A moment of joy. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard held the Premier League trophy in his hands and lifted it in a scene that would define a generation and era for the football club.
All season long, fans, pundits, analysts and pundits have been raving about Mikel Arteta’s team this season.
Their style of play has been branded “unwatchable” and they have been tagged ‘Set-Piece FC’. But none of that matters when you get your hands on the trophy.
Arsenal have faced so-called criticism despite maintaining a consistent top spot since October.
Earlier this year, Paul Scholes said: “This will be the worst Premier League winner ever.” The idea that Arsenal did not have a clear enough Premier League Player of the Year winner was used as a stick to hit the Gunners with.
This follows criticism of their style throughout the season. Fabian Hurzeler’s comments about Arsenal wasting time in March appear to be the culmination of that frustration. “It’s amazing,” Arteta responded sarcastically. It was a sign that he was growing tired of criticism of the team.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Mikel Arteta has reacted to Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler’s comments that his side were ‘wasting time’ during their Premier League win.
Even after the title win was confirmed, many comments were posted on social media saying that ‘VARsenal’ won the title thanks to the referee’s luck.
This included Liverpool boss Arne Slott, who was briefly unveiled at Arteta’s Arsenal this week. “Congratulations to them,” he said. “But to me they are a different champion than they have been in the last 10 seasons. This is the first time in 30 years that 40% of the goals have come from set pieces.”
None of that will be a problem for Arteta, his players and staff, nor will it be a problem for Arsenal supporters, whose title celebrations will continue throughout the summer.
Yes. They haven’t always had the attacking vitality of Manchester City or the significant goalscorers that place them high up in the Golden Boot rankings. But they did enough in front of goal to win the league. Especially when criticism of their style of play isn’t entirely their fault.
Throughout the season, opposition teams have made or reduced huge efforts to prevent Arsenal from advancing into the final third.
The numbers help show how defensive the opposition is against Arsenal. This season Arsenal have attempted the most open play shots in the Premier League with opponents having nine or more players in the penalty box.
Even Manchester City have been forced into this approach. The Gunners forced Pep Guardiola’s side to a low block, a back five and a record-low 33.2 per cent possession when they came to the Emirates in September.
And what if it opens against Arsenal? The Champions League is a good example. Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid all tried to play ‘their way’ against Arsenal but all lost.
The players in the penalty area were unable to stop the Gunners. They have scored 12 goals from 112 shots from open play, which is also the most in the league. The last of those goals was Leandro Trossard’s decisive win away at West Ham, perhaps the most important goal Arsenal have scored on their way to the title.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Premier League match between West Ham and Arsenal
Trossard’s goal was achieved through skill, filtering out Odegaard’s body and creating space for the Belgian. Vital to the team’s creativity and attacking cohesion, the Arsenal captain has played more than 45 minutes in the league on just 12 occasions this season.
If Arsenal had Odegaard fit for more games, perhaps their striker numbers would have been higher. And the point about Norwegian can also spread to a broader level.
Arsenal have struggled to cohere in attack due to injuries to the team. The longest run Arsenal’s front four have played all season is three games in all competitions. Arsenal’s most successful forwards – Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres and Trossard (all three are yet to lose a league game in which they have started) – have appeared on the pitch together in just 14 of their 38 games.
This week, Arteta also touched on two key periods when he thought they almost lost the title. “Once, before Christmas, there were many wounded on the front line.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Arteta reveals the two moments he feared Arsenal’s Premier League title was slipping away – and how music changed everything!
“And during the international break in March” – Arsenal have seen a number of players withdraw from international football due to injury, including Saka, who has been sidelined for a month.
Why did he lose so much of his offensive ability due to injury? shouldn’t Are Arsenal looking for every possible marginal benefit in other areas?
Addressing this issue of playing style, Arteta added: “I don’t think you need to be very smart.” “Can we score 100 goals? Today? With the resources we have and the players out? The answer is no.
“Can a player score 35 goals? No. So how can we win 40-odd games to achieve what we want?
“That’s our biggest strength. This (skill) has to be the best in the world. And the other one, we have to be very close to being the best in the world. With that (the original skill) alone, we won’t be able to do it. Our biggest strength, if we do that, the odds of winning the game are too high.”
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jamie O’Hara felt it was a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya but said something needed to change to reduce grappling in the penalty box.
Arteta could be talking about defensive solidity here, but he could also be talking about set pieces. The Gunners have been branded ‘Set-Piece FC’ in yet another criticism, despite setting a new dead-ball record this season.
This includes claims that ‘grappling’ and ‘shoving’ in corners are forms of cheating. But it’s hard to bash a ‘dirty’ team with a trick when that same team is the only Premier League side to not have received a red card or penalty all season.
Of course, some will not sympathize with Arsenal. Their criticism will remain. But what Arteta’s side have done is win the Premier League in classic Arsenal fashion.
The ‘one-nil’ against Arsenal has permeated the club’s recent history and this season the scoreline stood out.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
We select 10 moments when Arsenal won their first Premier League title in 22 years.
The Gunners have won seven times by this scoreline. The only result that has occurred more often than Arsenal winning 1-0 in the Premier League this season is Man City winning 3-0.
This reminds me of George Graham’s time at the club. This caused frustration among opponents and neutral supporters. Once Arsenal were 1-0 up, there was an acceptance that they would win the game.
As with cornering and defensive solidity, is this a fair stick to beat Arsenal at the moment? Or should we rather be praised?
After all, no team has scored against Arsenal from open play since back-to-back defeats against Bournemouth and Manchester City last April. That’s six games in total, including two Champions League semi-finals and a match for the title.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
PSG coach Luis Enrique is preparing for the Champions League final against Arsenal.
An oft-quoted line around this time every year is ‘offense wins games, defense wins titles.’ Arsenal are living proof of this.
Arsenal are not the best Premier League winning team in history. Of course not. But they don’t claim that to be the case.
One of the biggest criticisms thrown at Arteta’s Arsenal in recent years is their inability to get over the line. Now they have.
Currently they are the best team in the country. Examples include the undefeated run and final of the Champions League, where other English teams were easily defeated in this season’s competition.
So should they care what their critics think? Absolutely not.
