Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on December 14, 2024 in London, England
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber (left) and Kai Havertz huffed and puffed but could find no way past Everton’s defence
Arsenal’s creativity problem resurfaced in their goalless draw with Everton on Saturday, when Mikel Arteta’s side failed to score from open play for the third successive match in the Premier League.
Arsenal have produced dominant and controlled performances in back-to-back draws with Fulham and Everton, but they have been unable to make the most of their possession and territorial superiority in those matches. “We did all the right things, up to the last 20 metres,” said Arteta.
It is far from the first time this season that Arsenal have found difficulties when attempting to break down a packed opposition defence. They have now failed to score in five of their 24 matches in all competitions this season, compared to only eight occasions in 52 matches last season. Telegraph Sport explores the reasons for their struggles in front of goal.
Missing the “magic moment” in the final third
Arsenal’s last two league opponents, Everton and Fulham, have both taken similar approaches to stopping Arteta’s forward players: defend the box with numbers and allow Arsenal to have the ball around it. In truth, this is an approach that the vast majority of Arsenal’s opponents choose to adopt.
Everton were so happy to surrender possession that Arsenal made a total of 682 passes at the Emirates Stadium, with 253 of those in the final third. It was the highest amount of passes they have played in any league match this season. Everton, by contrast, made only 55 passes in Arsenal’s final third. Arsenal had 77 per cent of the ball.
Mikel Merino of Arsenal crosses the ball under pressure from Jack Harrison of Everton at Emirates Stadium on December 14, 2024
Everton were happy to let Arsenal have the ball and defend in a low block
Against such a well-stocked defence, it often requires a moment of attacking invention to create a good chance. Arsenal produced plenty of these in recent matches against Nottingham Forest, Sporting and West Ham United, but that spark has seemingly deserted them in the past few league games. Against Everton and Fulham they were craving a moment of skill, disguise or technical brilliance that simply never arrived.
For all their possession against Everton, Arsenal mustered only five shots on target and only one “big chance”, as defined by the statisticians at Opta. Arsenal could play around the Everton defence, working the ball from side to side, but once again they could not find any gaps in the heart of the pitch.
Kai Havertz, their centre-forward, touched the ball only 38 times in 90 minutes – the fewest of any of his outfield team-mates who played the full match. He also touched the ball just four times in the penalty box, which was fewer than Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Martinelli, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard.
Crosses fail to hit their targets
Against Everton and Fulham, Arsenal played 39 crosses in open play. Only seven of those crosses, though, were successful. This weekend, especially, the consistently poor deliveries from wide were a constant source of irritation for the home supporters.
The sheer amount of crosses is a reflection of Arsenal’s dominance of these games as they chased a goal. Indeed, only in two matches this season have they produced more crosses than against Fulham and Everton. The first of those was against Leicester City in September (20 crosses), when they spent much of the second half in search of a winner. The second was against Inter Milan in November (33 crosses), when they lost 1-0.
Against Everton, desperation eventually took over as Arsenal began to aimlessly swing the ball into the penalty area. Such was their late sense of panic that, in the final few minutes of the game, striker Gabriel Jesus was the deepest player on the pitch while centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes stood up front. By that point, Arsenal’s usual patterns of play had disintegrated.
Part of the problem was that Everton prevented Arsenal from playing with any speed. Sean Dyche’s midfield trio – Orel Mangala, Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure – were tireless in their running and they continuously slowed down Arsenal’s passing patterns.
Opta’s statistics show that Arsenal’s “direct speed”, the measurement that shows how quickly they progress the ball upfield, was the slowest it has been since they played against Bournemouth in October (when they had 10 men for an hour). It was all far too stodgy.
In this run of three league games without a goal from open play, Arsenal have played a total of 1,732 passes, delivered 48 crosses and produced 39 shots. They have been dominant, but not decisive.
Reliance on Odegaard
Arsenal were without Odegaard, their main playmaker, for two months of this season and they often struggled in his absence. The club captain is their most creative force, and the player most capable of unpicking a deep-lying defence. In the first few games following his return, he instantly transformed Arsenal’s entire attack.
Martin Odegaard of Arsenal reacts during his side's Premier League match against Everton at Emirates Stadium on December 14, 2024 in London, England
Arsenal have become overreliant on Martin Odegaard
Perhaps understandably, given his fitness issues and the recent birth of his baby boy, Odegaard’s usual brightness has dimmed in the past few games. It has shown that Arsenal not only require Odegaard to be in their team in order to create a flow of chances, but also that they require Odegaard to be on top form.
This is a heavy burden for one man to bear and it was remarkable to see Arteta remove Odegaard for “tactical” reasons after just 62 minutes. He was replaced by 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who was unable to have a significant impact on this occasion.
In his hour on the pitch, Odegaard did not create a single chance. But Arsenal cannot expect their captain to lead the way every game, just as they cannot expect Saka to do so either. The likes of Havertz, Martinelli, Merino, Jesus and Leandro Trossard must help to ease the burden on Arsenal’s two star attackers, and on Odegaard in particular.
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