On December 20, 2019, Arsenal found themselves in a rut.
Unai Emery was the devil after 100% being the man responsible for dragging the Gunners through the mud. They needed a saviour.
That glimmer of hope came in the form of Mikel Arteta, whose five years as a player at the Emirates and three years working under Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola made him the perfect man for the job. He knew the club and knew what it took to win.
It was a risky appointment. Giving an inexperienced driver the keys to an expensive car was always going to be met with fierce scepticism, but Arsenal stood behind their decision.
A run of one win from his first eight Premier League games was greeted cautiously, with most assuming he was still cleaning up the mess left behind by Emery, and by the time he turned things into winning in February 2020, the mood had changed completely.
Arsenal won eight of their final 13 games of the 2019/20 Premier League season, but more importantly, they won the FA Cup, flying to victories over both Manchester City and Chelsea in the semi-final and final respectively. This was a club who were going places.
Not only had Arteta steadied the ship, but he'd given the ship a new direction. He'd proven that his Arsenal side could compete with the best and were ready to stock the shelves with trophies. Fans were sure he was the man needed to finally sort Arsenal out.
There aren't words to describe the general optimism that was coming out of the Emirates, and yet here we are, four months after the famous FA Cup victory, and Arsenal are at their lowest ebb in recent memory.
Arteta's one-year anniversary at Arsenal came one day after a 2-1 loss to Everton - the team's eighth loss in 14 games this season - which left the Gunners 15th in the Premier League. Mathematically, if results go against them, they could actually find themselves 17th.
It's ended talk of a Premier League title challenge and forced the narrative to return to one of a rebuild. Both Arteta and director Edu have pleaded for patience while the club figure themselves out again, but with results just so bad, there are a lot of supporters who have already mentally called time on Arteta's Arsenal.
There have been some electric highs and some outrageous lows in Arteta's first year. It's been the dictionary definition of 'rollercoaster', but where do Arsenal stand now?
The Squad
For a rebuilding squad, Arsenal haven't done too much rebuilding in the two windows since Arteta arrived at the club.
Backup goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and the already-unwanted Henrikh Mkhitaryan are the only two senior players to be offloaded permanently, while we've also seen midfielders Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi shipped out on loan.
It's hardly been a full scale clear-out, but it was at least viewed as a start on getting rid of the so-called 'bad apples' in the squad.
Arteta has been far more active with his incomings. Defenders Pablo Mari and Cedric both joined last winter before things got serious in the summer.
Big money was splashed out on Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhaes, while reserve goalkeeper Alex Runarsson also joined for cheap, but one of the more high-profile signings was the acquisition of Willian on a free transfer from Chelsea.
Landing the Brazilian was seen as such a coup that Arsenal threw enormous wages at Willian to tie him down to a three-year contract. It was supposed to be a signal of intent, as was tying star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang down to a long-term deal.
Theoretically, the squad should be in better shape. The only weakening of Arsenal's squad was swapping Martinez for Runarsson. On paper, it looked like the positive momentum on show at the Emirates should have kept going.
However, while most of the incomings have been met positively (Willian aside), it's the lack of outgoings which has fans concerned. There's an overwhelming feeling that there are still too many high-earning players who don't have the talent (or the heart) needed to play for Arsenal and to get them out of this rut.
Is Arteta to blame for that? His role in the decision to throw £220,000-a-week at Willian or the best part of £350,000-a-week at Aubameyang is unclear, but what's certain is he played no part in the money handed to Nicolas Pepe, Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi and the rest of Arsenal's underperforming stars.
Arteta has had his hands tied by a bizarre vision for the club set by executives both past and present, although his choice to banish Mesut Ozil and Sokratis, while also snubbing big-money signing William Saliba, have left a few eyebrows raised.
His determination to avoid young players like Emile Smith Rowe and Folarin Balogun, who have earned more minutes through great performances in the Europa League, has only added to the problem.
What's more concerning is the vibe in the dressing room, with countless reports discussing bust-ups and the decline of relationships behind the scenes. They might not all be true, but there's clearly something off at the Emirates.
The poor discipline on the pitch which has seen Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel all sent off reeks of a squad who have grown frustrated with what is going on around them, but make no mistake about it, they're part of the problem.
Style of Play
Here's where a lot of Arteta's doubters are most vocal. We're talking about a style of play, but do Arsenal even have one?
Chopping and changing formations has left Arsenal feeling as though they haven't got an identity these days, and that's coming across in their performances. There's no defensive stability, while their chance creation is among the worst in the Premier League if you look at the numbers.
His team appear to have taken a step backwards tactically, and Arteta's constant insistance that the only problem is Arsenal aren't putting the ball in the back of the net is somewhat worrying. There's more than just sloppy finishing to address at the Emirates.
The Gunners are in dire need of a creative midfielder to help unlock stubborn defences, and it's assumed that they will look to address that in January. Will that actually help or will Arsenal's flaws continue to be laid bare?
Results & Performances
Performances in the early stages of Arteta's reign were mixed. They started off poorly, but once the Gunners found their feet, the results came flooding in. The FA Cup trophy proved that this team could win games.
However, even if that period of highs, there were signs that Arsenal's performances weren't what they seemed. Their number of chances created was way down, but the results were ultimately all that mattered. It felt like the Gunners were finding their feet and would only get better with time.
However, this season, those results have dried up, so now Arsenal have been left with poor performances and equally as poor results.
Since the 2-1 win over Sheffield United on matchday four, Arsenal have scored four goals in eight Premier League games, all while conceding 13. That's unsustainable for any team, and it's why Arteta's men are right down in the standings.
It's brought out a realisation that Arsenal seem to rely on Aubameyang to pull the rabbit out of the hat every week, but now that the Gabon international is struggling, there's no plan B.
There have been a lot of aimless crosses into the box, which any seasoned Premier League viewer will tell you is never the way to beat low-block defences. A lot of the 'smaller' teams have centre-backs who will eat that up all day, but Arteta's Arsenal have not figured that out.
What has left Arsenal fans most concerned is the lack of optimism about the future. This is the situation Arteta's side find themselves in, and all the manager seems to say is 'we would win if we scored'. When you've been in a job for a year, you're supposed to at least have some form of vision, even if you're not close to living up to it.
The State of Arsenal
Things are really bad at the Emirates. There aren't many glimmers of hope to be found, apart from the criminally underused young core who actually look like they want to play for Arsenal. The squad, results, performances, tactics and transfers have all been questioned, while the manager himself could hardly be under more pressure.
There's no denying that Arsenal are in need of a rebuild, but how far up must that extend? The squad needs an overhaul, but it's not hard to find a fan who things the club's boardroom issues also need addressing. After all, Arsenal were trending in this direction well before Arteta turned up.
There are going to have to be a lot of changes if Arteta is to make it to his second anniversary, but there may not be enough time to get everything done. At some point, enough will be enough.
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Source : 90min