Premier League football is back this weekend - and with it, Arsenal’s whirlwind season continues as Mikel Arteta looks to end a difficult campaign on a high.
Simon Collings assesses the key challenges Arteta faces...
Cut out defensive errors
Arsenal’s form before the international break was actually quite good, but they certainly made winning games hard for themselves.
Individual errors, particularly in defence, were so common that at times you wondered if players were auditioning for an end-of-season bloopers DVD.
Arsenal need to cut those out, or certainly decrease the number of them, if they are to make this season a success.
The Europa League is their main priority now and they cannot afford to have individual errors given it is knockout football.
One mistake could prove exceptionally costly and at a time when Arsenal cannot afford to slip up.
Decide who is going to lead the attack
A month or so ago it was nailed on that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should lead Arsenal’s attack, but Alexandre Lacazette’s form before the international break has sparked a debate around who should play as the central striker.
Lacazette is now Arsenal’s top scorer in the Premier League, with his goals against Tottenham and West Ham putting him two ahead of Aubameyang.
The Frenchman has had to play second fiddle to Aubameyang for a lot of this season, but he is putting forward a strong case to start more often.
Aubameyang, on the other hand, struggled out left and right against West Ham before the international break and looked short on confidence.
Get the best out of Thomas Partey
Big things were expected of Partey when he signed in the summer for around £45million, but so far he has failed to hit the heights expected of him.
There have been flashes of brilliance from the midfielder, however overall we are still waiting for him to get going.
Partey has had to battle with fitness issues, while arriving on deadline day and missing pre-season has not helped him either.
Arsenal will hope, though, they can get the best out of the Ghana international as they prepare for a big end to the season. Mikel Arteta needs his big players to step up to the plate.
