Arteta’s imbalanced Arsenal on ‘road to nowhere’ – it could get worse than losing Champions League race to Spurs
How quickly hope fades, how swiftly promise dulls.
For much of the season, the Emirates Stadium has been giddy with the excitement of watching a young team blossoming under a growing manager. In the space of a week, that swelling sense of optimism has shrivelled. Consecutive defeats to Crystal Palace and Brighton have dealt a major blow to Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the top four next month.
A few weeks ago, Arsenal’s destination appeared clear: a return to the promised land of the Champions League. Now, they are heading dramatically off-course. “We know this road is taking ourselves nowhere,” admitted manager Mikel Arteta after the 2-1 loss to Brighton. “Especially with where we want to be.”
There was late drama here, late desperation. A deflected Martin Odegaard goal on 89 minutes brought hope of a last-gasp equaliser. The crowd came to life, the players appeared to believe. In truth, those few minutes of added time were not an accurate reflection of a game in which Arsenal simply did not perform.
At full-time, the disappointment was palpable. Bukayo Saka headed straight down the tunnel, head bowed. Eddie Nketiah lingered on the pitch, perhaps wondering just how Robert Sanchez had plucked his goal-bound header out of the top corner. From the stands, there was a smattering of boos and cries of frustration. Defeat against Brighton would be compounded a couple of hours later by Tottenham’s dominant 4-0 win over Aston Villa.
Arsenal want this Champions League place so much. To see it slip away, especially to a major rival, would hurt deeply.
On paper, Brighton at home was about as appealing a fixture as Arsenal could hope for. Graham Potter’s team came into yesterday’s game without a win in their previous seven games — a run that included six defeats. There was a strong case that, on paper at least, this was the most straightforward match of Arsenal’s challenging run-in.
Arteta may reflect that he somewhat overcomplicated the task. Last Monday’s defeat by Palace was arguably not as damaging as the dual loss of Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey to injury. Those two are key players, the kind Arsenal’s squad cannot sustain losing without suffering a drop in quality. And in his attempt to compensate for their absence against Brighton, Arteta caused an imbalance in his own team.
Potter admitted afterwards that Arsenal’s injuries left him “second-guessing” how they might line up. In some respects, it felt like Arteta was second-guessing himself.
While Potter would have prepared for various scenarios, even he may have been surprised Arteta went for Granit Xhaka as Tierney’s replacement at left-back. On Friday, the manager had urged Tierney’s obvious deputy Nuno Tavares to “embrace the challenge” of filling in for the Scotsman. Next day, Tavaras was left on the bench.
It was a choice that had considerable implications for the rest of the team.
It meant starting without either of Partey and Xhaka in the middle of the park. It forced Odegaard to drop deeper, so robbing Arsenal of his creativity and pressing in the final third. It also created distance between Odegaard and Saka — the combination upon which Arsenal’s best football this season has been founded. Emile Smith Rowe subsequently started in a more central role, but was largely ineffective.
“The way I thought they (Brighton) were going to play and the space they were going to attack, it fit well to play Emile in that position,” explained Arteta. “Especially because we thought that space was going to be there for Granit to use, which it was, but we didn’t use it. After the defeat, the decision that you make…”
Arteta stopped short of saying he got it wrong, or that he had regrets, but the implication was clear.
“You have to write (the team) before the match; after, it’s too late.”
The Spaniard picked the individuals he trusts — but in doing so, he significantly compromised the system and style which has slowly earned him the trust of the fans.
There were other issues on the day: the disparity in the quality of performance between Alexandre Lacazette and Tottenham counterpart Harry Kane seems to grow with each passing game. Centre-forwards are often decisive figures, and Arsenal’s is simply not offering enough of a threat.
Arsenal may also feel aggrieved over a VAR decision on a disallowed Gabriel Martinelli goal which would have brought them back into the game shortly before half-time. Although if it had been awarded, it would have been more than their performance up to that point deserved.
So, where now? Arsenal’s good form has proven fragile. With a few key components missing, they have struggled to play at anything like their best. “We have everything to play for in the last eight games,” said Arteta. “We have to have that energy and visualise the beautiful challenge that we have ahead and not sit back and see what happens.”
Clearly, Arteta is still looking up, towards the Champions League places. Technically, he is correct: it is still all to play for.
Nevertheless, the Arsenal manager would be wise to cast a glance downwards too.
Arteta must find a way to stabilise this team, and fast. Arsenal have made progress this season, but to drop out of the top six at this stage would be nothing less than a disaster.
Continue to play as they did against Palace and Brighton, and that’s a very real possibility.
https://theathletic.com/3240178/2022/04/10/artetas-imbalanced-arsenal-on-road-to-nowhere-it-could-get-worse-than-losing-champions-league-race-to-spurs/
Arteta’s imbalanced Arsenal on ‘road to nowhere’ – it could get worse than losing Champions League race to Spurs
How quickly hope fades, how swiftly promise dulls.
