As the anticipation builds for the 2024/25 Premier League season, Arsenal fans are filled with hope and ambition. In each of the last two seasons, the Gunners have come within a whisker of ending their two-decade title drought, finishing as runners-up on both occasions. Last term, they took the title race down to the final day of the campaign, but were ultimately pipped to the crown by Manchester City, with the Blues going on to claim their fourth straight title.
But while the North London outfit remains without silverware, the transformation in recent years under Mikel Arteta has been nothing short of sensational. Arsenal was languishing in tenth place in the table when the Spaniard took over in November 2019, with an aging squad that was not up to scratch with the pace and power required in the Premier League. Fast forward five years and the Gunners are once again one of English football’s powerhouses.
The Transformation
The main way Arteta has breathed new life into the club is by acting decisively in the transfer market. He shipped out huge earners such as Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and in their place came young hungry stars eager to prove themselves. One such player was former Real Madrid man Martin Odegaard, who joined initially on loan before signing permanently and going on to become club captain.
Things ramped up a notch last year and Arsenal took their spending to never-before-seen heights. Last September Arsenal signed a sponsorship deal with a renowned online sportsbook and casino company, making them the club’s official betting partner.
The deal is reportedly worth £50m per year to the club, funds which strengthened Arteta’s position in the transfer market, as well as providing the club’s ardent supporters with access to some of the best sports-based casino games available.
The club’s partner has a gaming portfolio that matches top sports-themed online slots in Australia, a country that famously loves its pokies. The likes of Zombie FC have proven to be popular both in the Land Down Under and with Arsenal fans, allowing supporters to get closer to the pitch than ever before and enjoy the thrill of the beautiful game around the clock.
After all, sports-themed slots have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly among football fans. These games often feature iconic imagery from the sport, including stadiums, players, and trophies, even incorporating bonus rounds that mimic aspects of the game, such as penalty shootouts or free kicks.
The Gunners invested their additional funding smartly. They spent the vast majority of it on bringing West Ham captain Declan Rice to the Emirates, another astute addition that has taken Arsenal to another level. But they need to make further changes if they are to finally climb to the summit of English football once more.
Beating So-Called Smaller Clubs
One of the foremost areas Arsenal must improve upon is their performance against so-called smaller clubs. The Premier League is notorious for its unpredictability, and often, the title race is decided by how well top teams perform against lower-ranked opponents. Last season, it wasn’t performances against the ‘Big Six’ that torpedoed their title hopes. It was performances against lower-profile teams that cost the Gunners dearly.
Of the supposed Big Six – namely Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham – the Gunners didn’t lose a single game, beating the eventual champions at home and drawing with them away. But Arteta’s men did drop points where they shouldn’t have. They lost home and away to Aston Villa, as well as suffering defeats against West Ham at the Emirates, as well as Newcastle and Fulham on the road. Had they picked up results in those clashes as expected, they would have finished the season as champions.
Strikers Scoring Regularly
Another crucial aspect of Arsenal’s title ambitions lies in the consistent performance of their strikers. Goals win games, and having a reliable source of goals can be the difference between a good season and a title-winning one. Perhaps the most impressive thing about them, finishing second in each of the last two years, is that their strikers have scored just 34 goals between them, including just a paltry 14 last term.
That has left the likes of Bukayo Saka, captain Odegaard and the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard to pick up much of the slack. Admittedly, they have done their bit, but much more is surely expected from Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah. Many thought that the former of that duo was the answer when he arrived to much fanfare from Manchester City two years ago. But injuries and inconsistency have hampered both his performances and the performances of his team as well.
Ensuring the former Palmeiras youngster remains fit throughout the season is of paramount importance. If he does, he will surely score goals. But if he struggles to find the net in the opening weeks of the campaign, then surely sanctioning a move for someone like Viktor Gyökeres is the only option. The Swedish international has been linked with a move from Portuguese champions Sporting CP for months now, and he may well be the answer to providing some much-needed firepower at the top of the pitch.
