How Arsenal’s Premier League season could play out

That disappointing Premier League draw at home to Burnley feels like an age ago. Arsenal getting unceremoniously knocked out of the FA Cup third round has extended the agony.

Mikel Arteta’s side taking on Championship strugglers Reading in a behind-closed-doors friendly was not quite on par with the vast majority of the Premier League getting stuck into their fourth round ties over the weekend. Arsenal only have themselves to blame.

What remains for them is the 17 Premier League matches everyone waits for with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. They stand between this club and that unforgettable Champions League anthem being bellowed out at the carpet.

It will be a long grind to get there, filled with setbacks and moments of hope, and, most likely, a lot of the old George Graham era scorelines.

Arsenal’s Premier League season could play out with numerous matches decided on fine margins – but Arteta doesn’t boast the players to capitalise

Throughout Arteta’s tenure there has been one principal improvement, or at least focus of his overhaul: the defence.

Signing no less than seven senior defenders in the five windows sine his arrival – by contrast only Willian can class as an attacking reinforcement – has meant a significant change of personnel and approach. The back five currently in place are all aged 24 or under, and continue to gel as a unit.

Across the season they have been Arsenal’s biggest strength. Attack-wise the Gunners have not found consistency and fluidity, whereas in the matches since the current back five first started together they have conceded just 14 goals in 20 Premier League games – keeping ten clean sheets during that time.

To paraphrase, Sir Alex Ferguson once said ‘attacks win you games and defence win you titles’, although it will be echoes of Graham’s late tenure Arsenal that could be having a deciding say in the top four hunt.

The famous ‘1-0 to The Arsenal’ chant was borne out of the exceedingly dull football played throughout much of the latter part of Graham’s time in charge. Arsenal would aim to win games on the back of their defensive resolve, with the individual abilities of their forwards making the most of precious few chances.

While not on that level, Arsenal do have a solid foundation in this team and an unavoidable dearth of goals at the other end of the pitch. So much will depend on Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka coming up with the goods due to Lacazette’s lack of goalscoring nouse, and the season appears to be heading towards lot of cagey matches decided by a solitary goal.

The issue with being involved in matches of fine margins is that Arsenal don’t boast the players, yet, who can take advantage of the moments. There is no centre-forward who only needs one chance to score.

This, beyond the squad being thin, is what is most worrying about the Gunners’ hopes of finishing in the top four. In spells of Arteta’s tenure we’ve seen Arsenal lose countless games by fine margins, and while the group has improved collectively and individually, it’s set up for there to be many more such games before the season’s end.