These three players were especially poor against Newcastle.
Where do I even start! Arsenal continued their Premier League campaign with a defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon. The Gunners were comfortably beaten by a 1-0 scoreline.
Arsenal could only manage one shot on target in the entirety of the game which only sums up how poor we were in the match. This loss means that our title hopes for this season is hanging by a thread after winning just one point in the last 3 games, we all can agree that our form in those three games is not a characteristic of a title winning side which is a big disappointment to all of us.
We could’ve had a different result if everyone played well, however we are now left to rue that defeat. Everyone played poorly, some more than others and this following three, in my opinion, were the worst performers in the game;
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- Leandro Trossard; This list is in no particular order but Trossard arguably had the worst performance of the three. He has been very poor in recent games as well which understandably led to growing calls for him to be starting on the bench by the Arsenal faithful due to his impact as a substitute, however the Belgian continued his starting role against Newcastle. This was arguably his worst performance in an Arsenal shirt till date given the amount of times he lost possession, failed to make an easy pass and failed to successfully take players on, we were lacking Invention in the middle of the park, we were void of any creative know how and Trossard was partly to blame for that. He did slightly better when moved to left in the second half however it was too little too late.
- Gabriel Martinelli; Now, I’ll have to give him credit for being the only player taking it to Newcastle however he had a very poor game in the 60 odd minutes he was still on the field. his approach or dribbling technique has become too predictable for the League, he loves using his raw pace down the byline a lot, don’t get me wrong this would not be an issue if we profited from it consistently but that’s not the case. He needs to start adding variation to the way he takes players on, he doesn’t seem to cause as much problem as Saka does on the other side who can pretty much cut inside or go on the outside of the defender. I’m not comparing him to Saka in the game against Newcastle because who am I kidding, Saka didn’t play well too, but I’m hoping you’re all getting the point.
- Kai Havertz; These are the sort of games where a proper number 9 is needed, a game of few chances and high physicality, mind you, I’m not saying he isn’t a player who isn’t physical enough, but translating this into the opposition’s territory with box presence is a completely different thing. The German wasn’t even playing as the central striker till the shuffle that was caused by the introduction of Nwaneri and Zinchenko however his performance in those final 30 minutes were uninspiring. The German started off the game switching positions with Trossard frequently as a midfielder or striker however he played more of the game off the right closer to Saka. His performance was very poor, he simply wasn’t at his best which I could’ve said for a lot of them that started the game.
Due to the performance of the whole squad, I could’ve absolutely picked anyone else without much complaints from the Gooners, which just goes to show how badly we played against Newcastle.
Who did you all think were the poorest players today?
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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The issue of players today as to who were the worst comes second. I think our coach is a little bit, I always say it and I say it now. Championship. What else do you want to see. Overall take it. This year it will be back to square one. Two years any coach worth his salt would have taken as many championships. Other than that he is few Unfortunately from Konta and the miserable management, which constantly wants to grab dirt and become gold. I don’t know when we will see a title again. Basically, as long as this management is probably the owners, it does not rule Case for something exciting.
Nearly everyone were useless. Appart from Saka. This season is drifting away already and so is our football. We looked lacklustre and devoid of ideas. Second to almost everything and first to nothing. The poor form and performances continue, unfortunately. CRAP tbh!
Another uplifting article by Kenneth…..NOT !
Arsenal’s squad isn’t as good as people blow them up to be. What’s happening now is proving it, with some player’s missing, your now seeing how ordinary parts of the squad is.
But unfortunately, the over positive Arsenal fans and the loved up Arteta lovey’s, just don’t want to see what’s right before their eyes.
Agree. But other contributors were saying the squad was stronger with the people that were brought in! Losing ESR and even I can’t believe I’m saying this, Nketiah has made the squad weaker in attack competition as squad replacements are defensive minded.
Arteta has a lot to do in the winter transfer period.
“These are the sort of games where a proper number 9 is needed” as the article says. It’s hardly news though, is it. Some of us were saying this regularly in the last transfer window.
The problem then, as now, is that Arsenal don’t have a prolific, specialist, goal scorer. Havertz is many good things, but he is not an out and out striker. His best tally, 17 goals, was when he was back playing in Germany.
Jesus is not a striker – he just doesn’t score goals. But that’s not new, he wasn’t scoring them in the EPL last season either.
Trossard clearly is better as a “super sub” than a starter as we saw today.
That leaves Arsenal relying upon the likes of Saka and “goals from across the team”, which isn’t quite the insurance policy for the lack of a “proper” number 9.
Nothing can be done until January, and quite possibly not then. If so, Arsenal will have to go with what they have. Unfortunately, if it’s not enough, then come the end of the season it will be a question of “If only”.
The players were following the manager’s instructions. The worst today was Arteta, everything stemmed from that; dross play, no creativity, and confusion all over the pitch.
Best player was Partey by a mile! A DM playing RB sums up today’s game.
1. Was Havertz the CF? He was back in the midfield, on RW with Saka, all over the pitch except upfront.
2. Trossard a midfielder or striker? He was all over the place, and ineffective, sloppy, and indecisive on the ball. Awful display and should be dropped.
3. Martinelli did himself no favors. Constantly double teamed, yet continued dribbling down a blind alley, bad decisions, gone mute this year.
Has Arteta regressed?
Out of ideas without Odegaard, Arteta is timid, stubborn, and continues forcing in players to displace others.
He looks unable to adapt to our situation, and his poor Summer business is now a stark reality. Looks every bit a checkbook manager, not a tactician that adapts and overcomes.
ESR and Vieira gone (creativity), and we have 4 DM’s and Odegaard; so no creativity is no surprise.
Havertz is not a 20 goal striker, and Arteta has yet to help Martinelli develop beyond a 1 trick pony. Trusting Jesus is a mistake and offers nothing.
Sterling resembles an unfit Willian, not even a shadow of his Liverpool & City days.
If this is where JustArsenal is right now, let me ask: of the twelve articles today, which is the sickest?
Lol. I’m surprised too.
He tried this midfield combination at Bournmouth and it failed but he returned to it today again. Horrible!
Got to feel for martineli getting so much stick in this unbalanced side. Arteta doesn’t play a left back or left mid yet ppl blame the isolated gabi. The reality is he is always doubled or tripled up on plus these defenders are able to take their ideal defensive positions against him since there are no runners around to distract them making him look predictable. Fact is the last time we had a left mid (Xhaka 2022-2023) gabi was our top scorer. He has also looked very good this season when an actual LB (calafiori) plays. I’m well aware he isn’t a perfect player but he is a very good one who doesn’t deserve this stick. The real shocker is that a team as big as Arsenal doesn’t have a single left sided midfielder in the squad (rice and merino stay central never helping on the left).
@David, spot on. The worst part of this arsenal team is that they are so static and predictable. No off the ball movement that creates openings, everybody is standing at a point waiting for either matineli or saka to perform magic. As for Havertz, he is not in anywhere near what a team like arsenal should have as their no 9. And let me repeat it again, I have been saying it since and will continue to say it unless proved otherwise that Arteta will never win us a major trophy either EPL or Champions league.