WHAT IS GOING ON IN ATTACK!
Well, I guess the old stadium was a bit like the new stadium: never the easiest of places to go, and always quite joyless.
Arsenal recorded another win, but under performance circumstances similar to the past few weeks. The defensive performance was much more Arsenal: tight, locked down, and stingy. But going forward, there was a lot to unpack in a game that was settled by a Viktor Gyokeres sympathy penalty (much like the Kai one when he moved in as a number 9).
The horseshoe of death is back like it never went out of fashion. Arsenal are adding more pieces to the attacking mix, and things appear to be regressing. It’s beginning to feel like Arsenal attack with more purpose when our main players are out of the mixer. I’m finding myself missing Madueke on the right and Merino as the striker.
There’s a real chicken-and-egg feeling I have when analysing our attacking issues. Are we so good defensively because teams are petrified of our attack? Or are we so bad in attack because we’re too worried about defending our goal at all costs? I’m gonna ask the question here… might it be a bad thing to only concede 0.2 xG with zero shots on target? Is it a problem if you goalkeeper is one of the highest rated players, matching your number 8 creator for output?
Whatever it is, we’ve lost the balance, and we’re winning by good fortune. Three own goals and the dumbest penalty you’ll see this year across our last two games. O’Brien’s inexplicable handball was a car crash moment that cost his team at least a point in an afternoon where Everton really did a number on us with sharp discipline and deeply cynical tactics.
But we can’t complain about this. It’s how smaller teams will continue to play against the very best. We have to work it out. Arteta has enough creators, he has a variety of 9s, he has power and pace off the bench, and he has weird footballing creatures like Gabi Jesus and Eze to roam the pitch hunting down opportunities.
My hunch is that Arteta has built a culture that prizes clean sheets and control… and when the confidence goes, players don’t want to take chances like they perhaps do at peak Liverpool… that, and a combo of still not having a suitable number 9 who can hold up the ball, turn with speed, and manhandle his way into space against average defenders. I don’t mean to be a mood killer here, but it’s really hard to watch Gyokeres get gazumped by players like Tarkowski. Did he have a couple of good moments? Sure. But he’s not at the level he should be, and now we’re watching players like Woltemade get braces against Chelsea, and Liverpool’s forwards, Ekitike and Isak, have begun to fire at another level.
Kai Havertz has been two weeks away for what feels like three months, and I’m literally on my knees praying for a striker who isn’t really a finisher to come back and give us some sort of threat. It’s a sorry situation. Though it has to be said, I am enjoying the cameo appearances of Gabriel Jesus. At a very basic level, he just has way better control, and it’s never telegraphed when he’s moving the ball through tight spaces at speed.
We also have to talk about the creators in the team. Martin Odegaard created four chances yesterday, but it didn’t really feel like it. Bukayo Saka had one of his more adventurous afternoons, dancing between left, right, and the 10 role… but it felt limp from a player who hasn’t hit full speed in a long time. When is it going to land? The backline seems to build chemistry very quickly, whoever is playing. You feel confident that they’ll figure it out. Arsenal’s attack hasn’t felt like it’s hit peak all season despite creating a lot of xG and a lot of shots. Part of that is we’ve had a lot of injuries, but I think the real issue is there isn’t an exciting attacking vision for Arsenal, and when the bodies are low on sauce, it’s a very painful watch. Too methodical, too predictable, too slow. We’ve kind of been sussed by Wolves and Everton in back-to-back games.
It also worth noting here that I fully appreciate some of this chatter sounds absurd when you look at what we’ve been doing this season… but the eye test just ain’t great, is it?
Something is going to need to change if we’re going to have a really good Premier League season.
Now, I’m being a little too gloomy here. It’s December, it’s raining, and I expected to come back to a more joyful brand of football. We’ve still taken six points from our last two bounce-back games. Last season, we drew against Everton at home in very similar circumstances. It’s hard to play teams that don’t want to engage with the game. We found a way, even if it was a little fortuitous.
But, we need to remember, the best Arsenal Premier League winners have squeaked through games they should have lost or drawn. The Invincibles had double draws against Portsmouth and Birmingham. These things happen. The key is to not let it impact confidence, and the hope is the manager has a grasp on what’s going on with the team.
We’ve had the fourth-most shots in the league. We’ve created the third-most xG. We’re dividing the goals up across the team. We know we can create open-play moments. We know we can score from set pieces. We’re just not sure if we have enough players that have the ability to find “KDB down the stretch” mode… or do a Salah to secure the Premier League. Do we need Arteta to empower the risk-takers? Do the players need to step it up and make more of what they’re creating?
Whatever it is… it needs to happen fast. You feel the next game, if it’s a bad result, could create a crisis of confidence that would be bad for our challenge. City are breathing down our necks right now. We can’t let that get on top of us, and we cannot allow the inevitability of City to bother us and shake us from the belief that this is our season, and the only people that can f*ck that up are the players we’re watching.
All eyes on Arteta and the boys. Things need to get better. We need to find better solutions, and fast.
P.S. Ok, live show this evening. Doors open at 5. Show starts at 530. See you there! Here are the ratings for your consumption.
Podcast## EVERTON (A) | RATINGS | MEMBERS
Pedro
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9:08 AM
EVERTON (A) | RATINGS | MEMBERS
Fresh off the whistle, Johnny is back with a special edition of ratings following Arsenal’s gritty 1-0 victory over Everton. With Manchester City picking up a win earlier in the day, the pressure was on the Gunners to put down a marker and ensure they sit top of the table at Christmas.
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