Arsenal at Christmas: One year on, what’s changed?

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Arsenal have had a rollercoaster 12 months, but things are certainly looking up right now.

This time last year, the Gunners were perilously close to the Premier League relegation zone.

Arsenal went into Christmas day sitting a lowly 15th in the table.

Their last Premier League game prior to 25 December was a 2-1 defeat at Everton.

It was their fifth defeat from seven games, a woeful run which also included two draws.

Looking at the Arsenal XI back then to the latest starting line-up shows just how far they’ve come in 12 months.

This was the Gunners starting XI that lost to Everton last year:

Bernd Leno; Rob Holding, David Luiz, Kieran Tierney; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Dani Ceballos, Mohamed Elneny, Bukayo Saka; Nicolas Pepe, Eddie Nketiah, Willian

Admittedly, Arsenal did have a few absences for that game.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Thomas Partey were injured and Gabriel Magalhaes was suspended.

Nonetheless, the Gunners side that beat Leeds 4-1 also didn’t feature Aubameyang, who was stripped of the captain’s armband earlier this month.

And it’s worth mentioning that Arsenal picked up immediately after Christmas, winning five of their next seven in the league.

Nonetheless, a look at their latest PL XI is definitely more confidence-inspiring:

Aaron Ramsdale; Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kieran Tierney; Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli; Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal were busy in both transfer windows this year, and quite a few of their summer signings are now established starters.

Aaron Ramsdale quickly took the No. 1 spot from Bernd Leno, while Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are fixtures in the back four.

Loanee-turned-permanent-signing Martin Odegaard is also starting regularly, as is Gabriel Martinelli, who’s had to bide his time under Arteta.

Bukayo Saka is no longer being considered as a full-back, and since last year, Emile Smith Rowe has also burst onto the first-team scene.

There’s certainly still a lot more work to do on the pitch and in the transfer window, but Arsenal are certainly on the right path.

A year ago, Arsenal were battling relegation, but now they’re in the top four.

The Gunners also had clearouts of players this year, and now remains to be seen who’ll leave the club next year.

Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe are now out of contention, while the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny are likely to leave as their contracts run down.

But if the summer window is anything to go by, Edu and Arteta seem to know what they’re doing in terms of recruitment.