Prior to their Premier League match against Liverpool, Arsenal's season had been turning for the better after a slow start. With nine win in their preceding 11 league matches including five in a row, the Gunners should have been primed to give Liverpool all that they could handle - especially with Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah restricted to an appearance off the bench due to a foot injury.
However, the match did not go according to plan for Arsenal at all. In a stark demonstration of the gulf in quality between the two teams, Liverpool beat Arsenal 2-0 despite not even exerting anywhere near their maximum level of effort. Diogo Jota scored Liverpool's first goal before being substituted almost immediately; his replacement, Roberto Firmino, wasted almost no time in adding to Liverpool's lead.
Arsenal will certainly rue this loss because a victory would have seen them move four points ahead of Manchester United and solidified their grip on fourth place and the last qualification spot for next season's Champions League. More than anything else, though, this match once again exposed some of Arsenal's most pertinent weaknesses which might just cause them to miss out on the top four.
One important question that hasn't been addressed all season long and has become even more relevant following the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona is this: do Arsenal really know who makes up their best attacking midfield trio? Choosing between Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Ødegaard, and Gabriel Martinelli can prove to be quite the issue, especially now that Aubameyang has left, making Alexandre Lacazette the club's only starter-level striker. Even at this late stage of the season, the evidence on display during the Liverpool match clearly shows that Arsenal still haven't gotten it quite right in this area; if they end up surrendering their spot in the top four, this could have turned out to have been the main reason behind their downfall.
In the upcoming off-season, it might also be prudent for Arsenal to consider signing a new starting goalkeeper. Aaron Ramsdale has been rather inconsistent all season long; there are stretches when he saves just about anything but follows up those hot streaks with errors like the one he committed to allow Liverpool their first goal. Ramsdale is no scrub by any means, but is he really the goalkeeper upon whom Arsenal would like to stake their long-term future? Unfortunately, I just don't see it. He has not always been able to deliver at that level when it has most been needed.
Going back to the other end of the field, it's time to question Lacazette as well. This season, the Frenchman has scored a paltry four league goals. If he finishes the season at his current goalscoring rate, he will end the campaign with just six - his lowest tally in nine years and by far the lowest of his career at the Emirates Stadium. Not only that - at the age of 30, Lacazette does not fit this team's timeline. Arsenal have a young squad; most of their key players are 25 or younger. It does not make sense to continue to make a player who will soon be on the downswing of his career (if he isn't already there) one of the main components of the team.
There can be little doubt that this season has been very much better for Arsenal than was their disaster of a campaign in 2020-21. They do have an intriguing young core - albeit one without an ace like Aubameyang in his prime. That being said, their weaknesses continue to be glaring in many ways. It seems as though Arsenal have a clear idea of what should come next in the post-Aubameyang era, but they have not taken many, if any, steps in that direction.
Arsenal have not had a wider window of opportunity in years, given the ongoing struggles of United, Tottenham Hotspur, and most notably of all, Chelsea. Whether they will take advantage of this opportunity, though, remains to be seen. Although Arsenal might be in a solid position at the moment with regard to their league performance, it cannot be disputed: the only thing consistent about this Arsenal team is their inconsistency.
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