Match report – Player ratings – By the numbers – Video
Arsenal have received 17 video games within the Premier League this season, and in 16 of them have scored first. So, when Southampton made a first-half mistake, Eddie Nketiah pounced and Gabriel Martinelli crossed for Bukayo Saka, it seems to be very like a sliding doorways second within the chilly gentle of day.
Fraser Forster made an impressive save, and whereas I feel Saka will rue the end – he had loads extra of the objective to purpose for and will have stored it low – the ball was barely behind him and on his unsuitable foot, so he needed to dig it out just a bit bit.
When Jan Bednarek put Southampton forward simply earlier than the break, I’ve to say I used to be fearful. Not simply because objectives are more and more onerous to return by lately, however solely as soon as within the Mikel Arteta period has his crew come from being behind at half-time and gone on to win the sport. That was the odd one out of this season, the 2-1 win over Wolves on the Emirates again in February.
It made the chances even longer, and regardless of enjoying a lot of the sport within the Southampton half within the second interval the objective didn’t come. We had pictures, Forster made some extra saves – together with one wonderful one from a miscued Smith Rowe effort however the lack of firepower on this crew has come again to chunk us in a giant means over the previous couple of weeks.
I received’t lie and say I used to be disillusioned to see Nketiah begin up entrance, though as I’ve mentioned my desire would have been Martinelli, however nor was I blissful to see Lacazette absent utterly on account of Covid. It was an opportunity for Eddie, however bar one or two moments when he confirmed some good power, it was a lacklustre efficiency from a participant who’s within the store window proper now on account of his contractual scenario. I don’t assume he’ll have turned any heads and that drive you’d anticipate from a younger participant to know his likelihood simply wasn’t there.
Some will say the system doesn’t swimsuit our forwards, and possibly there’s one thing to that, however to me it’s a top quality challenge firstly. There are basic items that exist outdoors the system that aren’t being completed. Motion, ball retention in tight areas, accuracy of lay-offs and so forth. In Lacazette we’ve seen a participant I feel even his harshest critics would admit is able to a lot better, go off a cliff when it comes to his type and health, whereas Nketiah is the type of participant who will get you objectives in early rounds of the EFL Cup towards decrease league opposition however hasn’t ever proven he can do at Premier League stage with any consistency.
This was the danger that Arteta and Edu took once they let Aubameyang go to Barcelona, and so they knew we had an issue as a result of they tried to signal Dusan Vlahovic in January just for him to maneuver to Juventus. I don’t assume anyone wished us to splash money on simply any previous participant, leaving us with somebody we didn’t actually need and taking place that street of gamers being surplus to necessities with lengthy contracts, however was there not a single participant we might have introduced in on mortgage to complement a key space of the crew? January might – if it’s not already – be seen as a red-letter month within the execution of this mission.
This was their gamble, and initially it regarded prefer it would possibly repay. Now, a number of extra weeks down the road and darkish clouds are forming on the horizon. It’s humorous how rapidly issues change in soccer. Not way back we have been considering of a brilliant future, maybe with Champions League soccer and all that it could convey when it comes to status, enjoyable, and drawing energy for these large signings we now have to make this summer season.
Now, high six is a real fear. You look forward and see Chelsea then Man Utd and you’ll’t assist however marvel how, if we couldn’t take a single level whereas scoring only one objective in three video games towards Palace, Brighton and Southampton, we’re going to get something from these ones. Like I mentioned, issues can change rapidly, however typically talking most soccer supporters are fairly lifelike, and for those who polled the Arsenal fanbase proper now, I’d recommend confidence for these upcoming fixtures is fairly low.
As for yesterday, we regarded like a crew that had no actual concepts. At instances it felt just like the sum-total of our attacking plan was to offer it to Cedric to cross it, and let’s be trustworthy, that’s a really poor plan when you could have a 5’9 centre-forward competing with three centre-halves and a goalkeeper the scale of an enormous redwood. It harked again too carefully to the times when it was Kolasinac on the overlap for a cutback and if that didn’t work search for Kolasinac on the overlap for a cutback [repeat to fade].
On high of the that, components of stupidity have been allowed to enter our sport. Final week ought to have been the final time that Cedric was permitted to take free kicks across the field. But twice he was over the ball in good positions and twice he completely wasted these alternatives – one with the type of supply a hungover Sunday League participant can be completely ashamed of. When objectives are onerous to return by, set-pieces turn out to be much more essential and this was dumb.
Saka and Odegaard got here close-ish, Pepe had a pop when he got here on, however regardless of what xG would possibly let you know, your eyes stay the perfect decide of what you see. I noticed a crew that’s struggling, that is aware of it doesn’t have the gamers it wants to attain objectives, and the burden that has been carried for lengthy sufficient by our thrilling and gifted 20 12 months olds has turn out to be too heavy for them because it was all the time going to be.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta mentioned:
I can’t keep in mind a sport the place Arsenal has performed with this crew, the place they’ve created and dominated in a sport extra and higher. However the result’s what on the finish we must be the place we now have to be, and if we’re not ready to do this we aren’t not going to be there – it’s so simple as that. Since you don’t have sufficient high quality to be there, as a result of we now have to win soccer matches and we now have to attain extra objectives, and that’s an issue we now have in the meanwhile.
You would possibly take some challenge with the primary a part of it, though I feel usually we had what Arsene Wenger used to name ‘sterile domination’, however the second half is as true because it will get. We’ve to win soccer matches and to do this we now have to attain extra objectives.
Fairly how we’re going to deal with this drawback now I don’t actually know. Possibly it takes a fortunate one to open the floodgates or one thing, however that feels a bit like wishful considering. The ends in the opposite video games yesterday demanded an Arsenal win, however we fell brief. The response to the Palace sport was to lose to Brighton, and the response to that was being overwhelmed by Southampton.
Everyone knows that no factors from these three video games isn’t anyplace close to ok, so there’s little to be gained from hammering that house. We’re actually a crew who skirt the margins, 5 of our six wins in 2022 with this squad of gamers have been by a single objective, and in two of the final three we’ve been on the opposite facet of that. Nonetheless, there are nonetheless extraordinarily essential factors left to play for, and it’s obtained to be again to the drafting board for Arteta forward of Wednesday’s go to to Stamford Bridge.
A season that promised a lot is now coming into salvage territory.
Until tomorrow.
