Charles WattsGooner Columnist

As we kick-off off another season following The Arsenal, the disappointment of how things finished last time out is still tough to shake-off.

We all know we should be getting ready to welcome Champions League football back to the Emirates in the next few weeks, but instead we’re going to have to make do with its slightly less glamorous cousin once again.

Still, it does feel like Arsenal have some unfinished business when it comes to the UEFA Europa League, so hopefully that is one box we finally get to tick come the end of 2022/23.

But I don’t want to harp on too much about last season and how it finished.

Yes, it was painful. But there was so much to like about last season and I’m really looking forward to seeing how Arsenal build on the undoubted progress of the last 12 months.

I’m going into this new campaign feeling pretty good about things after what has been – on paper – a promising summer.

The signings have been good and I think Gabriel Jesus could turn out to be an absolute game changer for this team.

It was blindingly obvious what was holding Arsenal back in attack last season.

They were missing a proper penalty box striker who would get in and around oppostion defenders.

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Goal’s Gunners correspondent Charles Watts on why Arsenal’s new striking options will be key to a successful season

@charles_watts

Once Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been bombed out and Alexandre Lacazette was made the focal point, opposition centre-backs knew they weren’t really going to have to deal with much threat from the central areas.

Instead, they could just focus on trying to shut down Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe or Gabriel Martinelli and if they did that, then they would have a relatively comfortable afternoon.

From what we’ve seen of Jesus so far, those days are now long gone.

He doesn’t give defenders any time to sit back and rest.

He’s relentless when it comes to pressing and every single Premier League goal he ever scored for Manchester City came from inside the penalty area.

After all these years, Arsenal may have finally found their fox in the box.

It just looks like a really smart piece of transfer business by the club and one that could be transformative in terms of what we’re going to see on the pitch.

Arsenal needed to sort out their attack this summer. That had to be the priority and Jesus’ arrival should do exactly that, providing he stays injury free.

I’m also delighted that Eddie Nketiah is sticking around. Mikel Arteta waited far too long to bring him into the side during the final stages of last season and had he made that decision earlier, I’m fairly sure