Finishing behind North London rivals Tottenham in the 2021/22 Premier League campaign was a hard knock for Arsenal to take, particularly as it meant Spurs had nicked the final Champions League spot.
And now the glory-starved Arsenal fans are hoping and praying that their side can not only match Antonio Conte’s Spurs this season, but they need good enough Premier League 2022 results to reclaim a top four place which was once a given for the Gunners.
Under former boss Arsene Wenger, Arsenal qualified for the Champions League for an incredible 20 consecutive seasons, but since the great man’s departure they have been absent from the Europe’s top table.
So Wenger’s former midfield star Mikel Arteta is now tasked with leading the team back to where their fans believe they belong and to do that he needs reinforcements, firstly in attack.
Is Jesus Arsenal’s saviour?
The Gunners scored 61 goals last year, fewer than each of the top four sides and with a far inferior goal difference. And while they sometimes lost control of matters in their own defence, the lack of a proven goal scorer cost Arsenal dearly.
The move of former skipper and top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang to Barcelona helped to lift the Blaugrana’s fortunes last season but Arsenal drifted out of the English top four at the death and, with Alexandre Lacazette also now departed to Lyon on a free transfer, Arteta needs someone to lead the line.
The Arsenal boss has his eyes on Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus.
The 25-year-old Brazilian was the only first team striker at the Etihad Stadium last season but the arrival of Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland in Manchester means Jesus is likely to find chances hard to come by this season and he may well be open to a move to the Emirates.
Since his arrival at Manchester City in 2016, Jesus has scored 59 league goals in 159 games, a superb return for a player whose role was to support the main man Sergio Aguero and he has also weighed in with 29 assists.
He is quick, skilful, and can score with either foot as well as being a good header of the ball, so Jesus would be a brilliant acquisition for the Gunners.
Arteta also keen on Tielemans
The Emirates boss has already moved smartly in the transfer market to bring Fabio Vieira to the Premier League in a £30-M deal. The Porto midfielder has agreed to sign a five-year contract and he is at the medical stage to fly to London on Friday.
Vieira made 14 assists in the Portuguese Primera Division last term, which was more than any other player, and he was voted Player of the Tournament at last year’s European U21 Championship.
He can also play in the number 10 role, just in behind the main striker and Arteta can see him striking up a successful partnership with Jesus.
Arteta is also in the market for a more deep-lying midfielder to provide competition for Thomas Partey who struggled with injury last term, and he is tracking Leicester City star Youri Tielemans who has just one year left to run on his contract at the King Power Stadium.
Arsenal are prepared to shell out £25-M to bring the Belgian to the club and are hopeful of beating Tottenham to his signature. And if Arteta brings both Viera and Tielemans in, that won’t reflect well on Ivory Coast attacking midfielder Nicolas Pepe, who joined the club for a record fee of £72-M in 2019.
Pepe has struggled to live up to the price tag, contributing just 16 goals and making just 80 appearances and he has fallen behind young England star Emile Smith Rowe in the pecking order.
Tielemans would be a superb addition to Arteta’s starting lineup since he has starred for Leicester over the past three campaigns and had numerous man-of-the-match performances, most memorably when he scored a wonder goal as the Foxes beat Chelsea 1-0 to win the 2021 FA Cup.
Not one Arsenal player made it into the PFA Team of the Year and neither did they make the SBOTOP alternative XI. The addition of Jesus, Viera, and Tielemans might at least give them a chance next year, and we may well see a new look lineup when the Gunners open up the 2022/23 campaign with a trip to South London away to Crystal Palace.
But the early season Premier League 2022 betting odds suggest Arsenal will face a tough challenge to make a top four place, with Tottenham, Chelsea, and Manchester United all set to be in the battle for two places, while Manchester City and Liverpool look nailed on top.
Arteta needs to buy well and the signs are encouraging.
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