LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal celebrates their teams first goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on November 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
5 key features of Arsenal’s 2022/23 Premier League title charge
by Adam Keys
2. Ability to learn
Arsenal’s emotion has been spoken about all season, and largely in a negative way, but it’s also a big reason why they have so much fight and belief, which has led to some brilliant comebacks.
But alongside that emotional belief, there is an intelligence and an ability to learn that comes from the demanding personalities within the team.
“It’s not a good feeling at the moment” 🙁
Martin Odegaard admits it feels like there is ‘no hope’ for Arsenal to win the Premier League title this year now 👇pic.twitter.com/4xXZx9TvUr
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 14, 2023
When Arsenal have faltered, it has generally been followed by a strong run of results, where the team has adapted to opponents figuring them out, becoming more street-smart and finding new ways to win.
Those traits are not easy to find, and they are a huge reason why Arsenal have exceeded early expectations and will grow from the end-of-season collapse, and that also includes Mikel Arteta.
Continued on the next slide…
60% possession per game, with only Man City, Liverpool and Brighton holding more of the ball. However, it is worth noting that, unlike other teams, Arsenal average a much higher percentage at home than they do on the road.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Arsenal’s main problem towards the end of season is that they became too predictable. Like City, Brighton was fully aware of how Arsenal was going to press and, like City, they had a clear and effective plan to take adv of the risks Arsenal were taking with this high press. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://t.co/hvS7LoI9hB">pic.twitter.com/hvS7LoI9hB
<p>— PositionalPlay (@pstionalplay) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://twitter.com/pstionalplay/status/1657939710822715392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 15, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Despite possession numbers changing between home and away form, Arsenal’s results have stayed very similar, picking up 39 points away and 42 points at home, which all points to a very structured side, capable of playing the same way against any opponent.</p>
<p>This structure and defined playing style will be the key thing that takes Arsenal forward next season.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 Ability to learn </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-134108 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1487136839-scaled.jpeg" alt="5 key features of the sum up the title charge for Arsenal" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1487136839-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1487136839-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1487136839-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1487136839-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>2. Ability to learn</strong></h2>
<p>Arsenal’s emotion has been spoken about all season, and largely in a negative way, but it’s also a big reason why they have so much fight and belief, which has led to some brilliant comebacks.</p>
<p>But alongside that emotional belief, there is an intelligence and an ability to learn that comes from the demanding personalities within the team.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">“It’s not a good feeling at the moment” 🙁</p>
<p>Martin Odegaard admits it feels like there is ‘no hope’ for Arsenal to win the Premier League title this year now 👇<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://t.co/4xXZx9TvUr">pic.twitter.com/4xXZx9TvUr
<p>— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/1657810868476813318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 14, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>When Arsenal have faltered, it has generally been followed by a strong run of results, where the team has adapted to opponents figuring them out, becoming more street-smart and finding new ways to win.</p>
<p>Those traits are not easy to find, and they are a huge reason why Arsenal have exceeded early expectations and will grow from the end-of-season collapse, and that also includes Mikel Arteta.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 Technical quality </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-134459 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1487138044-scaled.jpeg" alt="5 key features of the sum up the title charge for Arsenal" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1487138044-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1487138044-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1487138044-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1487138044-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>3. Technical quality</strong></h2>
<p>Arsenal’s football this season has thrived when their first-choice 11 has been on the pitch. However, that has only happened six times this season, and it has not happened since the World Cup, with Gabriel Jesus’ return being met with William Saliba’s injury.</p>
<p>When Arsenal have had everyone available, the football has been slick and progressive, with Saliba, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard central to the control that the team have had throughout the season.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mikel Arteta: “What the team has done over the last 10 months is very different to what anybody expected, and that generates a lot of expectation as well.”<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://t.co/5KF3mHZI9M">pic.twitter.com/5KF3mHZI9M
