I don't think Gunners fans are really upset about not making Champions' League; it's mostly disappointment we lost the last spot to that lot and so late. I was hoping for 5th or 6th before the season started, and that's what I got, so color me satisfied. With just a +13 goal difference, we are not ECL material anyway. The near-collapse of Manchester United was a surprise; I did not think we'd finish above them. Spurs finally hired a guy who could do what Pochettino did for them, and they can convince themselves they'll make another long run in the ECL--but I doubt it.
Arteta and Edu were playing with fire when they slashed the squad so ruthlessly in January, and we were fortunate to only get singed, as West Ham, Wolves, and Man U all faded late on. Even keeping Maitland-Niles on would, I think, have seen us get 4th. But as injuries piled up, we had to rely on backups, and they were backups for a reason. Arteta made some naive tactical decisions in crucial games, too. But all's well that ends well, and I'm happy with where we ended.
The decks are cleared and we can take on several transfers to complement the core of the team. The major questions are about injuries, and about our loanees. Will Saliba play for us next year? Can Tierney spend more time on the pitch? Can Partey stay fit? Tomiyasu? White? We're looking for the same high quality players everyone else is, and they won't come cheap. I'm content to wait and see. With European football, we will have more game time to keep youth and fringe players sharp.
An interesting stat. It took 42 goals this year to avoid relegation. 1 point 1 goals per game. If you got over 43, you were safe. No matter how porous your defense was.
ReplyDeleteAnd there were some very porous defenses. Leeds stayed up with a -37 GD.
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