Is this really how Arsenal are going to win the Premier League title? Arsenal fans won’t care one bit if they do, but as a fan of football (and Tottenham Hotspur), surely they mustn’t do it like this?
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As PST’s Nicholas Mendola noted just last weekend, Arsenal’s (over-)reliance on set pieces remains something of a concern and they remain top of the Premier League despite taking just six points from six games against the teams currently 2nd through 7th in the table. Against everyone else? A perfect 36-for-36.
The good: Arsenal entered Week 17 with the Premier League’s 2nd-best non-penalty goal haul and 4th-best expected goals total while boasting top-5 totals in non-penalty shots, non-penalty shots on target, and non-penalty conversion percentage.
Arsenal host Villa, winners of 13 of their last 14 games and eight in a row, on Tuesday (3:15 pm ET).
Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brighton was a perfect microcosm of the Gunners this season: They dominated every facet of the game, created (and wasted) loads of scoring chances and, when the final whistle blew, all that separated the two sides was an own goal. In fact, Own Goal is Arsenal’s leading scorer over their last three Premier League games, bagging three of the Gunners’ last five goals and securing six important points by bagging both goals against last-place Wolves and the one against struggling Brighton. (Own Goal did it again in the League Cup quarterfinals this week as well. He loves it this time of year.)
Half a season in, Viktor Gyokeres still not a fit for Arsenal
Not to scapegoat any one person or oversimplify things too much, but so much of Arsenal’s title hopes hinge upon Viktor Gyokeres finding the finishing boots that he seemingly left in Portugal — and fast. When Arsenal spent $88 million to bring him in this summer, the idea was simple: Even though he doesn’t offer much besides scoring goals, scoring goals 1) is the most important part of the game, and 2) was the one missing puzzle piece last season.
Gyokeres is big, strong, fast, can jump high and he scored 68 league goals in two seasons (98 in all competitions) with Sporting CP. If Erling Haaland can do it in the PL by simply out-athlete-ing everyone, then so can Gyokeres, right? Jury’s still out. He’s a nightmare to defend when he runs in a straight line in the open field, but Arsenal aren’t exactly a counter-attacking team with their 56.9 percent of possession (2nd-highest), which means Gyokeres ends up either playing more with his back to goal, or making runs into smaller, tighter spaces where he has no choice but to be deft and precise on the ball — neither of those areas a strength. When the ball does come to him in the penalty area of late, as it did for a golden opportunity in just the 2nd minute on Saturday, Gyokeres looks short on confidence and lacking conviction with his touch and strikes.
Since scoring three goals in his first four PL games, Gyokeres has netted just twice in 12 games and only once from his last 21 shots in open play (not including penalties). For the “just scores goals” guy, that’s downright worrying. Arsenal bet it all on Gyokeres, and so far he’s doing ever so just slightly enough to get by without leaving them any margin for error. But that feels risky with Manchester City eviscerating everything in their path since the start or November, and the long-running history of Pep Guardiola’s teams hitting their stride this time of year.
Only one time in the last eight years has any side other than the champions led the Premier League in goals scored. Man City have already scored 43 times this season and are 10 goals clear of everyone else just shy of the halfway point (Arsenal are 2nd).
A thought for the road: Are Arsenal actually a better team with Gabriel Jesus, who is currently working his way back to fitness after missing 11 months with a torn ACL? Arteta is probably already asking himself that very question, because the current situation looks unsustainable from afar and shouldn’t hold up for another 20 games.
At least, that’s what I’ve resorted to telling myself at this point.