Positives & negatives from Arsenal's final-day win at Southampton

Positive #2: Martin Odegaard finished strong

He's been through the wringer in recent months, but Odegaard deserves credit for the way he's answered the critics. His rebuttal culminated in the winning goal to put the finishing touch on an arduous campaign.

The goal came courtesy of a terrific shot from distance. This was the decisive Odegaard prepared to seize responsibility people want to see more often.

Those people should remember the brutal truth about the skipper. He's essential to this team because there's nobody else with a similar eye for a pass or the natural technique to create space and add some flair to Arsenal's approach play.

That's a failure of recruitment, not of any deficiencies in Odegaard's game or personality. It's something Arteta and Berta can't forget about when they're striker hunting during the next few months.

There'll be money available for both if Arteta gets his way, and he usually he does, whether he deserves to or not.

Negative #3: Still no accountability for the 'process'

Nobody plays the media game quite like Arteta. His real managerial genius isn't tactical, nor motivational. It's in PR and the art of self-preservation.

Consider how he's reframed this season. A season supposed to be the moment when the "process" reached maturity and Arsenal surpassed a Manchester City side at the end of its cycle.

Instead, Arteta's men finished ten points behind a Liverpool team with a new manager and no significant investment last summer. Arsenal still couldn't win the Premier League nor could the Gunners secure a cup in a year when Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Tottenham managed the feat instead.

Most managers would face questions about their process after overseeing this many disappointments. Not Arteta, because he hasn't been shy about stressing the impact of injuries, never mind if many of those ailments are due to his own lack of squad rotation.

Not only does Arteta want you know a third-straight second-place finish, only this time further away from the title than the previous two, is better than you think. He also wants you to know he needs more money, and if he doesn't get it, just blame "the ones upstairs."

This is masterful manipulation of the blame game The longer Arteta goes without accountability, the more time and money he can get to achieve what a supposedly generational gaffer should have already achieved by now.

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