Arsenal may have secured victory in their opening game of the new Premier League season, but the Gunners still came in for criticism following a narrow 1–0 win over Manchester United.
Arsenal were inferior to their historic rivals at Old Trafford despite coming away with all three points, leading to some reactionary but justifiable scrutiny.
Following three successive second-place Premier League finishes, failure to win the title in 21 years, and a major trophy drought lasting five years, expectations are sky high for Arsenal this term.
Of course, Mikel Arteta doesn’t need to make significant changes to his system or style to push Arsenal over the finish line, but the underwhelming performance at Old Trafford is an early reminder that the Gunners must strive for perfection to achieve their goals this campaign.
Clinical Edge
The most significant area in which Arsenal must improve is undoubtedly the final third. The Gunners have long been crying out for a clinical finisher capable of firing them to glory and they finally remedied their centre forward issues this summer with the addition of Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting CP.
The Swedish sharpshooter sored 97 goals across his past two seasons and should offer the solution to Arsenal’s profligacy, but his competitive debut suggests it will take time. He was largely anonymous during the win at Old Trafford, managing no shots and just 22 touches before being hooked on the hour mark.
Utilising Gyökeres will be decisive in Arsenal’s push for this term’s top prizes and Arteta must quickly identify how his side can feed the 27-year-old. He’s an entirely different proposition to Kai Havertz and will contribute far less in between the boxes, meaning the Gunners must alter their approach to offer him adequate service.
Arsenal often found themselves unable to kill teams off last season as wins faded to draws. They simply can’t make the same mistakes this term.
Creativity From Open Play
Arsenal’s set-piece prowess is mightily impressive but they have been accused of over-reliance on such situations. After netting their winner from a corner on Sunday afternoon, the Gunners have now managed 31 set-piece goals since the beginning of the 2023–24 season, which is 11 more than any other team in the Premier League over that time period.
Set-pieces are an effective route to goal but they are not necessarily a reliable one. Arsenal will be able to call upon their aerial dominance and clever routines to inch them over the line in some fixtures this season—as they did at Old Trafford—but they must be more consistently creative from open play to ensure they don’t drop unnecessary points.
Arsenal managed just 0.4 xG (expected goals) at the weekend once Riccardo Calafiori’s goal-line header aided by poor goalkeeping is removed from the equation, managing just nine shots compared to Manchester United’s 22. The Gunners had an xG of 73.57 in the Premier League last term, which was 19.67 lower than title winners Liverpool. That’s a big gap they must bridge.
Arsenal’s rock solid defence means they don’t necessarily need to be quite as expansive as Liverpool to make up ground, but their goalscoring and creative numbers must improve if they’re to usurp Arne Slot’s swashbuckling Reds as champions.
Managing Injuries
Arsenal’s 2024–25 campaign was derailed by injuries as they pushed for Premier League and Champions League glory. The Gunners suffered the fourth most injuries in the English top flight last term (36) and lost the likes of Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz for crucial and extensive periods.
Arteta has been accused of overworking players during his spell in the Emirates Stadium dugout, with the Spaniard often exclusively utilising his favourites and seldom making significant alterations—while also attempting to juggle the Champions League and domestic cup competitions.
Arsenal’s summer signings have helped squad depth, with fringe players added alongside high-profile names. Arteta must make better use of those on the periphery in 2025–26 to ensure his side doesn’t run out of steam.
Reinventing Martin Ødegaard
Martin Ødegaard has always been a tricky player to nail down. While boasting all the hallmarks of an attacking midfielder, the Arsenal skipper is utilised in a slightly more reserved role for the Gunners, shunted to the right-hand side to link closely with Bukayo Saka.
However, operating in a deeper function has increasingly limited Ødegaard’s attacking potential. Given he remains Arsenal’s most natural and consistent creator, allowing the Norwegian to conjure his magic further up the pitch could help remedy some of the club’s creative issues in open play.
Ødegaard produced 22 goal contributions in 2022–23 and 2023–24 but managed just 17 last season—only 11 of which came in the Premier League. A total of three goals and eight assists is not acceptable for a player of his quality and a club of Arsenal’s ambitions.
Redeploying Ødegaard as a more orthodox attacking midfielder could help unlock his full potential, especially now Arsenal have Martín Zubimendi to keep things ticking at the base of midfield. The Spaniard’s defensive awareness and excellent distribution should offer Ødegaard greater attacking freedom—and that can only be a good thing for Arsenal’s title ambitions.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Four Things Arsenal Need to Improve to End Premier League Title Drought.