Ahead of the 2024/25 season, Mikel Arteta set his Arsenal team a daunting objective. “We want to improve in everything,” the Spanish coach declared. “Attacking metrics, defensive metrics, restarts, set piece.”

Three months into the campaign, Arsenal have not improved in any area of note.

The Gunners are less effective going forward and leakier at the back. They have slipped nine points behind league-leading Liverpool. Manchester City are embroiled in their worst losing run under Pep Guardiola, but the defending champions are still four points above Arsenal.

Here’s what has gone wrong and why it may not be all bad.

Arteta has been keen to avoid making excuses, but the impact of injuries and ill-discipline cannot be overlooked at this early stage of the campaign.

Arsenal were reduced to ten players in three of their first eight games of the season and proceeded to drop points on each occasion. Damningly, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard both received their marching orders after petulantly kicking the ball away.

By the time the Gunners limped to a 2-0 loss away to Bournemouth after William Saliba’s first-half dismissal, Arteta’s side had spent more than 20% of the season playing with a numerical disadvantage.

Even when Arsenal have a full complement of players, it can appear as though they are playing with a man less if one of the team’s key figures is missing. Martin Odegaard sat out 12 matches with an ankle sprain, sparking prolonged periods of painfully pedestrian play which was invariably funnelled solely through Bukayo Saka. All too often, set pieces seem to be Arsenal’s only reliable route to goal.

The north London outfit have been outscored by six clubs this season – including Brentford and Brighton. Those struggles extend beyond the surface level. Arsenal have created less than 1.0 xG in five of their 11 league games this season, a feat which only happened six times across the entirety of last term.

“In every game there will be a mistake,” David Raya once warned. So far, Arsenal’s Spanish number one has replaced blunders with moments of brilliance, keeping his side in several matches almost singlehandedly (or with two gloves).

Raya’s superb form was particularly evident at the start of the season. In less than a month, the former Brentford number one pulled off two miraculous double saves to keep clean sheets against Aston Villa and Atalanta. That Raya has to so often pull off these heroics is the real concern – Arsenal’s shot-stopper faces twice as many efforts on target per game this term compared to last season.

While Raya is plugging the gaps at the back, Bukayo Saka is Arsenal’s beacon of consistency at the sharp end of the pitch. This month’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea was just the third time this season that the English sensation failed to register a goal or an assist in a Premier League game. Only one player across Europe’s top five leagues can better Saka’s lofty tally of seven assists – Nuno Tavares, who is ironically on loan at Lazio from Arsenal.

Edu Gaspar’s shock resignation as sporting director sparked a small wave of panic earlier this month, but based on the early return of this summer’s arrivals, Arsenal won’t be missing much. While Riccardo Calafiori has had bright flashes during his brief time outside the treatment room, there has been less encouragement regarding Mikel Merino and Raheem Sterling.

Merino is recovering from a serious injury layoff of his own and still seems to be a long way from full match sharpness. The towering totem in the middle of the pitch captures the imposing physical profile of most Arsenal players – clumsy rather than crafty. While struggling alongside the likes of Declan Rice and Thomas Partey, Merino himself admitted: “We look like a basketball team now.” Perhaps they would have better luck if they were allowed to pick the ball up.

Sterling’s loan move from Chelsea is a low-cost gamble which is yet to pay off. Arteta hasn’t afforded the former Manchester City player more than a fleeting cameo and last used him in any capacity a month ago.

Last season, Leandro Trossard was so often Arsenal’s reliable finisher – in every sense of the word. Routinely capable of coming off the bench to provide a clinical edge to the frontline, the Belgian was skirting around the fringes of cult hero status. Despite being given more game time in the absence of Odegaard, Trossard’s output has fallen off a cliff. A recent injury will prevent the 29-year-old from breaking a goal drought which stretches back to September.

Arsenal have been worryingly off the pace but it would be too soon to write off the entire campaign. With Odegaard back fit and the punishment that comes with kicking the ball belatedly absorbed, there is reason to envisage some sort of uptick in form.

Arteta’s side have also already navigated some of their toughest fixtures. The Gunners have had away games against five of last season’s top seven and hosted Liverpool. Based on Opta’s team ratings, Arsenal have the fourth-easiest run of matches over the next block of ten games.

Despite an underwhelming loss to Inter early this month – which, after all, was at the home of the reigning Italian champions – Arteta’s outfit are well placed to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. They have an enticing draw against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and will automatically be one of the favourites for the FA Cup.

The Premier League title – and Arteta’s demands of all-round improvement – may remain out of reach, but not all hope is lost. For now.

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