Arsenal finished the 2023–2024 season in the second spot, and they fell two points short of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. This shows how close both teams were to each other.
Almost all the Premier League clubs have finished their preseason tour, where Arsenal displayed a commanding performance against every team except Liverpool. On the other hand, Manchester City lost almost every match, and they bagged a single win against Chelsea.
Although it is a preseason, it’s the beginning of everything. By seeing the preseason performance, we can tell how a team will perform throughout the entire season.
What did Pep Guardiola say to Arsenal?
In recent years, Arsenal have emerged as the new contenders for the Premier League title.
After the Community Shield win against Manchester United, Pep Guardiola was asked about Arsenal’s condition, and he said that the Gunners have maintained the same tempo just like last season. According to The Irish News, the Manchester City boss believes that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are getting stronger each and every season.
On the other hand, Manchester City are also gaining momentum because they started their season with a victory against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield. They have signed some brilliant players, including Savinho.
Recent Arsenal performances
The Gunners began their preseason with a victory against AFC Bournemouth. Although they won the match in a tiebreaker, it boosted their confidence. Gradually, their performance improved.
After that, Arsenal faced Liverpool on their preseason tour, but it turned out to be a difficult fixture for Arteta’s team. Arne Slot’s experienced Liverpool team slaughtered Arsenal with their silent assassins like Mohammed Salah. Now we are excited to see how Arsenal will compete with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Competitive animal
Recently, Arsenal thrashed Xavi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen with a scoreline of 4-1. After the game, Xavi labeled the Arsenal boss as a ‘competitive animal’. There is a reason behind this name. Both Xavi and Arteta are good tacticians. During the game, Xavi was changing his strategies. On the other hand, Mikel Arteta was also employing new tactics.
Last season, Xavi Alonso was considered one of the top managers in the world. He led Bayer Leverkusen towards an invincible winning streak. Xavi helped Leverkusen win the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal. After so many years, this winning streak came in the history of Leverkusen.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has defeated a team of this caliber. This is certainly surprising news for the fans. Pep Guardiola is impressed with the preseason performance of Arsenal. Till now, they have defeated teams like Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, and AFC Bournemouth.
The secret of Arsenal’s success
It is clear that Arsenal are trying to emulate Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City by selling their home-grown talents and buying new players. This is the main secret of Mikel Arteta’s Arenal. Lack of game time is the major issue for the youngsters at Arsenal.
After Lewis Brown, Arsenal have lost another academy graduate to a Premier League rival because Emile Smith Rowe has joined West London club Fulham. When Arsenal decided to sell the young Englishman, Crystal Palace were also interested in the player.
Fulham proposed an offer that was slightly better than Crystal Palace. Multiple reports are claiming that the accepted bid is in the region of £35 million. Recently, Fulham signed former Spurs left-back Ryan Sessegnon on a two-year deal. Now they have a scary attacking front that includes Emile Smith Rowe, Andreas Pereira.
It is certain that Arsenal is losing a quality player. Previously, they made the same mistake by selling Serge Gnabry, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain because they became stars after leaving Arsenal. The decision to sell Emile Smith Rowe can certainly backfire at Arsenal.
The entire Premier League knows the ability of a player like Emile Smith Rowe. That is why teams like Fulham and Crystal Palace competed to sign the player.
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