Arsenal will be looking to bolster their squad ahead of the 2023/24 season, and James Maddison is reportedly a target for Mikel Arteta.
Following Leicester City's relegation from the Premier League, Maddison looks certain to leave the Foxes this summer. The Englishman has just over one year left on his current Leicester contract, and transfer guru Fabrizio Romano recently reported that the 26-year-old would definitely leave the Foxes this summer.
Arsenal have been linked with the midfielder along with Tottenham and Newcastle United, but with a few players heading out the door this summer, Arteta will be looking to add to his current squad this summer. Maddison could be the perfect creative outlet in midfield for the Gunners, and with his contract running out, he could be available for a smaller fee than expected.
So, if Arsenal were to sign Maddison, could the midfielder help the Gunners improve on last season? Let's take a look.
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2023 editor to arrange for Maddison to join the Gunners on July 1, 2023, using FM23 to run the simulation. We then simulated the entire 2023/24 season to see how the England international could perform.
After starting his first few games on the bench, Maddison quickly established himself as a starter, with Arteta even changing formation halfway through the season to suit the Englishman. At the end of the campaign, the 26-year-old was a household name at the Gunners, becoming one of their most important players.
Across all competitions, Maddison racked up 54 appearances, making him the second most-capped player in the Arsenal squad, only behind William Saliba (55). In those games, the Englishman scored 13 goals, grabbed eight assists and won the Player of the Match award six times, the most in the Gunners' squad.
Only Saliba (7.42) and Saka (7.37) averaged a higher rating per game than Maddison (7.12), but compared to the rest of the attackers in the squad, he did have the lowest pass accuracy (80%). Gabriel Jesus had a great season as he scored 25 goals across all competitions, whilst Saka grabbed 19 in another impressive campaign for the winger.
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At the end of the 2023/24 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best Arsenal XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Arsenal's best XI looked like at the end of the 2023/24 season as predicted by Football Manager 2023:
Full Arsenal best XI (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey; Saka, Maddison, Martinelli; Jesus.
After starting the season in a 4-3-3, Arteta switched to a 4-2-3-1 during the season, with Maddison making the best XI in the attacking midfield role. Martin Odegaard dropped into a deeper role to accommodate the Englishman, joined in the middle alongside Thomas Partey.
After challenging for the title in the 2022/23 season, Arsenal were among the top few teams again in the simulated season, but a poor string of results in January and February saw the Gunners fall away from the title race, finishing the season in third place.
Liverpool were back to their best in the 2023/24 season, taking second place with 83 points, 10 more than Arsenal. But, it was City who emerged champions again, tallying an incredible 96 points to lift the Premier League. 21 wins, 10 draws and seven losses saw the Gunners pick up 73 points in the simulation, 11 fewer than last season.
Arsenal had the third-best attack in the league, but they had the fourth-best defence, with City, Liverpool and Newcastle all stronger at the back than the Gunners. Despite not challenging for the title, the Gunners impressed in the cups, winning a trophy in the 2023/24 season
After a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes, Arsenal beat Manchester City on penalties to win the FA Cup final in the simulation. Their Champions League journey ended in the Round of 16 after a 3-1 aggregate loss to Atletico Madrid, whilst a 4-2 aggregate loss to Man City sae the Gunners eliminated in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Overall, FM23 predicts that if Maddison moved to Arsenal, the Englishman could prove a perfect addition to Mikel Arteta's squad, adding goals and creativity to midfield and helping the Gunners win a trophy. Despite his impressive impact, the simulation predicts Arsenal would need more than just Maddison in the summer if they want to challenge for the Premier League once again.
Would you like to see Arsenal sign Maddison? Let us know in the comments!
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