When Arsenal football club announced the signing of Thomas Partey on deadline day, one sensed a potential pivotal moment and statement of intent in the new Mikel Arteta and Edu-led era for the club.
October 5th and 6th 2020 represented the classic rollercoaster of emotions for Arsenal fans. A Partey-less window would have been widely considered underwhelming and would have greatly angered the fan base.
Their emotional and mental scars remain raw following an 8th place finish in the last campaign. Albeit salvaged somewhat with a hugely impressive FA cup triumph.
Mikel and the owners
Mikel Arteta has quickly won over large sections of the fanbase with his open and honest communication, steely determination and tactical flexibility. On October 6th, with five wins out of six secured in domestic league and cup competition, the eyes of scrutiny homed in on the KSE ownership.
While doubts remain over the Stan Kroenke consortium, following widespread redundancies and a perceived lack of cash investment, Arsenal football club managed to secure the marquee signing that the supporters greatly desired.
The all action, dynamic midfield player that Arsenal have craved for so long. The powerhouse from Ghana, Partey. Combined with the acquisition of the tough tackling, powerful yet composed Gabriel Magalhaes. Plus, the contract renewals of Aubameyang, Saka and Martinelli. One starts to feel that Arsenal have made positive strides in addressing the “soft centre” jibe that has been thrown around by opposition fans and pundits.
Should be plain sailing from here then? Sadly, little chance. In the short term, the fixtures lottery has thrown up a very tough schedule for Arteta’s army in the coming weeks.
While the signings and the growth of others in the squad such as Kieran Tierney, Bukayo Saka and Dani Ceballos provide optimism, these fixtures will provide tough challenges and Arsenal will have their perceived increased levels of resilience tested.
The promised land
If we imagine ourselves as Arsenal optimists, not always easy, and hypothetically state that Arsenal achieve top 4. Mikel Arteta’s men will have completed the next step of ‘Project Rebuild’.
Why? Because in order to do so, Arsenal will have had to show huge progression in such a short space of time. Achieving top 4 status during the majority of the Arsene Wenger era was viewed as a minimum requirement. However, the cold hard facts of last season were that Arsenal had three coaches, conceded 48 league goals, were embarrassed by Olympiakos in the Europa League and had multiple off the field issues.
Arteta and Edu have impressed in steadying the ship but with this progression comes increased expectation.
Competition also has to be considered and with last season’s top 4, Spurs, Leicester and early high-fliers Everton all have Champions League aspirations. Achieving the desired finish would increase trust in Arteta and Edu’s plans and would set things up intriguingly for what could be Arsenal’s biggest transfer window in a decade.
The deadwood
It would be a great surprise to me if any of the following players make an appearance for Arsenal Football club in the 2020-2021 season: Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac. Four players who have played a lot of football at Arsenal in recent seasons are likely to be making their way towards the exit door.
How they are replaced is the golden key to Arsenal’s future. It may not be that Arsenal sign four players as direct replacements as there is likely to be a promotion of those in the youth ranks and those whose integration has commenced can take in a more prominent role.
The correct path
Analysing this evolution, one feels that the mixture of characters in the dressing room is a key ingredient. In addition to those who bring resilience and a winning mentality, the positive impact that Kieran Tierney has had at the club could serve as the perfect formula.
In Tierney, Arsenal signed a player at the right age profile, on a realistic wage with a winning mentality who is committed to further improve and develop. More signings in that category and the steps forward towards challenging for the Premier League title can become a reality.
Suitable targets
In this regard, I would encourage Arsenal to have a close look at Ibrahima Konate at RB Leipzig, less talked about than the swashbuckling Dayot Upamecano but physically imposing, calm on the ball and provides defensive security.
Creatively, Arsenal strongly pursued Houssem Aouar during the summer and that interest could be reignited next summer, particularly if Champions League football is secured. Other names that could potentially crop up are Dani Olmo at RB Leipzig, Dominik Szoboszlai of Red Bull Salzburg and Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard.
While it may be a little premature to look at next summer’s transfer deals in great detail, it’s clear that how Arsenal progress under Mikel Arteta in the current campaign will be intriguing to follow. ‘Project Rebuild’ has begun, strap yourselves in, this could be one hell of a ride. In Arteta and Edu we trust.
Great article Niall! Q. Why do you believe Top4 was considered falling short by media and fans in the early Wenger AFC years for big clubs but now is considered a successful season? also did Tom force u to include Szoboszlai in our potential targets 😆