It’s Finally Time to Be Excited
Josh Kroenke was off by about a year. Now is the time to be excited.
On Saturday, Arsenal kicked off the season with a Premier League match away to newly-promoted Fulham. The build-up to this match, although much shorter than in previous years, was nonetheless filled with expectancy and hope. And while it is the hope that kills you, Saturday rewarded it for the time being. Willian and Gabriel both made their Arsenal debuts, and both marked the occasion with near-perfect performances. Willian provided two or three assists depending on whether you think a parried shot qualifies as an assist. Gabriel, after an early miscommunication with Bernd Leno (who then reminded us that he’s no slouch in the wake of Emi Martinez’s imminent departure) finished the match with a clean sheet, a goal, and the Man of the Match award.
Additionally, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a beauty that was nearly identical to the one he scored against Liverpool in the Community Shield, easing any worries for the time being that his output might plummet. Alexandre Lacazette also notched a goal, continuing the solid scoring form he ended last season in. Hector Bellerin appeared to be back to the player he was in 2018, showing off his underrated technical prowess in the right wing-back role Arteta’s 3-4-3 requires him to play. Mohamed Elneny looked reliable in the center of midfield. Even Rob Holding, who allegedly was on the cusp of joining Newcastle on loan, looked adept on the ball. During the play leading to the corner Gabriel scored from, Holding juggled the ball through three Fulham players as if he was prime Ronaldinho. All 14 players who took the pitch for Arsenal looked raring to compete on the start of Mikel Arteta’s first full season as the club’s manager.
Because this first match was against Fulham, who appear likely to achieve Derby County levels of ineptitude, many will feel compelled to treat this game as simply a mismatch against a bad promoted side. However, this ignores the encouraging significance of the result. Last season, Arsenal only earned 7 points away from home against the bottom seven teams in the Premier League, and took only 3 points away from home against the bottom four. The losses away to Brighton and Aston Villa speak to this disappointing stat. But on Saturday, Arsenal did something they didn’t do often during the 2019-20 season: they took the lead early against a lesser team and then won comfortably with little drama. Instead of letting their opponent get double-digit shots and make the match a contest, the Gunners bossed the other team and killed their will. The Fulham match signifies progress. And progress will be a theme of this season.
Part of the reason Arsenal struggled against lower-table opposition is because of the lack of creativity in the squad. However, if his performance on Saturday is any indication, it appears that the acquisition of Willian will go a long way towards resolving that issue. The former Chelsea man played a key part in Arsenal’s first goal, having his shot from close range parried by Marek Rodak before Lacazette latched on to the ball for a simple tap-in. Willian’s corner was then headed in by Gabriel to make it 2-0. To finish it off, the Brazilian deftly switched the play to Aubameyang, who dribbled into Fulham’s penalty area before exquisitely launching the ball into the far corner. He would also come close to a goal of his own with a free kick that smacked into the post. Willian started the match on the right wing, but regularly drifted centrally and could often be found in the penalty box during attacking moves. Arsenal’s offense seemed to instantly run through him, vindicating Arteta’s reported bullishness about signing him. While the club likely require one more creative player if Mesut Ozil is destined to spend the final year of his contract uninvolved in Arteta’s plans, the rapid improvement caused by Willian’s introduction should be massively encouraging. In addition to the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka, Arsenal now have an established and reliable creator linking up with Lacazette and Aubameyang.
Another sign of progress is the improvement of Arsenal’s back line. After years of suffering through disappointing center-backs such as Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi, and Sead Kolasinac when he’s asked to play in a back three, the club finally appears to have taken steps toward rectifying that problem. William Saliba was brought back as soon as his loan to Saint-Etienne concluded in order to begin training with Arsenal. Gabriel Magalhaes was also brought in over the summer. Both are towering, athletic central defenders with above average ability on the ball. Saliba looked assured during his appearance in the MK Dons friendly. Gabriel was forced into what was probably an earlier-than-expected debut in the PL opener against Fulham. But what a debut it was. After getting an early mistake out of the way, the 22-year-old Brazilian bossed it in the heart of Arsenal’s defense, helping keep a clean sheet and bringing a stability to proceedings in the absence of more experienced and established center-backs. At 19 and 22 years old respectively, Saliba and Gabriel look set to be the future of Arsenal’s defense. Gabriel’s performance against Fulham shows that he can be relied upon even in the midst of an injury crisis. They may young and new to the Premier League, but a combination of circumstance and their high level of talent might mean we’ll finally have a comforting center-back pairing by the end of the season.
