“This is the player i want to sign for you by January and you must use him either you like him or not”- Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has made a clear £56M January transfer decision to sign for Mikel Arteta
Stan Kroenke has clear $70m Arsenal January transfer decision to make for Mikel Arteta
Arsenal transfer news as Mikel Arteta plans for January reinforcement to continue title fight into 202
By the end of November 2022 Arsenal were top of the Premier League, two points above Manchester City. Brighton were in the European places and Manchester United had a goal difference of zero despite a lofty table position. Chelsea were 10th, Everton in a relegation battle and Brentford just sort of existing in the middle somewhere.
12 months on and not much has changed. All of these things are still true, though the gap at the top is one point not two and there have been 13 matches compared to 16 in 2022/23. The World Cup had started and Arsenal were paving the way for their title challenge.
This time round the wheels aren’t moving quite as quickly and it’s been a grind for Mikel Arteta. The Gunners sit top despite not blowing too many teams away. They have won league games by more than one goal just four times which is 50 per cent less than at the same stage last year. They have scored three less goals but more importantly conceded four fewer at the same time.
It has been a safety first approach from Arteta as he balances new signings with injuries across the field, the challenge of Champions League football with the relentless creeping shadow of Manchester City.
If Arsenal were top at Christmas and New Year last term and lost the league with games to spare then can they afford to be any worse off this time? It’s a nagging feeling that dominates games now.
Arsenal are expected to be at the top, there or there abouts, and challenging with the best. Last year there was a freedom and joy to the play as a young group expressed themselves and shut those around them down whilst doing it, now the Pep Guardiola factor has eaten away and the reality is that nothing short of near total control and consistency will do.
For Arteta the chance will come in just five weeks to make any changes he deems necessary before it is back to the pitch. Again, in a window to the past, Arsenal were caught between how to manage January.
Ahead of schedule there was a temptation to let the group manage itself, this lot have done the work, this lot can see it through, but the overarching narrative was a chance that couldn’t be missed.
