Arsenal: A season of hope, disappointment and Shkodran Mustafi

It was a strange season for Unai Emery and Arsenal. There were signs of stagnation and moments of real growth. Here, I look at both sides of the bemusing coin.

With Arsenal’s first Premier League season under Unai Emery’s tenure coming to end on Sunday, the side’s form offered as many questions as it answered. Under Emery, they have certainly improved as the Europa League final, fifth-place Premier League finish and higher points total show, but the extent of that improvement is difficult to determine.

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A full season of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in tandem was an obvious improvement on last term, with the two forwards providing goals, creativity and defensive work rate when played together or alone. Similarly, the introduction of Bernd Leno, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, as well as the rise of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and re-emergence of Alex Iwobi all point to the coaching ability of Emery.

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Moreover, Arsenal were certainly more tactically flexible and able to mix it with their rivals. Home wins over Chelsea, Manchester United and Spurs were particular highlights, while the great number of points picked up in the second half of matches was encouraging.

Away form, however, was pretty poor all season. In the end, it was this familiar failing that ended up costing Arsenal a place in the top four and a guaranteed return to the Champions League. The effect of this can, of course, be mitigated with a win over Chelsea in Baku, but when Emery and the team are reflecting on the season, they will surely rue what was a great opportunity missed because of their pesky road difficulties.

The squad two has clear holes. Having to rely on three senior centre backs for much of the season proved to be too much in the end, especially when you consider that one was the inconsistent and error-prone Shkodran Mustafi. The other is out wide. Arsenal suffered from a lack of genuine pace and dribbling ability, with Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan only showing that they can be consistent goal and assist getters in spurts.

Iwobi, surely, has more to offer in a more central role, while Mkhitaryan’s lack of consistency may see him on his way out this summer, especially considering his substantial wages, which the Gunners would like to get off the books.

After being sent into the depths of despair following a three-match run during which Arsenal conceded nine goals against teams outside of the top six, I have been able to reflect and now can say with more confidence that they have moved forward. I like how Emery rotates the squad and managed to get more out of the tools at his disposal more often than not.

But it perhaps reached a stage towards the end of this season when this was no longer possible. In how many games can you expect Laurent Koscielny to deliver near-perfect performances despite his age and injury record? For how long can Maitland-Niles be asked to fill in at an unnatural position that he only really took up last season? How much can really be expected of 19-year-old Matteo Guendouzi, a player few fans had any hope for as a first-team player at the start of the season? The reality is that Arsenal need investment throughout the squad. Whether that investment comes is really what will determine how they fair in Emery’s second season.

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While I wouldn’t say that he worked wonders in his first season at Arsenal, he has certainly done an admirable job in turning a team that became a laughing stock in their final season under Arsene Wenger into genuine top-four contenders. As the summer looms and the rebuild takes place with whatever resources will be attributed, the attention must now turn to Stan Kroenke and KSE, who sadly hold the club’s future in their hands.

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