These are just a few of the ways Arsenal have shown that progress is the program at the Emirates these days. Additionally, Andreas Georgson’s influence could be seen in the Gunners’ second goal against Fulham. Edu has been vocal about making the club’s scouting department more efficient and integrating StatDNA into the process of identifying talent. And after letting players like Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey leave for nothing, the club is finally selling well, as evidenced by Emi Martinez’s imminent £20 million move to Aston Villa, rumors that Torino are close to signing Lucas Torreira for around £22 million, and Arsenal’s refusal to sell Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Wolves for only £15 million.
Selling players is only one side of the coin, though. A top club must also be able to keep its best players. The announcement of Aubameyang’s contract extension made clear to the world that Arsenal have improved in that regard as well. Convincing the club’s best player to stay for another three years when he appears to be at the height of his powers will prove to be absolutely vital. Arteta is already in the process of rebuilding Arsenal’s midfield; to have to replace a player who guarantees at least 20 goals a season on top of that would have been virtually impossible in the current window. It might be the most significant agreement Arsenal makes this summer.
Aubameyang’s decision to stay also hints at something. The same something that the club’s wheeling and dealing of Martinez, and likely Torreira, Sokratis, Kolasinac, and a few others also hint at. Arsenal is not done in the current transfer window. They’re clearly raising funds for more signings, and it seems they have their eye on rather expensive players given the negative net spend their predicted sales would achieve. Everyone at this point knows who those signings will likely be — Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar. While it’s unlikely Arteta would acquiesce to a demand from one of his players to know exactly which summer signings are on his wishlist, Aubameyang’s decision was likely informed by a conversation about the direction the club are heading in. This would include a general idea of at least the kinds of players Arteta and Edu are looking to sign. The fact that he’s now signed on for three more years and vocalized his desire to become an Arsenal legend might be another sign that one or two players who dramatically improve the team’s ceiling are on the cards.
Now add to all this a manager who increasingly appears to be a generational talent. From the moment Mikel Arteta arrived at Arsenal, the club have begun doing things the right way. A winning culture has been installed. Smarter decisions are being made. Those who don’t move in lockstep with AFC are being shown the door. With every passing week, we are learning more and more things about our club that encourage us. We are finally showing a good process. And good processes tend to lead to good results. That’s showing on the pitch. Arteta’s ability as a coach and tactician has gotten Arsenal into the habit of winning crucial games. With Liverpool, City, United, Leicester, and Wolves all set to play us in the coming several weeks, having a manager as good as Arteta on the touchline will hopefully see us through this turbulent start to the fixture list.
In short, Arsenal appear to be doing both the big and little things extremely well. It’s not something we have been used to seeing for the past several years. But we are being run like a modern football club with high-level aspirations. If Aouar and Partey or any other midfielder in that tier arrive at the club, Arsenal will finish in the top four barring a catastrophe. Arteta is that good. Aubameyang is that good. Willian, Pepe, Saka, Lacazette, Martinelli, Ceballos, Xhaka, Bellerin, Tierney, Gabriel, Saliba, Leno, and even David Luiz are that good. Arsenal is that good now.
Willian revealed a while back that he was convinced to join when Arteta said he wanted to win the Champions League in three seasons. And the crazy thing is, it’s believable that Arsenal could achieve that on their current trajectory. It is far from being anything more than a dream right now, but such is the legitimate promise of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal that the idea isn’t laughable anymore either. That’s what’s so exciting. Arsenal Football Club is improving wherever they can, as often as they can. They are keeping their best players and signing their young stars to long-term deals. Clubs that do that play on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. And with a little bit of luck, those clubs win titles too.
A new era began on Saturday. Based on the nine months that preceded it, it is an era that deserves our excitement. So now, for real this time, be excited. Come on you Gunners.
