Many Arsenal fans would say that they have little to no improvement since Mikel Arteta’s appointment as manager, but we all have to admit that he is in the middle of a massive rebuilding program that is far from finished.
We have cleared out an immense amount of our previously bloated squad, and we can now expect a very busy transfer window, backed by the owner, to insert the next pieces of the jigsaw that he has envisioned.
So perhaps we should have expected much improvement in this campaign, but seeing building blocks for the future, but the Spaniard is adamant that we have in fact come a long way in his process.
“We have made progress in many areas, I would say performance included, and that is supported by many factors that we have looked at,” Arteta told Arsenal.com. “Results-wise, to be where we want to be, it has to be improved.
“We have already had an incredible amount of changes at the club over the past year or so, more than ever. We are looking to improve and be much closer than where we are at the moment. In order to do that there are certain things that we have to improve.
“Now it is how we evolve, there are a lot of things that had to be done and they have been done, a lot of changes to make and a lot of them have been made. Now it is time to evolve. To evolve you to have to take things so that when they are a little more settled and established, take them to the next level.
“There’s great potential [with the young players], they’ve shown that this season. They are ready to take responsibility in important moments. They have the level to do it, they have the hunger to do it and they have the right senior players around them to help them as well. It’s about how we click and how we are consistent because we’ve shown that on the day we can compete and beat the top teams but through 38 games, we haven’t done it.
“Through the Europa League, we have done it to the point that we are so close to getting to that final, but in 38 games that’s the duty that we have and the challenge ahead of us: to compete with the big teams in this league.”
It looks like we have little option but to see how things develop over the summer and in the early stages of next season. So perhaps we should just relax, sit back, and enjoy the process. It should certainly be an interesting summer for us Gooners I am sure…
Sam P