Arsenal picked up where they left off by Konstantin Mitov
Well lovely Arsenal people, we picked up from where we left off. We were poor. We tried to rotate the front players and nothing changed. Auba was in the middle, we had both Pepe and Willian and so what?
We haven’t scored from open play since we played Sheffield at home. Our record from the last 5 games is won 1 draw one, lost three, with only one goal scored from a penalty.
Our lack of ideas from midfield was apparent. Xhaka and Ceballos offer next to nothing. The dynamism we had with Partey and Elneny at OT seems like a one off.
The front three showed the usual lack of chemistry and to me it doesn’t seem like it matters who starts there. Arteta doesn’t know how to unlock something there and the question is if we should trust the youth instead?
We did try Willock, but in the league it hasn’t really worked out so far for him. Not that the players around him were great, and it’s not like we have a solid system and a game plan (A or B), but I wished that our players took this as an opportunity to inspire us and show the manager they deserve a place in the team.
Reiss Nelson and Saka created more after minute 51, although we played with 10 men. Saka should’ve scored his chance no doubt and this could’ve won us the game, but this was one of very few chances we created and that is where the real problem lies.
The huge contracts we’ve given to aging players up front is part of the problem. Auba has been terrible since his contract. Willian has been atrocious apart from day one.
And there’s Pepe. Why are you headbutting a player without the ball? His frustration should be a motivation on the training ground, instead such behaviour from a 72 million player signing shows why he doesn’t start every game.
Funnily enough, the red card actually made us better. It gave up the burden of needing to attack, because we were once a big club and of us still remember it and we suddenly started playing like a team.
But we just lack quality. I look at Bellerin dropping and dropping, afraid to make a tackle. Xhaka and his mistakes and sideways passes. The guy is depressingly slow for a dynamic league, but we know that already and Partey is supposed to help fix this.
Our best attacking player by a mile is Bukayo Saka and that says something. Only Wolves and the clubs in the bottom 3 have scored less than us. If there is one thing I always associated with this football club it was always goals.
Arteta has been here one year and our football is hardly pretty. I read a lot of things written about myself for criticizing Arteta but I was proven right again. Or maybe I am a fool for expecting to beat the likes of Leeds? I feel like the acceptance towards mediocrity at this club has hit a surprising new low.
Are you confident that’ll change by the time we play Tottenham? Do you think we’ll beat Wolves? Anyway, the Europa will be the competition to keep an eye on. It’s the league where I want to see us do something, but even with all the changes we’ve made on and off the pitch it feels like the puzzle is as far away from a solution as it was 12 months ago.
Konstantin