At 4.15pm on Saturday afternoon, Arsenal fans were given a pretty large surprise.
With the Gunners gearing up for their Champions League semi-final second leg in Paris on Wednesday, it was expected that Mikel Arteta would rest heavily. He did not.
The likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice all featured in the lineup with only two changes made; Jurrien Timber for Ben White and Mikel Merino for Thomas Partey.
Odegaard-Raya-Ben-White-Arsenal
While the starting XI was surprising, the end result was perhaps not. After all, the way in which Arsenal dropped points typified their season.
Arteta’s side led Bournemouth 1-0 through Rice but the Cherries fought back in the second half courtesy of some lapse defending. The equaliser came from Antoine Semenyo’s long throw which found Arsenal-linked Dean Huijsen inside the area who headed home.
The second was not great either. From a set play, the ball found Evanilson at the back stick who forced the ball home with what looked to be an elbow. VAR adjudged it to have been a legal play, however.
Arsenal have conceded 38.7% of their league goals from set-pieces this season, the biggest proportion of all PL clubs.
While it was an off day as far as defending set pieces are concerned, it was another off day for skipper Martin Odegaard.
Martin Odegaard's performance vs Bournemouth
In midweek, Arsenal needed their leaders to stand up.
Rice was once again impressive, driving his side forward whenever he got the chance. Saka also made life difficult for PSG but ultimately couldn’t find a way through. Nonetheless, neither player hid.
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The same could not be said of Odegaard who left the pitch having lost five of his eight duels and having not had a shot.
He coasted through the game with very minimal influence, slowing Arsenal down in transition and ultimately making the side a poorer one.
Arsenal-Martin-Odegaard
Well, the visit of Andoni Iraola’s men on Saturday was a time for the Norwegian to right his wrongs, and he began the game in fine groove, playing in Rice for the opening goal of the game.
It was classic Odegaard, jinking past his marker and sliding the ball past the final line of the defence for the club’s record signing to get on the end.
Sadly, that was about as good as it got for the midfielder who was once again slow in transition and indecisive on the edge of the box, refusing to shoot when he got the opportunity to do so.
Arsenal have dropped 21 points from winning positions in the Premier League this term, their joint-most ever in a single season, level with 2019/20.
Club captain, one has to question whether he deserves a place in the team on Wednesday night. Many fans will suggest he doesn’t.
Still, he wasn’t the only big underperformer in the final third for the Gunners.
Leandro Trossard's performance in numbers vs Bournemouth
Arsenal’s attack since Kai Havertz got injured at the back end of the winter has not been firing on all cylinders.
In fact, even since Saka returned, the final third has been a problem for Arteta.
Arteta-Saka
Their failure to strengthen in the January transfer window has certainly come back to haunt Arsenal with Mikel Merino largely used as the makeshift centre forward since his two-goal haul against Leicester.
From that moment onwards, the Spaniard has been excellent, perhaps even better than Leandro Trossard. The Belgian scored 17 goals last term but despite a run of three goals in his last four outings, has struggled in all honesty.
Trossard-Kluivert
There is a reason Arteta enjoys playing with Merino and Havertz up top and that’s because they can hold the ball up well, acting as a focal point and duel winner.
Despite Trossard’s technical skill, he is not that profile. The Belgium international simply doesn’t offer enough as an outlet and he summed that up not only against PSG, where Arsenal struggled to get out of their own half in the first 20 minutes, but also at the Emirates on Sunday.
The truth is that the former Brighton man, signed for £27m, has served his purpose; this could well be one of his final starts in Arsenal red.
Trossard vs Bournemouth
Minutes played
Touches
Accurate passes
Expected Goals (xG)
Expected Assists (xA)
Shots
Shots on target
Successful dribbles
Key passes
Accurate crosses
Duels won
Possession lost
Stats via Sofascore.
In all honesty, this wasn’t his worst performance of the season but while Odegaard did register an assist, Trossard did little to dig his side out of the hole his team found themselves in.
His best moment came in the first half when he stooped low to meet a header that Kepa Arrizabalaga did well to keep out. That was his only shot on target in the game.
Beyond that, it was a supremely underwhelming display from the 30-year-old, registering 37 touches, which was 11 fewer than goalkeeper David Raya.
He also only won five of his nine duels and gave away the ball on ten occasions, once every 3.7 touches of possession.
While it’s safe to say that no one in Arsenal’s attack really covered themselves in glory, Trossard certainly did little to help this weekend. It says it all that Arsenal look better with a midfielder as their 9, rather than him. Expect the attacker to be back among the subs in Paris in a few days time.
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Martin Odegaard is under fire after a poor run of form for Arsenal.