Our Arsenal 2022-23 season review takes a look at the entirety of the Gunners’ most recent season. Arsenal finished second in the Premier League and qualified for next season’s Champions League. However, in some ways, the 2022-23 season was disappointing for Arsenal. Let’s discuss Arsenal’s 2022-23 season.
Arsenal 2022-23 Season Review Parts 1 and 2
Arsenal’s 2022-23 Premier League Season- 2nd-Place Finish
The Gunners finished second in the English Premier League in the 2022-23 Premier League season with a total of 84 points. Arsenal finished only five points behind champions Manchester City, who look set to complete the treble by defeating Inter Milan to win their first Champions League title. Arsenal significantly improved on their 5th-place Premier League finish last season and will finally return to the Champions League next season for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
The general expectation was that Arsenal should finish in the top 4 this season. The Gunners exceeded that expectation and finished nine points ahead of Manchester United in third. Arsenal’s second-place finish this season is major progress and should certainly be viewed as a success.
However, the Gunners were at the top of the Premier League table for much of this season. As a result, it is somewhat disappointing that Arsenal was not able to win the Premier League title this season. Injuries and a lack of defensive depth were the two biggest reasons for this inability to win the league title. Arsenal’s form suffered greatly after William Saliba got a back injury in a Europa League match against Sporting Club de Portugal.
Overall, the Gunners seem well-positioned to challenge for the Premier League title once again next season. Arsenal will have to make the right signings in the summer transfer window, but the club has shown that its starting 11 is title-worthy.
Arsenal’s 2022-23 Europa League Season- Round of 16 Exit
The Gunners did have a disappointing Europa League campaign, losing to Sporting Club de Portugal in the round of 16. The round of 16 ended with a 3-3 aggregate score and Sporting eliminated Arsenal from the competition on penalties. It is disappointing that the Gunners were not able to win the Europa League. However, the Europa League was clearly not the main focus of the campaign, especially since Arsenal challenged for the Premier League title for most of the season.
Arsenal 2022-23 Season Review Parts 3 and 4
Arsenal’s 2022-23 FA Cup Season- Fourth Round Exit
Additionally, the Gunners were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City. Arsenal lost that fourth round FA Cup match 1-0 to City at the Etihad Stadium. Arsenal has won the FA Cup 14 times, but losing to eventual Premier League champions Manchester City in the fourth round of the competition is no embarrassment. It was clear that Manchester City were more interested in winning the competition than Arsenal, given the difference in the strengths of the two teams in that match.
Arsenal’s 2022-23 League Cup Season- Third Round Exit
Brighton and Hove Albion eliminated Arsenal from the League Cup in the third round of the competition. As with the FA Cup, the Gunners obviously had bigger priorities this season than winning the League Cup. Brighton finished sixth in the Premier League in the 2022-23 season with 62 points and made it to the semifinals of the FA Cup this past season. As a result, it is a bit disappointing that Arsenal could not make it further in the FA Cup, but losing to Brighton in the third round is an understandable outcome given the context of the season.
Arsenal 2022-23 Season Review Part 5: Player of the Season
There are several outstanding candidates for Arsenal’s player of the 2022-23 season award. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard are three of the top candidates for this award. However, Martin Odegaard takes it due to his consistence excellence and leadership throughout the 2022-23 campaign.
Odegaard finished with 15 goals and eight assists in 37 Premier League appearances in the 2022-23 season. Some fans had doubts about Odegaard being named the new Arsenal captain. Despite this, Odegaard silenced those doubts with consistently great performances and excellent leadership throughout the most recent season. The Gunners signed Martin Odegaard for around 34 million pounds in 2021.
That now looks to be an absolute bargain. Odegaard has developed into one of the best attacking midfielders in the English Premier League and arguably in all of European football. Martin Odegaard is still only 24, so he should improve even further and continue to serve as a worthy captain of Arsenal Football Club.
Most Disappointing Arsenal Player of the Season
Many Arsenal players exceeded expectations this season, but there were a few players who disappointed overall. However, Fabio Vieira is perhaps the most disappointing Arsenal player of the 2022-23 season. Vieira arrived at Arsenal from Porto for 40 million pounds but only contributed one goal and two assists in 19 appearances in the Premier League.
The Gunners likely expected much more from him in his first season with the club. However, Vieira is only 23 years old and it was his debut campaign in the English top flight. As a result, it is fair to expect Vieira to play much better next season since he now has the experience of a full season of Premier League football.
Mikel Arteta Gets an 8/10 Manager Rating for the 2022-23 Season
Overall, Arteta did quite a good job at Arsenal this past season. He typically set the team up well and his substitutions often had a positive impact on matches. Additionally, many of his halftime team talks certainly seemed to motivate the Arsenal squad properly.
However, Arteta did make some questionable decisions. Sticking with Partey in midfield and Holding in defense as long as he did likely cost Arsenal some valuable points. Playing Saliba in the Europa League where he suffered a long-term back injury was another questionable decision from Arteta, given the competition’s limited importance to an Arsenal team competing for the Premier League title.
Given all this, Arteta gets an 8/10 manager rating for the 2022-23 season. He will almost certainly learn from his mistakes and do even better next season with a stronger Arsenal squad.
The Summer Transfer Window Is Fast Approaching
The Gunners look set to be very active in the 2023 summer transfer window, as they should be. At this point, rumors make up the bulk of the information, but certain things are starting to become clear about Arsenal’s summer transfer window activity. I would bet that Arsenal will finish in the top 2 of the EPL once again next season after a busy summer.
Check back next week for more Arsenal content.