Arsenal 2022/23 season review: Back in the big time | OneFootball

It has ended without a trophy but 2022/23 has been a season to remember for Arsenal.

Competition breakdown

Premier League – 2nd

Very few had Arsenal to finish in the the top four when the season kicked off. Yet the campaign has still ended with disappointment.

Having added the returning William Saliba as well as new faces Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus to the squad, Mikel Arteta’s side flew out of the blocks to win 14 of their opening 16 Premier League games of the season.

They had 50 points at the halfway mark and there’s not a football fan in the country that couldn’t name Arteta’s favoured XI. Having ridden the blow of losing Jesus to injury, Arsenal lost Saliba to a back problem and struggled from there.

Ultimately, you can’t afford to lose both head-to-head games when in a title race with Manchester City.

Arsenal fell short in terms of trophies but it undoubtedly was the club’s best league campaign since 2008 and perhaps even longer. Now they will be out to convince everyone it wasn’t a one-off.

Europa League – Round of 16

Arsenal made light work of their group, winning five of their six games (with four clean sheets) to top the group and bypass that extra play-off round.

There was a quick exit after that, though, with a 2-2 draw with Sporting CP in Lisbon followed up by 1-1 draw in north London and defeat on penalties. Worst of all, that was the night the Gunners lost Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu to injury.

FA Cup – Fourth round

Arsenal were made to work to beat Oxford United 3-0 in the third round before heading to Manchester City a few weeks later. A Nathan Aké goal gave the Citizens a narrow 1-0 victory.

EFL Cup – Third round

A rotated Arsenal side lost at home against Brighton. There’s not much to write home about here.

Player of the season: Bukayo Saka

There isn’t anything that Saka is bad at. He’s a superb dribbler. He can go outside on his right foot and cut inside and punish you. He’s unselfish. He works hard. He scores and creates in big games.

What’s not to love?

Saka became an Arsenal regular at 19 and became a key player for a good side at 20. Now 21, he is absolutely crucial for a club with the biggest of ambitions.

The best should still be ahead for the England winger but this season alone he became just the eighth Arsenal player to reach double figures for goals and assists in a single Premier League season. He became the youngest player to ever reach 30 Premier League goals in an Arsenal shirt.

Of his 24 goals and assists, 17 either levelled the scores or put Arsenal ahead.

And he’s just getting started.

Game of the season: Tottenham 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal had not done the double over their north London rivals, or indeed won away there at all in the league, since 2014. They had never won at Tottenham’s new stadium, the scene of the capitulation in 2021/22. And they had not finished above the team from the other end of the Seven Sisters Road since 2016.

That all changed in January.

They arrived in N17, they dominated the first half, they left with three points and memories that will last a lifetime for those in the away end that day.

There were better performances in 2022/23 but there were no better days for Arsenal fans as they watched their team go 14 points clear of their local rivals on derby day.

Top goalscorer: Martin Ødegaard/Gabriel Martinelli (15)

PLEASE CHECK!

Who had Martin Ødegaard down for 15 Premier League goals when the season started?

There are two types of goal the Norwegian tends to score. One is from range, hit low and hard across his body, like at Tottenham and at Newcastle. The other sees him check his run to receive a cutback and sweep it into the net, like both efforts against Chelsea. Both have proven impossible to defend.

Ødegaard has been Arsenal’s conductor for a while but he is now also driving the team forward and the man they can turn to when they need someone to deliver not just a crucial pass or turn but a game-changing finish.

And then there’s Martinelli, who combines electric running with the ball with the instincts of a poacher when he arrives in the penalty area. At just 21, he’s the youngest player to hit the 15 goal mark in the Premier League this season and you feel like there is more to come next year.

Rising star: William Saliba

This could just as easily go to Martinelli, who played by far the most and by far the best football of his young career, but he had already shown flashes of his brilliance.

The same can’t be said, at least in an Arsenal shirt, of Saliba, who kicked off the campaign aged 21 yet stepped into the backline like a seasoned pro.

Ice cool defensively and even cooler with the ball at his feet, the Frenchman is an imposing figure and combined with Gabriel to form a superb partnership at centre-half.

As if it wasn’t already obvious enough how exceptional he is, it was only further proven by his absence.

What comes next?

Lots and lots of questions.

Was this season a one-off? Can Arsenal do this again with Champions League football added to the mix? Will they strengthen the squad enough in the summer to go a step further?

How they answer that last one will determine the answers to the first two. There is already interest in revamping the midfield but Arsenal will also reportedly look to add at least one defender and another forward, creating the kind of squad that can last the distance and in more than one competition.

This season should just mark the start of their challenge.