Arsenal have endured a bitter-sweet season with their quest for an elusive Premier League triumph ending in defeat to seven-time champions Manchester City.
They only have themselves to blame for bottling their chance to end a two-decade wait for another Premier League triumph after capitulating at the tail end of the campaign.
However, the inspiring Gunners can hold their heads high, knowing they were bested by arguably the best Man City side ever.
Here’s Arsenal’s 2022/23 season review.
Player of the Year: Martin Odegaard
Martin Odegaard transformed Arsenal into genuine title contenders backing up his leadership skills with several exceptional performances.
His statistics further defined his importance to Mikel Arteta’s side, matching a club record 15 non-penalty goals for a midfielder.
The Gunners captain leads his teammates for goals (alongside Gabriel Martinelli), firing the Gunners toward the upper echelons of English football and a Champions League berth.
He also ranks third in the assists category (7), with only Leandro Trossard (12) and Bukayo Saka (11) boasting more.
Performance of the season
Arsenal were the team to beat for most of the campaign, striking fear into the heart of opponents even before kicking a ball – such was the high standards to which Arteta held his side, and they duly delivered.
Edging Liverpool and Manchester United by a 3-2 scoreline in October and January respectively, underlined Arsenal’s competitiveness and desire to re-establish themselves as an English powerhouse.
Those results were decisive during the season but proved inconsequential to their title bid as they ultimately fell short at the death.
Disappointment of the season
Failure to see their title push over the finish line despite camping at the Premier League summit for 248 days will be hard for the fans to take, especially after a long wait for the famous accolade.
Arteta’s side set an unwanted record of becoming the first team in English top-flight history to spend that much time at the top of the table and not lift the title.
Three consecutive draws against Liverpool, West Ham United, and Southampton in April marked the start of a catastrophic end to their impressive campaign.
However, earning a place in Europe’s premier club tournament should serve as consolation for the Gunners.
What do the stats say?
Despite their impressive performances, Arsenal were still considered underdogs in the title race, and their statistics toward the end of the season highlight their mental inferiority to Man City.
After thrashing Leeds United at the start of April, Arteta’s side picked up just 12 points from a possible 27 (W3, D3, L3).
Their catastrophic capitulation aside, the Gunners were impressive across several areas, especially in the goalscoring department, as they racked up 88 goals.
Their 80+ goals was a first since 2009/10 (83) – not even in the famous invincibles campaign of 2003/04 did they manage such goalscoring record.
Arteta’s side created 70 big chances (2.6 per game) while averaging 2.24 goals per match.
The Gunners also did a solid job keeping their goal under lock and key, conceding 43 goals – the joint most of teams in the top four (along with Man United).
Ramsdale played a key role in bolstering their defensive record, with the 25-year-old making 95 saves (2.6 per game) that resulted in 14 clean sheets.
However, Arteta’s favoured Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes defensive partnership should also receive plaudits for limiting their goals conceded ratio to 1.16 per match.
Verdict
Arsenal’s campaign can be considered a success. They have finished as runners-up for the first time since 2016 and ended a seven-year wait for Champions League football.
However, how they fell short in the title race cannot be swept under the rug, and Arteta has some thinking to do ahead of next season.
It’s a shame to see the Gunners end an impressive campaign with a whimper, but they have laid a solid foundation on which they can mount another strong title challenge next term.
Having finally broken their top-four hurdle, the Gunners faithful will be itching to see what the club has in store for next season.
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