Arsenal ended their Premier League season witha 2-1 victory at Southampton on Sunday afternoon, but they were forced to find the winner late on due to a flat performance.
Substitute Martin Odegaard fired in the winning goal in the 89th minute to ensure his side finished the campaign with three points, but the showing throughout pretty much summed up much of the past 10 months.
The Gunners showed a real lack of intensity and urgency throughout most of the game and while that is to be expected in what was practically a dead rubber on the final day of the season, it's not as if it's a new sight. That has been the case throughout a lot of the campaign and the win at St Mary's has to be the last time Arsenal operate with that style of play.
Arsenal's win at Southampton has to be the last we see of this style of play
Mikel Arteta
Arteta's tactics have to change next season | Richard Heathcote/GettyImages
Since Mikel Arteta fully got going with this Arsenal team, they earned a reputation as a team that play free-flowing fast paced football, but that has really changed this season.
Despite not possessing a natural goalscorer, the Gunners managed to be a lethal force in attack in both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns. Arteta's side netted 89 and 91 goals in those respective seasons, but their lethalness regressed significantly this season, finding the back of the net just 69 times.
While Arsenal's main striker option Kai Havertz was injured for practically the entire second-half of the season, their style of play had been different since the beginning. There seemed to be a focus on prioritising defensive stability and a desire to play for set-pieces, rather than attacking opposition defences with lethal force.
The Gunners have often opted against playing progressive football in favour of passing it around, which has had a tendency of allowing their opponents regroup and defend. In the Premier League this season, Arsenal played 1397 passes into the final third, 149 less than they did so last term. They also managed to pass into the penalty box 437 times, but that was still 111 less than in 2023/24.
This decrease has been a result of the change in tactics and play style by Arteta's side, thus meaning they had significantly less threat in attack. An overall lack of intensity has made them an easier side to deal with compared to the last few campaigns.
Arsenal have to revert back to the initial style of play next season. Their desire to keep clean sheets and maintain a formidable defence is admirable, but the reluctance to go all out in attack has been one of their main hinderances this year. The previous tactic of intensely attacking teams is shown to have worked with a number of dominant victories and the switch to a relaxed style simply has not worked.
With a natural and deadly striker through the door, the Gunners will have to play fast-paced attacking football to be able to get the most out of their future main man. The win against Southampton has to be the last time they operate this style of play and a change must be made next season.
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