We’re roughly a quarter of the way through the Premier League season, so our resident teacher (Tony) suggested that we hand out report cards for Arsenal’s performances so far. We’ll need these signed and returned by the end of the week, thank you.
Tony
Overall grade: A-
It’s really says a lot about the quality of this side that they can enter the break solidly on top of the Premier League, in the mix for another top 8 CL league phase finish, have a cumulative record of 13-1-2 across all competitions and
still look like they haven’t hit top gear.
Has it been pretty? Hardly. The attack has flattered to deceive and the set pieces have dried up. Criticism of Arsenal’s “boring” playstyle have replaced last season’s “set piece/dark arts merchants” narrative. But results are results, and Arsenal fans a decade ago would snap your hand off if you asked if they would trade off aesthetics for wins. The defense is still the best in the league, and if the attack can finally click? Hoo boy.
Consistency in the attack is the only reason I can’t give an A grade. Everything else? Let it ride.
Player of the quarter-season: Noni Madueke
He is unlikely to win any accolades, but I have been a huge fan of the Noni renaissance. He has stepped up so well in Saka’s absence as the most direct, impactful attacker over the last month. He scored the winner at Nottingham Forest, opened the scoring at Slavia Praha, and took the shot that rebounded to Ødegaard for Saturday’s winner. He gets a lot of stick for being unpolished compared to other elite wingers, but he represents a derring-do that the side has lacked. He backs himself 100% and Arteta has followed suit.
Underwhelming performer: Eberechi Eze
Eze’s signing last season was a glorious emotional moment. The prodigal son spurned the Spurs before returning to his boyhood club at the 11th hour and winning the league. It was storybook stuff. But this season, his impact has been negligible and looks like the odd man out in the midfield/attack. In seven appearances in the league, he has failed to register a goal or an assist. He has scored twice in the Champions League, but he has struggled with consistency and still looks a little lost in Arteta’s tactics. I have hope that he can turn it around, but he has so far been a relative dud compared to the high expectations from last season. At least there’s always his twice yearly goal explosion against Tottenham to look forward to.
Aaron
Overall Grade: A
Football is a results-based business. It’s hard to find any fault with Arsenal’s results at the quarter pole. He says, as he proceeds to nitpick and find faults. The Brighton loss is a blemish but no team (other than the Invincibles) are going to avoid dropping a game here and there. It’s probably better, in the long run, to have gone out of the Carabao Cup early.
Other than those two results and a more-than-acceptable 2-2 draw away to Bayern Munich, the Gunners have won every other match they’ve played. It’s hard for me to give that anything other than top marks.
As Tony points out, the attack hasn’t wowed. That’s something to keep an eye on. But I’m taking the same glass half full approach, if Arsenal are pretty much winning every game with a less-than-potent attack, imagine what they’ll look like when the attack starts clicking again (or if the set piece goals come back, which according to the stats folk, is actually a repeatable skill).
Player of the quarter-season: Declan Rice
Somehow the best all-around midfielder in the world got better in, like, the three weeks he had off this summer after the World Cup. Rice leads the Premier League in assists and has the most line-breaking passes of any midfielder in the division. He barely trails Elliot Anderson for line-breaking passes per 90 minutes, and he’s only behind the Manchester City man in total passes among midfielders.
Last season, the feeling was that you needed to pair Declan Rice with a player like Martin Zubimendi (skilled progressive passer) otherwise Arsenal would struggle to get the ball up the pitch and into dangerous positions. Rice has filled that gap in his play.
And he’s been doing it while always seeming to be carrying some little niggle or another. Hopefully we’ll get a spell of him playing fully fit at some point this season.
Underwhelming Performer: Bruno Guimaraes
This selection might be more of a reflection of my own expectations rather than Bruno’s performances, but “underwhelmed” is the perfect way to describe how I’ve felt about the Brazilian’s play so far. You can see the thinking — his forward-looking, aggressive, attack-minded instincts to find the killer pass is something Arsenal need and should eventually pay off. But the execution isn’t there yet.
There are a few too many turnovers. They’re always going to be some with that style, but right now, the balance is off. It seems as though Bruno is also still adjusting to Mikel Arteta’s system and finding his tactical fit. As he finds his place and his teammates more regularly make the dangerous runs anticipating that he’ll try to squeeze the ball into them, it’ll bear fruit. But it’s not doing so at close to the rate I’d expected or you’d like to see.
To counterpoint myself, I bet that if you dug into the underlying stats, you’d find that Bruno is playing pretty well. It might be more of a case of, like Martin Zubimendi last season, all the good things he does are flying under the radar. I just feel like with a veteran player, splashy signing like Bruno, Arsenal should be getting more.
It goes without saying, but please share your grades in the comments! Do you agree or disagree with our grades and award-winners?
