Arsene Wenger has admitted that the club needs to strengthen in a few areas in the summer to come back stronger next season. Strangely, Arsene Wenger experienced the worst season of his managerial career at Arsenal when he spent an ample sum to bring in proven players from big clubs in the summer window.
The North-London side finished out of the top four for the first time in 20 years and while the new transfers didn’t fare terribly at all in their debut season, it was the core players who failed to live up to the expectations. A major surprise in Arsenal’s campaign this term was their late pickup time.
Normally, the Gunners are familiar with a dip in form during the Champions League round of 16 that affects their domestic campaign too, and after they are gone Wenger’s men bounce back to gain their rightful place in the top four. But, that was not the case time, as Arsenal went to lose against the likes of Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur quite late in the season, when there was no time left for such floundering.
Here are the three areas where the Gunners fell short this season-
Full Back- Though the central defence was a concern for Wenger for the repeated injuries to Laurent Koscielny and the early pulling out of Per Mertesacker, Rob Holding pretty much covered for it. It was the defensive flanks that was the main issue. Apart from Nacho Monreal, neither of the options had a good season.
While Hector Bellerin’s problematic ankle left a huge void on that right defensive flank, which was worsened by Carl Jenkinson’s form; Kieran Gibbs seems to have cemented his departure from the club after a pretty under-average season. Arsenal’s early move for Sead Kolasinac definitely makes a lot of sense.
Central Midfield- While the main concern was with Granit Xhaka’s irresponsible tackles in the midfield, the Swiss did quite well compare to Arsenal’s other options. Aaron Ramsey was atrocious early on in the season with injury giving him no time to regain his composure; Francis Coquelin was clearly out of touch.
Mohamed Elneny couldn’t quite recover from after the AFCON knock and Wenger even had to play Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain there. We are definitely seeking a central midfielder this summer and some names out of the side.
Right wing- Wenger had once again kept the inconsistent Theo Walcott as the first-choice in that role and it expectantly back-fired. Though he scored more than 10 goals from that position, his lack of defensive actions was a huge blow for the already weakened right defensive flank.
Chamberlain and Lucas Perez took their turns in filling that role but hardly effective. While Chamberlain had to come in the central midfield, Perez remained injured for the most part of the season. Walcott had no competition and it made him complacent.
