Day 19: Arsenal

With less than a week until Christmas, we are now reaching the top spots in the Premier League. Today, we are looking at Arsenal’s season so far as we continue our Premier League Christmas Countdown.

Arsenal have been a bit hit and miss so far this season, but we are nearly half way through and they are still in a good position to get top four come May. It shows how good Mikel Arteta has been in recent years that this season has only been ‘decent’ as four or five years ago, third place would have been an excellent campaign for the Gunners.

A Solid Start

Arsenal’s season started well with a comfortable home win over Wolves. Both Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz scored and assisted in that game but Wolves were not totally anonymous, forcing David Raya into a few decent saves. Next up was a difficult test as they travelled to Villa Park to face Aston Villa, the side that derailed their title hopes last season. Two second half goals continued the Gunners’ perfect start to the season.

🥶🇧🇪 Instant impact from Leandro Trossard against Aston Villa! 🪄 pic.twitter.com/NxioibeyGP

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) August 24, 2024

Drawing 1-1 at home to Brighton wasn’t the best result, but they were down to 10 men for a lot of the second half, so not losing was perfectly acceptable. After the September international break, Arsenal played in the North London Derby. The game was tight and the Gunners were missing Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, but a second half goal from Gabriel gave them a 1-0 win.

Decisive Red Cards

Next up was a game against Manchester City, which many were looking forward to as the game of the season. Leandro Trossard was sent off in the game for kicking the ball away, and it ended 2-2 after a last minute goal from City. Arsenal spent the entire second half defending for their lives, but unfortunately couldn’t hold on to their lead.

Their final match in September was against Leicester, and while they did win, Arteta was unhappy about the defensive mistakes that were made, and how they weren’t as clinical as he would have liked. The Gunners let a two goal lead slip and had to rely on two goals in the closing stages to win 4-2. In total, they had 35 shots, and 16 on target. A slightly less nervy match followed as they beat Southampton 3-1.

🚨 William Saliba will miss the next game against Liverpool (H) due to red card today vs Bournemouth. pic.twitter.com/feeRsBJt6j

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 19, 2024

Arsenal’s first loss of the season came at the hands of Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Arsenal had a man sent off once again, which meant that they played most of the game without William Saliba, Saka or Odegaard. Saka and Odegaard were missing though injury and Saliba was dismissed for tripping Evanilson as he was through on goal. Bournemouth scored twice in the second half and celebrated a well earnt victory over the Gunners.

Struggling for Form

Next up was Liverpool, and Arsenal were not in the best shape. On the plus side, Saka returned for the game and scored, but defensively they were poor again, and the match ended 2-2.

November started off poorly, as not only did they lose 1-0 away at Newcastle, but they also lost 1-0 in the Champions League against Inter. To make matters worse, Chelsea were closing in on them near the top of the table, and they faced each other next. The match ended 1-1 meaning that Arsenal were without a win in their last five games in all competitions.

Some wins did follow at the end of November, as the Gunner managed to beat high-flying Nottingham Forest before smashing five past West Ham. Defensive injuries were still and issue during these fixtures, but Arteta’s men were able to navigate these by focusing on some brilliant attacking displays.

Set Piece Kings

December has proven to be more difficult for the Gunners as they failed to score from open play in their first three fixtures. They started off with two corner goals in a 2-0 win over Manchester United, so there weren’t really any complaints from Arsenal fans. Soon however, they started to worry as they drew 1-1 with Fulham and 0-0 with Everton, scoring from a corner once again.

Five goals in a 50-minute span.

Gabriel Jesus went OFF against Crystal Palace this week 🤙 pic.twitter.com/GNgMeU3hgS

— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 21, 2024

Yesterday, they might have managed to put their open play worries behind them, as they beat Crystal Palace 5-1 away from home. Gabriel Jesus scored twice in his return to the Premier League starting lineup, but Saka did have to come off injured in the first half.

Player of the Season

Martin Odegaard’s injury earlier this season shows how important he is to the Arsenal team as they struggled to create without him, but realistically, he hasn’t played much so he can’t be their player of the season. Bukayo Saka is top of the assist charts this season with 10 and has five goals too.

Season Rank: B

End of Season Prediction: 2nd

Check out our Christmas Countdown article from yesterday.