PITA’s Arsenal predictions for the 2022/23 season

Who’ll be our signing of the summer?

James – Gabriel Jesus. I love the move for Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira will be excellent in time, but Jesus is a transformative signing. It’s a match made in heaven. He’ll win games for the Gunners on his own next season.

Adam – Again, Gabriel Jesus, although Zinchenko could prove to be just as valuable. A toss-up between the two. We already know the qualities that Jesus is bringing to the starting XI and with Zinchenko, during his 45-minute cameo against Chelsea, his skills were on show as well. Given his versatility, the Ukrainian can be deployed at left-back or in midfield and he improves Arsenal in either position. For me, it will be hard to overlook Jesus as he will likely get all the plaudits, but Zinchenko is a decent shout as well.

Mitch – Jesus is the obvious choice again but just to be different I’ll go with Zinchenko. The other new signing from Manchester City creates valuable cover and competition for Kieren Tierney which will massively reduce Arsenal’s reliance on the Scottsman. Not having KT at the back end of the season put a high dent in Arsenal’s top 4 hopes and the Ukrainian fullback is a fantastic player to fill the role and also play in other areas with his versatility.

Kenneth – There will hopefully be stiff competition for best Arsenal signing this term and although Jesus is widely tipped to be the greatest success story, I suspect our other City acquisition could have an even bigger impact. Reports suggest Zinchenko was not first on the list of possible defensive reinforcements this summer, with interest in the Ukrainian appearing to intensify once Lisandro Martinez opted for Man United, and Kieran Tierney certainly has the quality to hold down the left-back position when he returns to full fitness. But the Scotsman has missed an alarming 29 matches for the Gunners over the last two campaigns and never seems to be too far away from medical misfortune. Therefore, Zinchenko may become a regular presence in the side and his considerable superiority over Nuno Tavares should make us a more formidable proposition when faced with injury layoffs.

Trent – Jesus is, once again, an easy answer for this question, but Zinchenko is possibly as valuable and utilitarian. Jesus can play across the front three and tracks back like Alexandre Lacazette did, which obviously helps us as an entire squad.

Continued on the next slide…