Decisions and players that let Arsenal down the most this season

Arsenal has had a good start to the season gone bad in the second half of this term, and they now face an uphill task to win any trophy.

They began the campaign with the hopes of winning at least four trophies, but at the moment, they can only win the Premier League or the Champions League.

This almost means they will be trophyless again because these are the two hardest trophies for them to win.

Mikel Arteta’s side has some fantastic players, which explains why they have won the silver medal in the Premier League over the last two terms.

However, Liverpool is currently 12 points clear of them in the top flight, while their next Champions League opponents will be Real Madrid.

It is so difficult for the Gunners to overcome either of these opponents to make things happen and emerge victorious in at least one of these competitions.

However, the progress they have made since Arteta became their manager shows this team is capable of so much more than it is delivering at the moment.

Everyone who bought Arsenal tickets at the start of the campaign was sure the team would finally overtake Manchester City and become champions of England.

One part of that prediction has proven to be true because the Gunners have overtaken City. However, they have a new challenger.

Liverpool has been unstoppable and because Arsenal and Manchester City have been poor, it seems they are colluding to gift the title to the Reds.

Arsenal has been far more competitive, but they have had some off-field problems that have affected their form in different months.

However, there is no excuse for failing at this level of the game, not even injuries can be acceptable as an excuse for failing to compete.

Where did Arsenal get it all wrong

Arsenal’s problems seem to have started from the decisions they made in the summer before even a ball was kicked for this campaign.

After ending last term strongly, their fans expected them to build on that and make some signings to take the team to the next level.

Although the Gunners were one of the leading scorers in the league, everyone knew they needed a striker, and almost nobody agreed that Kai Havertz was good enough to lead the line for them.

Fans expected them to replace the German with a world-class striker, but Arsenal responded by signing a midfielder and a defender.

They probably hoped Kai Havertz would improve and score more goals than he did last term, but as soon as the transfer window shut, they realised how much of a mistake not signing a striker was.

That single decision is responsible for them not winning enough matches this term, and that is why their season has unravelled.

To make matters worse, Havertz suffered a serious injury at the start of this year, denying them a chance to use a striker.

The entire Arsenal attack went into a medical emergency, forcing them to rely on Mikel Merino to score as a false nine.

If they had signed a striker at the start of this term or in January, things would be much better for them now.

The Gunners can still take advantage of the free market and include some experienced heads in their squad before the season ends.

What role has Mikel Arteta played in Arsenal’s poor season

As the team’s manager, Mikel Arteta will be sacked if a decision is to be made regarding a poor season.

The buck stops with him and he has to take responsibility for how his team’s season has turned out this time around.

The gaffer has shown he is a classy manager who can transform a team. He deserves credit for turning Arsenal into title challengers again.

When he arrived, they struggled to break into the top four, but things have changed and they are now being considered one of the clubs who can win the league title almost every year.

However, the Spaniard also has to take responsibility for how their season has turned out. He has demonstrated a high level of inflexibility in his decision-making, which explains why he blatantly refused to sign a striker in the summer.

That means he made that same mistake for two seasons running, which is almost unacceptable.

If he wants success at the Emirates, the ex-midfielder has to be more proactive and act fast to solve his team’s problems.

The players who have let Arsenal down the most this season

Arsenal has some of the finest players in England in their squad, which is a reason we expect so much from them.

However, some of them have been poor this term, leading to us questioning if Mikel Arteta has reached his peak as their manager. These are the players who have let them down the most:

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Some fans might consider it harsh to include Tomiyasu as one of the players who have let the team down, but the Japanese defender’s injury-plagued season has been a blow.

He has not been fit all season and that means his contributions have been discounted from the team’s effort.

Martin Odegaard

Bukayo Saka’s injury exposed Odegaard as a player who is probably one-dimensional because he has struggled to influence games without the Englishman on the pitch.

As the team’s captain, Odegaard has to create more chances and score more goals, but he has been quiet in most matches this season.

Gabriel Jesus

As we remarked in the article, not signing a striker was a big mistake by Arsenal, but if you have Gabriel Jesus in your squad, you should get more goals.

The Brazilian has suffered a season-ending injury, but even when he was fit, he hardly made an impact on the Arsenal team.

Gabriel Martinelli

After beginning his Arsenal career in promising fashion, Martinelli has been on a decline for some time now.

When the team needs a player to step up with goals and assists, he is never found, as he runs fruitlessly.

He was also injured and has just returned, but he is not efficient enough to make Arsenal score more goals in matches.

Kai Havertz 

Arteta’s obsessive love for Havertz is one of the reasons he has not signed a new striker, but the German is nowhere near good enough for his team.

The gaffer must realise that Havertz will never be a striker who scores 20 league goals in a season. He has clearly let everyone down with his poor performances and terrible misses this season.

Raheem Sterling

The less said about Sterling’s loan spell at Arsenal this season, the better. He is no longer the player he was at Manchester City, and Gooners cannot wait for him to return to Chelsea at the end of this season.