Arsenal: 4 biggest disappointments this season

Arsenal still have time to right five years of wrongs if they finish in the top four this season, bringing to an end a torrid period in the club’s history away from Europe’s elite.

Ten matches remain before the curtain closes on an eventful 2021/22 campaign, one that saw Arsenal claw their way back from the depths of despair into genuine Champions League contenders.

If they were to miss out on the Premier League top four it would constitute a huge disappointment.

Granted, it wasn’t even considered plausible before the season began, but objectives and targets are allowed to change and having got themselves into contention it would feel like a massive opportunity missed if so.

Arsenal: 4 biggest disappointments this season as Mikel Arteta’s side keep pushing for a spot in the Premier League top four

A season full of ups and downs has also had its fair share of talking points. The unsavoury end to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s time in north London was added to with the bizarre outrage at Arsenal for having one match postponed, which even prompted Antonio Conte to call Mikel Arteta out.

It’s all happened, and that’s without even mentioning the football.

But among all the highs and lows have been some disappointments. The majority of them will be forgotten about, never to be spoken of again if this season’s remaining targets are met, although some either leave a slightly unwelcome feeling or class as missed opportunities. Four in particular stand out.

The Defeat at Goodison Park

Prior to a 99th minute winner in another game they were poor in, Everton had won just two of their last 21 Premier League matches. That is absolutely atrocious form, not least for a club of their stature with the obscene amount of money they’ve blown.

What is even worse is that Arsenal handed them one of those wins.

Off the back of a disappointing loss at Old Trafford, facing an Everton side in dire straits with a manager on the brink was the ideal opportunity to right some wrongs. Whether or not a midweek game away from home and under the floodlights may have set the stage for the Toffees, the bottom line is that they were, and still are, a horribly average football team.

Like giving out sweets at Halloween, any side in need of a pick-me-up just had to call Arsenal. A performance that was drab from start to finish even saw the visitors hold the lead until the 80th minute, one they would let slip through their grasp by the 92nd courtesy of Richarlison and a thunderous strike from Demarai Gray.

While Arsenal had the chances to level the tie or even go back in front, the whole game was a gigantic black spot on a Premier League record that had shown strength against sides in the lower reaches of the table.

How crucial may that defeat be? We’ll have to wait to find out. But it still frustrates.

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Early FA Cup Exit

In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t the worst outcome for Arsenal. There was no European football, they had another cup semi-final to contend with, and it granted the club the freedom they desired to shift a load of deadwood out of the club.

Equally, more attention could be turned to Premier League matters without the distraction of travel around the country.

But we like that distraction. Yes, Arsenal have won it plenty of times already, but that doesn’t mean you get in any way tired of it. Winning trophies is what this sport is all about.

There are bigger fish to fry this season and if bowing out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle in some way contributes to the club returning to the Champions League – which will have a greater impact on this club than a cup trophy – then so be it.

Nottingham Forest, though? Again? While donning a gorgeous all white kit that was worn to promote a worthy cause?

It’s never nice to leave the FA Cup without a fight.

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Just One Win Against the Big Six

Note: so far.

Only Tottenham of the ‘Big Six’ have crossed Arsenal’s path this season and been on the losing end. That’s seven matches played, six goals for, 19 conceded, and three points accrued.

Unsurprisingly, that leaves the Gunners bottom of the ‘Big Six’ mini-table.

Even Spurs and Manchester United, who sit below Arsenal in the actual table, have won more games and the argument to make for them being better sides is a questionable one.

Of course, a lot depends on style. What Arteta is building is a team that can compete against the best sides in the country playing to their strengths and not altering their approach to suit. United and Tottenham are both more willing to sit back and limit their attacking output in search of points, whereas the Gunners are less keen to deviate from the blueprint.

The upside is that over a longer period of time Arsenal can create a sustainable way to challenge the best teams in the country. If they master their methods then their chances of winning the bigger games is greater than a more hopeful strategy of sitting deeper.

That’s something everyone can get behind. But still, four games against Liverpool without a goal? Just one win against a dreadful Nuno Espirito Santo team? It would have been more pleasant if even just one of these bold Arsenal displays resulted in a draw.

Good thing there are plenty more opportunities to set that straight this season.

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Nicolas Pepe Not Kicking On

Bukayo Saka is Bukayo Saka and the right side is his. That won’t change. The team as it is is the team that everyone wants to see, and the one that they hope will be in place for years to come. It is one that doesn’t include Nicolas Pepe.

But more was expected from him – even if history has told us not to – and the way he finished the previous season appeared to finally be offering supporters a taste of how talented the Ivorian is.

Starting five of the eight first matches of the season it became clear that Pepe had moved way ahead of Gabriel Martinelli in the pecking order, and even when he was shifted to the bench it would be the record signing who was called upon first of the reserve attacking options.

He looked like a shadow of the player who had netted five goals in his last three outings of the season. While those numbers were never sustainable, he has been gradually building up form over 2021 to the point where he looked a danger with every attack.

It just hasn’t happened. He hasn’t kicked on in the way everyone hoped, and even if he wasn’t going to be starting every week, his contributions otherwise haven’t satisfied.

Some will point to the team he was in at the start of the season and others will lean back on the idea that he hasn’t been given enough chances, but they aren’t viable complaints. Between now and the end of the season the hope is that he will keep adding value off the bench, like his clutch cameo in the win over Wolves.

Sadly, it’s no more than that.