Last season and even the first half of this season was somewhat difficult. It was a hard one to take last season to see us go so far and do so well, but fall off at the last bit of the season and even coming into the start of this season, we had some questionable games that we probably should have won and didn’t. But since the start of 2024 we have looked like a completely new a rejuvenated side that looks like we could actually win the league but why is this?
I think there’s many reasons and many aspects that come together that have made us so successful, but obviously a big reason for that is the manager. I think Mikel Arteta learned a lot from last season and being so close and then dropping off would have been very disappointing, but we seem to have grown a lot since then and finally it feels like Arteta has the team he needs and is finally on the way to success.
I think the recruitment was spot on, bringing in players we needed to fill voids in the middle and players with experience who have seemed to settle into life in London quicker than most would. Declan Rice and Kai Havertz have been unbelievably good this season, with Rice stepping into the team like he’s been there forever and playing flawlessly throughout the season and Havertz, although he took a while to adjust, has now become a vital part of this squad and set up.
Our defence last season was leaky, and they didn’t look like they knew or trusted each other, whereas this season, they’ve been solid, predicting each other’s moves and have been working together perfectly. Even with Jurrien Timber out injured and having some injury problems at left back throughout the season, whoever has started in the backline have been impressive. Gabriel and Saliba have become somewhat of an unstoppable duo and have built a partnership that’s very hard to get past and Ben White has progressively got better and better throughout the season.
I think the injuries at the end of last season really made it hard for us and this season, although we’ve had a few struggles, we seem to have to depth to be able to cover it when needed. Arteta has trusted players I don’t think he would have last season, and with one more big window of recruitment, I think we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with. We’re building something that I think has been hard to build, but with trust from the club and the players in the manager, we are almost there.
We just need to continue to focus on the next game and the next three points and try not get ahead of ourselves, there’s still a lot of points to be won and if we can just continue to do what we’ve been doing, I do see why we can’t lift the title at the end of the season.
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