Reasons Arsenal Did Not Win The 2023 Premier League

At the start of the season, Arsenal kind of gave the impression that they would win the Premier League. But at the end of the season, it is obvious they had quite a number of internal and external issues. They had shocked everyone by holding the top spot in the Premier League standings through the month of February despite not making the top four the previous season

Sadly, Manchester City, who embarrassed Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, were their main rivals. But we all hoped and expected a different Premier League champion because City had won four of the previous five titles

The form of their new signings played a massive role in helping Arsenal make the top four for the first time since 2017. Below are some reasons Arsenal did not win the 2023 Premier League.

*Inexperienced Coach And Manager

Arteta is said to be one of the best coaches in Europe thanks to his superb performance on the bench at the Emirates. However, it seems he does not have enough experience to deliver the title, at least not yet, and there are moments which clearly shows his weakness.

He obviously used the same approach he has always used this time, but in games against Southampton and West Ham some for example, his inexperience was seen in different forms. In short, the last few weeks showed he lacked as much of that as Guardiola and it proved costly in different ways

*Lack of squad depth

When this season started, supporters of Arsenal believed their team have the right players to finish in the top four, and the Gunners had a strong start. However, Arteta’s side thought they could accomplish more than that. One thing that the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham’s poor performances covered for Arsenal was a lack of squad depth

Arteta have a first team of 11 players he could trust from the start of the season, which is fine, but that did not mean they have enough qualified players to win the league. This became clear at second half of the season that they lacked the players to win the title on the bench

When the likes of William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus were not available to play, there was not enough cover who could provide the same quality they deliver when they are on the pitch.

*Lack of Quality Leaders

To win the league, you need leaders in the dressing room who can guide other players, and Arsenal lacked that in this season. Liverpool side that stopped Manchester City from winning the Premier League in 2020 had Jordan Henderson pulling the strings and inspiring the players to get the job done

Arsenal fans would have looked at Granit Xhaka as a player that could inspire their team, but the Swiss international did not come through for them and was even a problem at some point. Arteta must start grooming leaders in his group who will help the team challenge for the title in another campaign.

Until they have solved this problem, Arsenal will continue to struggle with mediocrity and might never come this close to winning the title again

*William Saliba’s injury

William Saliba has been in Arsenal since 2019 when they signed him from Saint Etienne and allowed him to spend one more season with the French club. However, when he returned in 2020, Mikel Arteta did not consider him good enough to play for the Gunners. He subsequently went on loan to Nice and Olympique Marseille, where he earned praise as one of the best players in the league

It is this point that Arteta realised he had a top player on his hand and must treat him with care if he wanted to win the league. Saliba was given a chance at the Emirates in this campaign and the difference has been obvious as the club’s fortune improved

The defender played with so much class when he was available and Arsenal were assured at the back. However, after he was injured in their Europa League game against Sporting Club, things began to unravel at the Emirate

*Haaland and Manchester City

When Manchester City added Erling Haaland to their squad in the summer, there were many critics of the move, especially after they moved on obvious winners like Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling to make room for the Norwegian

The striker had scored several goals for RB Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, yet most people thought he was going to struggle in the Premier League, considering it has one of the best defenders in the world

Arsenal would have won the league if these predictions came true, but the Norwegian defied the odds and shattered the Premier League goal-scoring record set by a very brilliant Mohamed Salah and continues to score goals in England with relative ease.