FIVE-POINT PLAN

1 DIVERSIFY GOAL THREAT

Under Unai Emery, Arsenal averaged 1.38 goals per game in the Premier League last season. With Arteta, it was 1.68 per game. Mesut Özil, Bukayo Saka, Lucas Torreira, Joe Willock and Granit Xhaka scored one goal apiece in the league, while Dani Ceballos failed to net. Arsenal need more goals from midfield.

2 PLAN FOR PATIENCE

The Gunners took a pathetic total of three points away from home against the bottom four clubs last season, drawing three and losing at Aston Villa. They struggled to break down deep blocks because they were predictable and lacked players who operated between the lines. Finding ways to beat those sides who sit deep, and hurt them on the break, will be crucial to improvement in this campaign.

3 FIX THOSE DEFENSIVE LEAKS

When is this ever not a thing for Arsenal? They conceded an average of 1.46 goals per league game under Emery last season, which improved to 1.1 once Arteta took over just before Christmas. Though the new man bolstered their defence impressively, he required a back three to do it. Arsenal need more capable defenders so that they can revert to a back four and field an extra creative midfielder. Tying down David Luiz for another year wasn’t exactly a popular decision, though, on the back of a season in which he set a new Premier League record by giving away five penalties in a single campaign.

4 BETTER CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

Arsenal’s relatively poor financial state is in no small part thanks to their repeated failure to manage key contracts – see those of Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Özil, Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez. They have either lost valuable players for free, or had to overpay on new deals to keep players who have been allowed to drift into the final year of their contracts.

5 INVESTMENT FROM KSE

Failing all of the above, Arsenal do have a billionaire owner... [ crickets chirp]