers last season and, with the addition of Jesus and Nketiah’s new contract, finishing issues should be a thing of the past.
Martin’s creativity is set to come to the fore more than ever before. Since the start of the 2018/19 season, no Gunners player created as many chances as Ødegaard in a single Premier League season. Ødegaard created 49 chances in the Premier League last season, just two off Alexis Sanchez’s haul of 51 in the 2017/18 season, according to Opta.
If the conversation rates of the strikers increase with Jesus et al, Saka’s key passes from the wings coupled with Ødegaard’s creativity in the middle of the park, will no doubt increase the tally of both players’ assist numbers. Saka on the other hand, is a real creative force, capable of getting into dangerous positions and playing deadly final balls and his role as a potent attacking threat in the final third of the pitch, will be much clearer going into the new season coupled with the presence and quality of Gabi and Eddie upfront.
Eddie Nketiah will finish as Europa top scorer
This will be a spectacular plot twist for Arsenal looking at how close he was to leaving The Emirates. “I wanted to wait until the end of the season before making any decisions and sat down with my agents, family and the manager to consider everything” Edward said, a decision worth its weight in goals. Five goals in eight starts to be precise.
After getting a run of games he had been clamoring for, he didn’t waste any time proving his mettle for Arsenal, albeit towards the latter part of the season adding crucial goals including a brace at former club, Chelsea. This season however, he will have more than healthy competition with new league proven goal getter, Jesus, which I believe, will see him get more playing time in Europe initially anyway, and this will be helpful for him to get a medium to large amount of goals in the group stage. The new No14 will also have the majority of the goal scoring burden in the latter stages of the Europa campaign taking into account his prior experience in the Europa league knockout stage, a competition his fellow striker will be new to.
Although his durability and stamina are good enough, I anticipate he won’t have as much game time in the league and if we factor in the World Cup, based on the recent rumors of his switch to Ghana. Pre-season has shown great promise of his partnership with Jesus which will no doubt benefit both players positively. He will most likely play in his preferred centre-forward position in Europe which will afford him more chances as he leads the line for the Gunners Thursday after Thursday.
