The 2019/20 Season Review

The 2019/2020 season was an unprecedented period on so many levels. The coronavirus pandemic saw the season extended over 11 and half months due to a 3-month suspension, which was triggered by our head coach Mikel Arteta testing positive for the virus. When the Premier League resumed on 17th June, all matches were played behind closed doors for the first time in the Premier League's history. We lifted the FA Cup for the 14th time in the competition's history with no fans at Wembley, no trophy presenter to hand over the Cup and medals, and no open-top bus parade to Islington Town Hall on the next day. Nevertheless winning the FA Cup was a considerable achievement for Arteta and the Team after such a short time. 

 

On top of these extraordinary circumstances as a result of the pandemic, we also saw the introduction of VAR to all Premier League matches this season, as well as a winter break. We must say that VAR decisions proved disadvantageous to us more often than in favour of us. Sokratis' perfectly legitimate goal against Crystal Palace was disallowed due to a VAR decision made by an Australian official with no Premier League refereeing experience. Auba and Nketiah both had the refs' initial decisions for yellow card upgraded to straight reds that resulted in their sending-offs and 3-match bans. These were only few examples of VAR's teething problems.

At the club level, it was also an unusual season. After the end of Arsene Wenger's 22-year tenure two years ago, we had three different head coaches in a single season. Following a series of poor results, Unai Emery was dismissed in November 2019. Subsequently, Freddie Ljungberg, who had been promoted to assistant coach from U-23 head coach at the start of the season, took charge as interim head coach. Unfortunately, we didn't see a "new manager bounce" that we hoped for, with Arsenal registering only one win, 3 draws and 2 defeats during his short stint as a caretaker manager. As Mikel Arteta was unveiled as a new Arsenal head coach in December, Freddie stepped down and assumed a position as assistant coach alongside three others whom Arteta brought with him.

Arteta impressed from the day one as he sent out clear messages in his first press conference. He emphasised "non-negotiables", which he strongly demanded from his players. The ex-club captain was fully aware of the difficult situations he was facing. Connections had been severely strained in the past few years between fans and players, as well as the club hierarchy, not least the owners, Unai Emery's tactical approach to each game was refreshing in his first season in charge, but his chameleonic gameplans left the players confused and the team without clear identity. His reactive and passive approach to games even against lesser teams was not received very well by fans. Language barriers didn't help either on and off the pitch. During the dismal times in the latter months of Emery's reign, the emergence of young players, including Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, was the only bright spot. 

Arteta was brought in to repair those broken relationships and to restore the club's traditional values and ethos. His immediate goal was to bring back the Champions League football next season, which was a big ask after having fallen behind the top four so far by this point in time. The appointment of the 38 year-old saw gradual improvement in our form as we eventually turned draws into wins at the end of January. Arteta called Granit Xhaka back into the team from the exile and transformed him into an integral part of the team. It was a remarkable turn around of trajectory as Xhaka was set to leave the club during the January transfer window. Mustafi is another player whose Arsenal career was resurrected by the new head coach after Emery made it clear that he was free to leave the club at the beginning of the season.

The first winter break in the Premier League's history allowed Arteta's philosophy further permeate into the squad during the warm climate training camp in Dubai, as well as giving the players a chance to gain required fitness for Arteta's high-energy pressing. It was also beneficial for Dani Ceballos, who was repurposed as part of double pivot next to Xhaka. Except for a heartbreaking exit from the Europa League following a 2-1 defeat to Olympiacos after extra time, Arteta seemed to have completely turned around our fortune before the coronavirous outbreak disrupted our domestic campaign.

We didn't get off to a great start in the post-lockdown period, with successive defeats to Man City and Brighton in the first two games. However, our identity under Arteta gradually took shape. The highlights of this period were arguably victories over the newly-crowned champions Liverpool and Man City in a space of  mere 4 days. In both games, we were very efficient. We grabbed our chances and defended the lead resolutely as a unit. Our defence was better organised and more disciplined. Many pundits used to say that we were the worst team without ball, but ironically, we struggled when we had the lions' share of possessions against Tottenham and Aston Villa. A new identity was emerging. During this period, Kieran Tierney's return to fitness played a key part, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang capped his stellar season with braces in the FA Cup semi-final and final. It was a shame that our club captain fell only a goal short of winning the Golden Boot for the second season in a row.

Compared to his predecessor, Arteta excelled in the area of communications. He prepared a gameplan for each match and took his time to explain each player's responsibility in it so that they can be accountable for their action. Arteta made the most of the lockdown period by communicating with each player or a group of players with the help of internet technologies.

By his admission, not all Arteta's decisions -mostly based on his gut feeling according to him- produced positive results. But that's part of the learning curve for him.

Despite all the encouraging signs and improvement, we only managed to finish eighth in the league after spending most of the season in mid-table. It was our worst league position since 1995, a fact that speaks volumes for our decline in recent years. We also failed to secure next season's European football through our league position. Only our FA Cup final win over Chelsea secured European football for the 25th consecutive season. The FA Cup success in the latter years of the Wenger era merely papered over the crack only to prolong the slow decline and delay the rebuild of the squad. However, we believe that this one will have a more positive effect, serving as the vindication of Arteta's vision.

The novice manager also stamped his authority. In that process, Guendouzi and Ozil fell out of favour, but Arteta always gave players a second chance if they were willing to change their ways. The best example was Maitland-Niles. Arteta publicly questioned his application and the academy graduate was left out of the matchday squad for some time. However, he worked hard in training enough to regain the head coach's trust as he got the nod ahead of Saka in big games such as the FA Cup semi-final and final. 

It was a difficult season for us, which started with the rebellion of the then-club-captain Koscielny and his subsequent sale to Bordeux even before the Premier League kicked off. After all we had to go through in the 2019/20 season, at least we are more confident now that we are moving in the right direction. Hopefully, the board will give Arteta the fund he needs to rebuild the squad and keep key players such as Auba and Ceballos.