Arsenal and Xhaka go out on a high to conclude a memorable season

 

Arsenal 5 Wolves 0    

Premier League   

Sunday 28th May 2023 4.30pm     

I don’t think there’s much doubt that Manchester City would have performed much better in their final two fixtures, had the title been at stake, with stronger team selections for starters, but it was ironic that they provided the required draw and defeat that Arsenal needed them to after the Gunners had beaten Chelsea and Newcastle. However the poor displays that ended in defeat to Brighton and Forest put paid to that, and turned yesterday’s once hotly anticipated final game of the season into what felt like a testimonial. The intensity was gone, the players relaxed – especially Wolves – and the goals flowed in for the home side.

 

The sun shone, Granit Xhaka very nearly scored a hat-trick in his final ever appearance in an Arsenal shirt, and was subbed off by Arteta so that he could receive the applause of the crowd. He’s had a very effective season. After six years in which many failed to see what he brought to the side, the manager changed the formation and he was a different player. Seven goals and seven assists in the league, he made a huge contribution to Arsenal’s best campaign in years, certainly since he joined in 2016. Who would have thought after the controversy around his being subbed at home to Palace back in the autumn of 2019 that we’d see him celebrated by the fans as he was yesterday. He moves back to Germany for family reasons, and if Arteta is to retain the formation he has settled on, we wait to see who fills the gap. From the current ranks, it feels like Zinchenko is the most likely option, given Smith Rowe seems out in the cold and would struggle to do the defensive cover element of the position. I think we can forget the underwhelming Fabio Vieira.

 

Xhaka scored the opening two goals, the first getting on the end of a cross by Jesus, the second when a miskicked clearance fell his way, and before a quarter of an hour was up it felt like game over. Wolves were very much on the metaphorical beach, nothing to play for and a real contrast in the intensity of their closing down compared to Forest the previous weekend. Steve Cooper’s side didn’t give Arsenal an inch. Wolves felt like giving their hosts a game of football instead, and Arteta’s players made hay as the sun shone. Saka made it three with a wonderfully fashioned shot before the interval, two more goals following after the break courtesy of Jesus and Kiwior.

 

The greater drama was elsewhere as people kept their eyes on their phones to see who would survive out of Everton, Leicester and Leeds. And to monitor which of Villa, Spurs and Brentford would secure the questionable benefits of Conference League qualification. Spurs, in spite of winning, fell a point short in the end, and much as the competition is derided, it does provide extra income, and right now, the noisy neighbours will require everything they can get, given the state of the playing squad there. Harry Kane won’t be thrilled at the prospect of not playing any European football at all, and it’s debatable whether Conference League football would have been a sufficient carrot to make him stay for the last year of his contract. Will he be mad enough to sign an extension? Will Daniel Levy be mad enough to let him wind his contract down? It’s ironic that Antonio Conte left the club when it was in the top four. Evidently smarting at whatever had gone on behind the scenes, he decided to punish Daniel Levy by leaving him in the soup. Had he been on board, you imagine he’d have secured enough results to at the very least deliver Europa League football next season. Right now, the club looks like a shambles, and not somewhere an elite level manager would really want to be. It’s going to be an interesting summer in so many ways.

 

As for Arsenal, they lose a first team pick, we await to see who else departs, and critically how the squad depth is strengthened. Will Saliba commit to extending his stay? Will his back injury have made him a lesser player? We can look back on the at second leg against Sporting, when both he and Tomiyasu were lost for the remainder of the season and wonder if things might have been any different. Zinchenko’s tendency to pick up injuries was also a factor. Jesus’ injury at the World Cup saw him miss 12 league matches, of which two were lost and two were drawn. That was acceptable overall, and not the reason the title was lost. So Arsenal came close, but Manchester City’s ability to put together a run of 12 straight wins blew them away. The upside of their not having to win yesterday is that they will not threaten Arsenal’s run of 49 unbeaten top flight matches for a while now. It’s remarkable to think they had actually lost four matches over the course of the season before Brentford, given how well they have played of late. Arsenal lost six in total to City’s five and drew six – again to City’s five. There is the five point gap. On paper, you’d just say If Arsenal had beaten City in one of their games they’d be champions, but of course Guardiola rested most of his main players for the last two matches.

 

One imagines a more competitive Premier League next season. Manchester United are on an upward trajectory, Newcastle will surely strengthen in the summer. Nobody knows whether Liverpool will return to their previous consistency, just as we wait to see whether Pochettino can sort out Chelsea. In terms of title challengers, it’s hard to see outside these clubs (including Arsenal). One of the other teams might challenge for a top four place, and a positive about the division is that it does feel like no game is completely predictable. And even if City winning it has become boring, you can see why there is greater worldwide interest in the matches than other top European leagues. 

 

As others sides disappointed over the course of the season, Arsenal made things interesting and the hope is that football moves in cycles and they go on to do even better, and win a Premier League under Arteta. Thinking about what he has done with Kiwior and Partey as the full backs for the last two matches, I suspect he gave up on the title after the defeat to Brighton and decided to explore options in defence with a nod towards this summer’s plans. Could either player do a job if they needed to at full bac? If this was not the thinking, then surely Kiwior would have continued in the centre and Tierney would have started. In terms of what we learned from the way the team lined-up, I’d say it didn’t work when you look at how things panned out at Forest. I’m uncertain you could draw any conclusions from yesterday’s match. 

 

Even if the season did tail off and end in disappointment, the bigger picture is so much healthier than this time last year. Arsenal finished with 15 more points and three places higher. They spent the majority of the season at the top of the tree and won the same number of games as the Invincibles. There were lessons learned and we wait to see whether Arteta becomes a better coach next season as a consequence. There is the money to improve the squad, so it’s a matter of making the right decisions and getting value. And the centre back question. Might White have played the last two games there with the thinking that Saliba might not be around? The one thing that Arteta demands of his players is commitment. From Saliba that can only come from his signature on a fresh deal, but it may turn out he’s a one season wonder in terms of his Arsenal career. That would be a shame, but in 2023, it is the players that ultimately hold the aces if they are in demand.

 

Well done to Mikel Arteta and the players for providing a memorable season. A very healthy number of fans remained for the end of season lap of appreciation, although wouldn’t it be nice if they did this as soon as the final whistle went and the teams had shaken hands? Like, how long does it take to ferry out the wives and children, really? Anyhow, a minor bugbear. The club has missed out narrowly on titles before, but often this has proved a springboard for future glory. Let us hope this is the case. I am uncertain if I will do any blog entries over the summer. I’ll see if time allows and the muse takes me. But in the meantime – enjoy the close season.

 

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