<p>— Gunners (@Gunnersc0m) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://twitter.com/Gunnersc0m/status/1658049690812784641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 15, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>That technical quality allows Arsenal to effortlessly play through pressing sides and pick teams apart, and finding players with that ability is extremely difficult as it allows huge tactical flexibility and the ability to dominate possession.</p>
<p>The positive thing for Arsenal is that the majority of their technicians are 26 and under, which would suggest that they will only get better.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #4 Depth </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-134416 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1686,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1490091859-scaled.jpeg" alt="5 key features of the sum up the title charge for Arsenal" width="2560" height="1686" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1490091859-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1490091859-850x560.jpeg 850w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1490091859-768x506.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1490091859-1536x1012.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1490091859-2048x1349.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>4. Depth</strong></h2>
<p>Arsenal’s starting 11 is as good as anyone’s, but when competing with a machine like Man City, their depth is just not there.</p>
<p>The team coped without Gabriel Jesus, with Eddie Nketiah and Leandro Trossard doing stellar jobs in his absence, <a title="How badly have Arsenal been affected by William Saliba’s injury?" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/28/badly-arsenal-affected-william-salibas-injury/" rel="">but the loss of Saliba was just one step too far for Arsenal</a>.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">🚨 Arsenal doctor gives Gabriel Martinelli injury update to fan after ‘disgraceful’ tackle</p>
<p>🗣️ Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli might return before season’s end, despite an early exit in the match against Brighton due to a ‘disgraceful’ foul by Moises Caicedo.</p>
<p>🗣️ “[He’s] sore.… <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://t.co/CcNv5CO0Pz">pic.twitter.com/CcNv5CO0Pz
<p>— Arsenal Informer (@ars_informer) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://twitter.com/ars_informer/status/1658040498794160135?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 15, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>That lack of depth has led to the likes of Gabriel, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Granit Xhaka, Ben White and Odegaard playing virtually every minute this season, which is a huge reason why much of the core looks <a title="Are we seeing another Bukayo Saka end-of-season slump?" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/14/bukayo-saka-end-of-season-slump/" rel="">burnt out at this stage</a>.</p>
<p>But, Arteta has to take responsibility for part of this. When Arsenal have been in comfortable winning positions, he needs to take players like Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli off, even if he doesn’t fully trust their backups, as the team will have enough to see games out.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #5 Inexperience </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-134458 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1488192900-scaled.jpeg" alt="5 key features of the sum up the title charge for Arsenal" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1488192900-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1488192900-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1488192900-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1488192900-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>5. Inexperience</strong></h2>
<p>Arsenal have 81 points from 36 games with the fearlessness of youth carrying the team through for much of the season, but at key points in the run-in, it, combined with injuries, has worked against them.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>But, it can’t be overlooked how many minutes these young players have played this season, especially Bukayo Saka, who has recorded <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/arsenal-fc/leistungsdaten/verein/11/plus/0?reldata=%262022%22>3,044 minutes</a> in the Premier League which is significantly more than his counterparts at Man City. Bernardo Silva has <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manchester-city/leistungsdaten/verein/281/plus/0?reldata=%262022%22>2,120, Riyad Mahrez 1,669 and Phil Foden just 1,611.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">“We have to apologise because the performance we had in the second-half was not acceptable!” ❌</p>
<p>Mikel Arteta reflects on Arsenal’s defeat and says they need to have a different reaction in their next game <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://t.co/pmdwgpoZZW">pic.twitter.com/pmdwgpoZZW
<p>— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/16/5-key-features-of-the-sum-up-the-title-charge-for-arsenal/2/"https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1657812385195778048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 14, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>With key players tiring at a crucial time, that inexperience has shown even more, and the lack of depth at RCB, left eight, right back and right wing proved to be costly at a time when Man City’s freshness is really kicking in.</p>
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<p>But, the experiences and the demands of this season will pay dividends next season, especially if Arsenal address the depth issues, as both Mikel Arteta and his players learn how to manage the intensity of the season.</p><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">
