Premier League Preview: Arsenal

Blog written by ad_wilkin
Published: 26th December 2024 6:36

As far as Christmas periods go they don’t get much tougher than this. Following a 4-0 defeat to a Newcastle side that was a class above, Town now have to try and get something against the teams that currently sit second and third in the Premier League.

Arsenal were Manchester City’s closest title challengers last season and Mikel Arteta’s men are right in the mix once again this year, despite being six points off a Liverpool team that also have a game in hand.

They’ve only lost twice in the league all season, to Bournemouth and Newcastle, and they’re unbeaten at the Emirates.

<h1>Goalkeepers </h1>

David Raya has proven himself in recent times as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, ousting Aaron Ramsdale from the Arsenal goal, initially on loan from Brentford before then signing permanently.

The 29-year-old has conceded just 113 goals in 111 Premier League appearances which is very impressive considering 62 of those games came during his time at Brentford.

With Ramsdale moving to Southampton, the Gunners loaned in Neto from Bournemouth as part of a goalkeeping transfer merry-go-round. The 35-year-old Brazilian started the first two games of the season with Raya injured and has made another appearance in the early stages of the Carabao Cup.

Eighteen-year-old Tommy Setford is third choice having signed from Ajax as one for the future, whilst 16-year-old Jack Porter made his debut against Bolton in the Carabao Cup due to injuries, more senior players being cup-tied and registration issues.

<h1>Defenders </h1>

The obvious place to start here is with centre-back pairing William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, who between them have eight goal contributions already this season. Arsenal’s out and out defenders have scored a league-high seven goals combined, level with Crystal Palace.

By contrast, Town’s one goal (Leif Davis v Leicester) puts them joint-second bottom with just Fulham having no defenders find the back of the net so far.

The majority of those goals have come from Arsenal’s much-talked-about corner routines devised by set-piece coach Nicolas Jover. The strategy is clear, Arsenal have taken 112 corners (only Tottenham and Manchester City have had more) and 103 of them have been inswingers.

In what sometimes looks like an NFL play, they’ll load the back post which gives them two options. To go near post where a player will almost certainly have more momentum to get past a zonal marker or use that run to draw defenders away from the back post and leave a tall player there to head it.

They have scored nine goals from set pieces so far this season, which is four more than the next closest team Bournemouth.

Despite all of that, defending set pieces is something that Ipswich have really worked on this season under new set-piece coach Mark Hudson. The Super Blues have only conceded two goals from dead balls, with just Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Bournemouth having conceded fewer.

Injury issues have prevented as much consistency in the full-back positions with Jurien Timber and Miles Lewis-Skelly the starters against Crystal Palace.

Twenty-three-year-old Dutchman Timber signed in 2023 but was injured on his debut against Nottingham Forest and didn’t make another appearance for the Gunners until the very last game of last season.

He looks to be over that now having featured in all but two of Arsenal’s Premier League games this season with nine appearances at left-back and seven in his preferred right-back position where he looks more comfortable.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is an Arsenal academy product and plays as a central midfielder at that level. Arteta has seen enough of the left-footer to trust him in initially in the Carabao Cup but he now also has two Premier League starts, as well as one in the Champions League. He’s unlikely to play in this one given the return to fitness of Ricardo Califiori.

The 22-year-old Italian international was Arsenal’s big-name summer signing having had an excellent Euros. He scored a superb goal from the edge of the box against Manchester City earlier in the season and has been converted to left-back in Arteta’s back four where he likes height.

Ben White started the season at right-back but is out with a long-term injury as is Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Oleksandr Zinchenko has also recently been added to that injury list but is close to a return.

Depth has been added by the recovery of Kieran Tierney, who made his return in the Carabao Cup victory against Crystal Palace, whilst Jakub Kiwior is also available to fill in at centre-back as and when he is needed.

<h1>Midfielders </h1>

Arsenal usually operate with a midfield three with the players in there capable of playing in different roles. Declan Rice is the standout name and can play as the sitting midfielder or further forward. He’s missed a short period of time out through injury but was back off the bench with a goal and an assist in the 5-1 demolition of Crystal Palace.

In his absence, Thomas Partey filled that role but the versatile Ghanaian has also slotted in at right-back this season. He’s played the most minutes this season out of all the central midfielders and has been preferred to former Chelsea man Jorginho when Arsenal need to go more defensive, which has limited the Italian to just five Premier League starts.

Twenty-eight-year-old Spaniard Mikel Merino was brought in in the summer to provide more depth in that area and has done that bringing energy, largely off the bench.

