Manchester United again frustrated Arsenal at Old Trafford, this time holding them to a 1-1 draw. As I made my way back from the game, the discussion with colleagues turned to the repetitive nature of this result and this performance.
Banging on the door without being able to break it down, bar the one time Declan Rice managed to find the target, even this was outside of the box. Jokes were made before the game about how this was the first time in three matches the side had scored from open play.
Set pieces the bedrock for the goals in the previous two fixtures. Mikel Arteta was a frustrated man, walking out of his Sky Sports post-match interview, dismissing questions surrounding both the title race and the failure to land a striker in the January transfer window, responding, “It’s not about that.”
The reality, of course, is that it most certainly has everything to do with this. While I still am of the mind that any striker able to have been signed realistically in January would not have made a difference in regard to the title race, these are the games where it certainly could have.
Ruben Amorim leant on a free-kick master in Bruno Fernandes to score his side’s sucker punch goal. He said after the game that his side need more Brunos.
I put it to Mikel Arteta whether he could have more of some individuals on his side, but perhaps unsurprisingly, he insisted that he is happy with who he has. Most would disagree, however, and are already looking to the summer for that inspiration.
There will be change for Arsenal before the summer, and a pending decision expected to be made and announced in the near future regarding the new sporting director is sure to help frustrations in the fan base, at least on paper. With Arsenal too far away from Liverpool to catch them and the gap to sides outside the top five too big to concern the club, the league is in a strange purgatorial place for the Gunners.
I can foresee many similar conversations following after the remaining league games. For some, they will inevitably have enough to score and their opponents simply will not, whereas there could come occasions where, like on Sunday afternoon, the lack of cutting edge in the final third re-emerges.
The potential appointment of Andrea Berta as sporting director is being targeted as a moment which could transform the club’s fortunes. Arteta was let down in the January window and arguably the summer too as desires to strengthen the attack were not met with equal execution.
Berta is known to be a director who is proactive in his work, has plenty of highly-regarded and high-profile contacts in the sport with links into some of the biggest names in the transfer game. Arsenal’s approach needs to change, and the long-term project which started nearly six years ago must deliver.
This is the summer where that aim to win the league, to win trophies and titles not, just now but into the future has to be realised. Major signings who can make an immediate and lasting impact, upgrading on existing starters and adding competitive depth to existing positions of strength.
This is Berta’s task. He has helped take Atletico Madrid into the same conversations as Barcelona and Real Madrid, won titles, and reached Champions League latter stages and finals. Now he must do this with Arsenal, and there are signs he can – while still being aware of the doubts and apprehensions which also exist.
The three players who stood out for Arsenal in Manchester, Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and David Raya, are a pivotal part of the team’s spine. But other senior players again failed to bring the big moments like Leandro Trossard and, to a lesser extent, Martin Odegaard.
The summer will not just be about making fans happy by signing exciting stars, but players like Trossard, for example, could face an exit from the club. When this happens, the club need to maximise the funds of their sales but are resigned to again losing a number of high earners through the expiration of their contracts, such as Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Kieran Tierney.
William Saliba and Bukayo Saka will have one year left on their contracts come the summer, and Berta, alongside Arteta, Richard Garlick and other members of the board will be under pressure to convince them to commit. There are particular worries regarding Saliba, and another trophyless year certainly will not do anything to help that situation.
While Arteta did not want to admit that the league is over, naturally, the blunt truth of the matter is that it is. Liverpool will be crowned champions, and Arsenal will have missed out on the chance to capitalise on a season whereby Manchester City were not the side that stopped them from claiming top spot in the previous two seasons.
Does second place matter? Well, with Nottingham Forest beating Manchester City and Chelsea coming to the Emirates on the weekend, the Gunners do have plenty of reasons to fight on and finish as high up as they can.
Dropping below second place would represent the first positional regression of Mikel Arteta’s tenure at the club. He will want to ensure that standards remain high but the energy, at least domestically, has certainly fizzled.
The Champions League which returns on Wednesday for the arrival of PSV Eindhoven, who have a 7-1 aggregate deficit to try and close, and the European competition is certainly offering the release of pressure that the league relentlessly forbids. A tie in Madrid in April is the reward and there is hope that Arsenal will be in a much stronger position by then.
Gabriel Martinelli’s return to the team was a very welcome sight and as he builds up form and fitness, the clock will continue to tick down to the return of Bukayo Saka who Arteta said is still a few weeks away. But should they both be ready for a tie against one of the two Madrid sides, anything is possible.
Until then, Arteta needs to find a way of keeping the motivation up and regain momentum lost in the last three games. Arsenal are winless in three league games and this could be a slippery slope – Chelsea up next, that is a must-win regardless of whether the implications on the title are next to zero.