Can Arteta Sustain the Post December Form? by AI
It’s a new season, and for all the noise about Artetaball, those who are fans of the club realize that Arteta has been adapting throughout most of his reign. The 3-4-3 was used for a long time but it was not by choice. When we got Emile Smith-Rowe back from injury, we were able to return to the 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 that had shown so much promise in the first few weeks of Arteta’s reign. That formation and personell change resulted in a run of form that made us one of the best performing teams in the Premier league and put us within 6 points of a Champions League spot despite the dismal season we had.
Some fans still remember the terrible memories of the pre-December/Smith-Rowe games and that’s right. But the truth is that it is no longer our reality. With new additions coming into the side, there is little probability that we will be back in the circumstances that led to that dismal run. And with just domestic football for us, we will be fitter than most teams next season. The question is if we can continue that post-December run into the new season?
And the answer to that question is another question: why not?
Same system, but with better players, more depth and less games. There is no reason why we can’t continue the run of form, which at the moment stands at five Premier league wins in a row.
The likes of Pepe, Saka and Martinelli have hugely improved as well. Thomas Partey is set for a huge season. Emile Smith-Rowe is going to be available from the beginning. We have new defenders and midfielders coming in. And then there is the big hope that Aubameyang can return back to his normal, Golden Boot self. The team is simply stronger and while our competition for the top 4 spot are also getting stronger, all we need is some inconsistency from one of them.
I dare say that even without the new signings, by getting rid of the bums, we have already improved. But the issue is the margin of improvement. To truly improve enough to reach CL level, we need signings that push the ceiling of the team up. That will be our rightback, central midfielder and central attacking midfielder.
If we get those signings correct, we are in for some happy times.
Surely our new signings mean we can carry on from where we left off last season…
Agboola Israel