Arsenal Fail Yet Again As Emi Buendia Is Off To Aston Villa

Arsenal Fail Yet Again As Emi Buendia Is Off To Aston Villa

After a second consecutive Premier League finish of 8th place, only the second time Arsenal have been outside the top 6 since 1995, it appears things could somehow be getting worse for the club. One of their longtime targets, Norwich attacker Emiliano Buendia, is set to join Aston Villa for a club-record fee. Some of you might be asking: why are they even going for another attacking player? Even though Real Madrid loanee Martin Ødegaard will likely stay in Spain, they still have a decent collection of forwards and wide players, making Mikel Arteta’s decision to search for a replacement a head-scratching one. However, head-scratching decisions and frustration have become common occurrences.

Arsenal has not been in the Champions League since the 2016/2017 season, and their last top 4 finish in the PL was all the way back in 2016 when they were second behind the magical Leicester City. Since then, the Gunners have steadily declined, and many fans have pointed their fingers at owner Stan Kroenke. His decision to join the European Super League outraged many and Kroenke deserves part of the blame for the mistakes since legendary coach Arsène Wenger’s departure. Unai Emery underwhelmed in his tenure as manager and was given the boot part way through the 2019/20 season. Arteta has arguably been even worse as his replacement, having disappointing campaigns in both the Premier League and Europa League. A triumph in the FA Cup has been the only silver lining to Arteta’s 18 months in charge, as the Spaniard could become one of the first managers sacked in the 2021/2022 Premier League season.

Many more issues exist within the club outside of management. There are many holes in the squad, but defense and midfield should be focused more heavily by the Gunners, as the club have only managed a +/- of 24 goals in their past two seasons combined. By comparison, Wenger managed a figure of 23 goals during his last season in charge. They also have a tremendous amount of deadwood across many positions, as names like Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah, Hector Bellerin, and even goalkeeper Bernd Leno have arguably overstayed their welcome. The German stopper has committed a multitude of errors during his time in England, and the signing once hailed as genius is starting to receive backlash. This squad is certainly not playing up to their potential, but the decision-makers behind the scene are doing a pretty terrible job as well.

Long story short, a club formerly known for consistency and quality under Arsene Wenger is undergoing one of its worst periods in decades. The list of problems to address, including the squad, transfer decisions, and management are all possibly getting worse, and Mikel Arteta appears to be running out of time to put Arsenal FC back on the right path.