Five Best Arsenal Players of the 2023/24 Season
By Kavin Kumar
Arsenal came agonizingly close to winning the Premier League but fell two points short of Manchester City. Nevertheless, they had numerous outstanding displays in every part of the pitch. When a team performs to the level that Arsenal did it is an almost impossible task to pick the best of the bunch. However, some players might have the edge over the others.
Standout Perfomers for Arsenal
No one will deny that Arsenal had the best defence in the league. They conceded just 29. A crucial reason for this defensive solidity was the Gabriel-Saliba duo. William Saliba, in particular, continued to stun fans and pundits with his nonchalant style of defending. His excellent positional awareness means he rarely needs to make a tackle and when he makes one it is inch-perfect. Remember his tackle against Garnacho at Old Trafford or the one against Ayew in Selhurst Park?
In midfield, Declan Rice was brilliant as he unlocked a new talent as a setpiece specialist. Deploying Rice as a No.8 was another addition to the long list of tactical masterstrokes by Mikel Arteta. His lung-bursting runs sent shivers down the spine of his opponents. The midfielder ended up with seven goals and eight assists in the league.
Captain Martin Odegaard had barely put a foot wrong throughout the season. He has an excellent engine as visible from the manner he presses the opposition's defenders. The Norwegian enjoyed another productive season with 22 goal contributions( 11 goals and 11 assists) in all competitions. Leandro Trossard was another top performer for the Gunners. The former Brighton forward scored 17 goals for Arsenal this campaign. Many of them were the winning goal in narrow victories, like the ones against Porto, Manchester United(away), Everton(away), etc. He ultimately ended up displacing Martinelli from the starting lineup.
But the best player was arguably Bukayo Saka. He has become so consistent that his spectacular output no longer raises eyebrows. It has become the norm. Saka enjoyed the best season of his young career by scoring 16 league goals and was Arsenal's top scorer. He was so influential that the Gunners' attacking threat mostly came from the right wing. He did all this despite getting fouled repeatedly, sometimes in a dangerous manner, by the opposition defenders who often went unpunished. With more protection from the referees, Saka's numbers are certain to go through the roof.
Apart from the above five, players like Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes were also outstanding. Mikel Arteta will hope his players perform in similar fashion next season and lift the Premier League trophy come May.