For much of the season, the Emirates Stadium has been giddy with the excitement of watching a young team blossoming under a growing manager. In the space of a week, that swelling sense of optimism has shrivelled. Consecutive defeats to Crystal Palace and Brighton have dealt a major blow to Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the top four next month.
A few weeks ago, Arsenal’s destination appeared clear: a return to the promised land of the Champions League. Now, they are heading dramatically off-course. “We know this road is taking ourselves nowhere,” admitted manager Mikel Arteta after the 2-1 loss to Brighton. “Especially with where we want to be.”
There was late drama here, late desperation. A deflected Martin Odegaard goal on 89 minutes brought hope of a last-gasp equaliser. The crowd came to life, the players appeared to believe. In truth, those few minutes of added time were not an accurate reflection of a game in which Arsenal simply did not perform.
At full-time, the disappointment was palpable. Bukayo Saka headed straight down the tunnel, head bowed. Eddie Nketiah lingered on the pitch, perhaps wondering just how Robert Sanchez had plucked his goal-bound header out of the top corner. From the stands, there was a smattering of boos and cries of frustration. Defeat against Brighton would be compounded a couple of hours later by Tottenham’s dominant 4-0 win over Aston Villa.
Arsenal want this Champions League place so much. To see it slip away, especially to a major rival, would hurt deeply.
On paper, Brighton at home was about as appealing a fixture as Arsenal could hope for. Graham Potter’s team came into yesterday’s game without a win in their previous seven games — a run that included six defeats. There was a strong case that, on paper at least, this was the most straightforward match of Arsenal’s challenging run-in.
Arteta may reflect that he somewhat overcomplicated the task. Last Monday’s defeat by Palace was arguably not as damaging as the dual loss of Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey to injury. Those two are key players, the kind Arsenal’s squad cannot sustain losing without suffering a drop in quality. And in his attempt to compensate for their absence against Brighton, Arteta caused an imbalance in his own team.
Potter admitted afterwards that Arsenal’s injuries left him “second-guessing” how they might line up. In some respects, it felt like Arteta was second-guessing himself.
While Potter would have prepared for various scenarios, even he may have been surprised Arteta went for Granit Xhaka as Tierney’s replacement at left-back. On Friday, the manager had urged Tierney’s obvious deputy Nuno Tavares to “embrace the challenge” of filling in for the Scotsman. Next day, Tavaras was left on the bench.
It was a choice that had considerable implications for the rest of the team.
It meant starting without either of Partey and Xhaka in the middle of the park. It forced Odegaard to drop deeper, so robbing Arsenal of his creativity and pressing in the final third. It also created distance between Odegaard and Saka — the combination upon which Arsenal’s best football this season has been founded. Emile Smith Rowe subsequently started in a more central role, but was largely ineffective.
“The way I thought they (Brighton) were going to play and the space they were going to attack, it fit well to play Emile in that position,” explained Arteta. “Especially because we thought that space was going to be there for Granit to use, which it was, but we didn’t use it. After the defeat, the decision that you make…”
Arteta stopped short of saying he got it wrong, or that he had regrets, but the implication was clear.
“You have to write (the team) before the match; after, it’s too late.”
The Spaniard picked the individuals he trusts — but in doing so, he significantly compromised the system and style which has slowly earned him the trust of the fans.
There were other issues on the day: the disparity in the quality of performance between Alexandre Lacazette and Tottenham counterpart Harry Kane seems to grow with each passing game. Centre-forwards are often decisive figures, and Arsenal’s is simply not offering enough of a threat.
Arsenal may also feel aggrieved over a VAR decision on a disallowed Gabriel Martinelli goal which would have brought them back into the game shortly before half-time. Although if it had been awarded, it would have been more than their performance up to that point deserved.
So, where now? Arsenal’s good form has proven fragile. With a few key components missing, they have struggled to play at anything like their best. “We have everything to play for in the last eight games,” said Arteta. “We have to have that energy and visualise the beautiful challenge that we have ahead and not sit back and see what happens.”
Clearly, Arteta is still looking up, towards the Champions League places. Technically, he is correct: it is still all to play for.
Nevertheless, the Arsenal manager would be wise to cast a glance downwards too.
Arteta must find a way to stabilise this team, and fast. Arsenal have made progress this season, but to drop out of the top six at this stage would be nothing less than a disaster.
Continue to play as they did against Palace and Brighton, and that’s a very real possibility.
https://theathletic.com/3240178/2022/04/10/artetas-imbalanced-arsenal-on-road-to-nowhere-it-could-get-worse-than-losing-champions-league-race-to-spurs/