That defensive solidity then allows both Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz, who has also been used up front, to play as floating 8s together or number 10s when they start on their own.

Odegaard is a unique profile with his exquisite passing ability unrivalled by most other Premier League midfielders. His 3.14 passes per game into the opposition penalty area is only surpassed by Manchester City players Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho, whilst he’s also in the top ten for key passes per 90. He hasn’t converted that into goal contributions as much this season with just one goal and two assists which is an ominous sign for the teams Arsenal will face soon.

Havertz on the other hand is back in the form of his life, he has 11 goals in all competition including six in the Premier League and has thrived as a centre forward. I’m including him in the midfield section as he was dropped deeper against Crystal Palace in the last game and I have a feeling we could see him utilised here again on the 27th.

<h1>Forwards </h1>

The big news coming into this one is that Bukayo Saka is out injured. The 23-year-old has been Arsenal’s star player this season with five goals and 10 assists already to his name so will be a big loss for the Gunners.

Raheem Sterling is another who is missing with injury but hasn’t set the world alight since his loan move across London.

Leandro Trossard is the most likely to take Saka’s place. The former Brighton man has made 10 starts so far this season in the Premier League and is a key member of Arsenal’s squad, he scored 12 goals last season largely coming off the bench and has three to his name so far this term.

He’s largely competed for position on the left-hand side of the front three with Gabriel Martinelli, so it would be a bit of a switch up for him.

Martinelli is a streaky player, he has games where he is unplayable but other games where he can disappear and not make much impact. When he is on form, however, he can be unstoppable. With four goals already this season he’s been clinical with 0.22 goals per shot.

Should Arteta want to keep the left-footed balance on the right-hand side, then Ethan Nwaneri is the outside shout. The 17-year-old talent has made 10 Premier League appearances so far this season but has yet to start even when Odegaard was out injured.

He has however been trusted in the Carabao Cup and has three goals in three starts in that competition turning in excellent performances against Bolton and Preston.

To start in the Premier League would be a bit step up but the youngster looks set to be the next big talent on the Gunners production line and has expert ball control and knows where the back of the net is.

That leaves us with the man of the moment and a player that Crystal Palace fans will be glad to see the back of. Gabriel Jesus hadn’t scored since back in October against Preston and hadn’t scored in the league since December 2023 before finding the net five times in two successive games against Crystal Palace with a match-winning hat-trick in the Carabao Cup followed up by a brace in the 5-1 victory in the league.

He’s another that could play out on the right with Saka’s absence but given his current form he seems likely to start as the main striker.

<h1>The Teams </h1>

With games coming thick and fast and a disappointing performance against Newcastle, who looked a class above at the weekend, there’s likely to be changes.

I’ll start with the obvious one. Town looked incredibly lightweight up front without Liam Delap and the physical striker is a cert to return.

There will also be one enforced change with skipper Sam Morsy picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Newcastle. I’m actually excited about this one as I think a Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste pairing on paper is our best midfield.

The other areas that I can see changes coming are Ben Johnson for Wes Burns on the right side to provide more defensive solidity and Conor Chaplin dipping out, to either allow for a Omari Hutchinson and Sammie Szmodics reshuffle or potentially to allow Jack Taylor to slot into the number ten role and shore up the midfield a bit.

That would mean you’d then have to drop one of Szmodics or Hutchinson, which is a tough call, but Omari has played a lot of games and is maybe due a rest.

Finally, there’s defensive changes. Dara O’Shea was the only member of the back four to come away from Newcastle with any credit in my eyes so there could be a reshuffle there too. I’d like to see Jacob Greaves come back in as I think he’s better equipped for stepping in and dealing with the threat of Odegaard.

For Arsenal, the back five is likely to be Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel and the returning Calafiori.

With Rice only just returning from injury and Brentford away on the horizon, Partey could retain his starting berth alongside an attacking set up of Odegaard and Havertz ahead of him with Trossard replacing the injured Saka on the right-wing.

<h1>Prediction </h1>

No one was expecting the humbling that Town got at home to Newcastle. It’s rare this season that it feels like the Super Blues aren’t at least competitive in a game but that was the case on Saturday. It’s even rarer that McKenna allows that to happen twice in a row.

I think Town will definitely up their levels for this one but I still see Arsenal being too much for them. The Gunners have quality all over the pitch, players in goalscoring form, one of the best creative talents in the league and some absolute bullies of defenders, which means they have threats from everywhere. I think a 3-1 defeat is on the cards.

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