Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has dismissed the notion that Mikel Arteta has shifted to a "safety-first approach" and has backed the Spaniard to lead the Gunners to a major piece of silverware in the near future.
After back-to-back second-placed finishes in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Premier League seasons - the latter of which saw Arsenal score a club-record 91 goals - Arteta's men were once again tipped to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City for top-flight glory.
However, the Gunners have failed to fully capitalise on the champions' failings this season, lying third in the Premier League table with a four-point gap to make up to Chelsea and a six-point deficit to leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Arsenal's last two games against Fulham and Everton have also seen Arteta's men fail to get over the line despite boasting the lion's share of possession, but Parlour does not feel that the Spaniard has taken the club as far as he can.
"Not at all," Parlour told Sports Mole when asked if Arteta had hit his limit in North London. "You look at what Mikel is doing at Arsenal, and he is on track for Arsenal to win things. The past two seasons has seen massive improvement for the club, both on and off the pitch. Arsenal are recruiting well, the team is back in the Champions League, challenging for the title, it's exactly what we have been looking for."
Parlour: 'Injuries have made it difficult for Arsenal to compete'
Ray Parlour in action for Arsenal on August 24, 2003© Imago
After relying on one of their trusty corner routines to salvage a 1-1 draw with Fulham two weekends ago, Arsenal could not penetrate a sturdy Everton backline last weekend, where Arteta made a couple of eyebrow-raising alterations.
Both Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard were taken off in the 62nd minute for Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri respectively; the former's change was injury-related, but Odegaard off for Nwaneri was a tactical decision, Arteta revealed in his post-game press conference.
Rather than play Odegaard and Nwaneri together, Arteta opted to keep Mikel Merino on the field, leading Arsenal expert Charles Watts to conclude that the Gunners boss "missed a trick" by not allowing his two recognised playmakers to operate in tandem.
Watts expressed the view that Arsenal's 2022-23 title collapse has caused Arteta to shift to a more "conservative" mentality, but Parlour does not buy into that argument and believes that their recent struggles can be traced back to their fitness problems this season.
"I don't agree it's a safety first approach," Parlour added. "You look at how many goals Arsenal scored last year. With more injuries this year, it's been difficult, but Arsenal have the squad to compete and I am sure further signings will come as Arsenal challenge for major honours."
Have Arsenal had more injuries this season?
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka receives treatment for an injury on November 10, 2024© Imago
Not at one point this season has Arteta had every player available to him, and as many as 13 Gunners have been missing for at least one Premier League game through injury or illness in the current campaign.
Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu are currently in the medical bay, while Merino, Odegaard, Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Jurrien Timber have all sat out at least one top-flight match.
In addition, William Saliba, Leandro Trossard and Rice have each picked up red cards, taking Arsenal's overall absentee list to 16, just one more than they had suffered up to this point in the 2023-24 campaign.
Last term, Arsenal had coincidentally seen an identical number of players (13) pick up injuries in the first half of the campaign, while Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira - currently on loan at Porto - had served suspensions.
Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Sports Betting.
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