Ian Wright sees positives for Arsenal despite dropping points against Burnley

Despite Arsenal dropping points again in their 1-1 draw against Burnley yesterday, Ian Wright has focused on the positives of their performance.

Arsenal was the better side in the game and took a deserved lead through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

They looked more likely to add more goals than concede one before a mistake from Bernd Leno and Granit Xhaka helped Chris Wood to score for the Clarets.

Arsenal would hit the post later on and Nicolas Pepe missed a clear-cut chance to help them finish off the game.

But Wright was happy with the performance and even praised them for playing out from the back.

He admitted that Burnley’s goal is proof of what can happen if playing from the back goes wrong, but he said they created chances and did well overall.

‘The pros were very good in terms of chances created and playing out from the back which I think is brilliant what they’re doing,’ Wright said on BBC’s Match of the Day as quoted by the Metro

‘Obviously we saw when it doesn’t go right but, in the main, Arsenal have to take the chances they create and that didn’t happen today.’

Arsenal now faces a tougher task in making the European places at the end of this season.

They can, however, secure that by winning the Europa League

Tags Ian Wright

4 Comments

  1. Frankly I’m surprised no pundits have spent considerable time talking about our rigidity when it comes to our tactical formation…I just can’t see us competing for anything using this offensively-stunting 4-2-3-1, especially considering how much money we’ve spent, or should I say wasted, on offensively-minded players…no wonder Auba only had 2 touches between the 40th and 75th minutes…to make matters worse, against Burnley, Arteta actually subbed out our only CAM and replaced him with a CF

    1. Creating about4/5 clear scoring opportunities is very good, for a so called offensively stunted team. Throw in the blatant pen, and last ditch blocks, and we could have easily had a hatful of goals.

      Earlier in the season we were dreadful in the final third, but that has not been the case for the last 2 months or so. Arteta has transitioned the team well, but sloppy individual errors are costing us at both ends. What could any manager do about Ceballos and Smith Rowe against Benfica, Xhaka against Burnley, Cedric against Villa, and the likes of Pepe, Auba and Saka missing absolute sitters, etc.

      This is why Arteta needs more than one main transfer window to continue strengthening the team.

  2. The two posts above this from TMJW and TRVL, perfectly illustrate the two polar ways that fans assess MAs work so far.
    I am entirely with Third Man, as some will be aware. It seems to me that by any sober rational thought, the squad today and the core team players are infinitely better than when MA came. Unlike some on here, I DO NOT HOLD MA PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUAL MISTAKES.

    Those who prefer to look ONLY at current league position are, IMO, choosing not to give any real thought to the long term and wider picture, which seems so clear to me.

  3. Creating chances against a Burnley team that has struggled this season certainly shouldn’t be the measuring stick by which we judge our offensive tactics…my point was that if he feels that we need to play a defensively-minded 4-2-3-1 formation against this opponent that doesn’t bode well for us moving forward…one of Wenger’s most glaring deficiencies was his inability to adopt a more flexible approach when it came to tactics/formations…even when he ultimately conceded to the need for some adaptability, once he switched he had an exceedingly difficult time switching back…there’s no reason why we’ve basically played the same formation for 90% of the season, as neither our opponent’s respective tactics nor our lack of success or consistent play would justify this course of action…besides, if you can’t experiment during what was supposed to be a transitional season, when can you experiment

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