Come on! We are a long way from calling for Arteta’s head to be served on a platter!
Yes, yesterday’s performance was dreadful, awful, unwatchable and downright pathetic, BUT, the Gunners are head and shoulders above the defensive quality, or lack thereof, we saw last year at this time under Unai Emery.
Defensively, we have been very good until yesterday when we were very bad. However, one game can not distract from the fact we have seen vast improvement on the defensive side of the ball this season under Arteta.
Offensively it is a totally different story. We are in total disarray. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has just two Premier League goals this season, and one of those was from a penalty kick. Alexandre Lacazette and Willian are playing so far below their potentials that Arteta should find both guys warm seats in the stands for the next few matches.
When Dani Ceballos came on at halftime, and then when Eddie Nketiah and Nicolas Pepe came on later in the second half, the Gunners immediately experienced a little spark with the ball. Then, Aubameyang also seemed to wander into more central areas at times, something most football pundits say is necessary for Arsenal to be able to win consistently.
Arteta told Arsenal.com after the match….
“A team function is a collective thing that we have to do more. We certainly are getting in some situations, but the end product is something we have to improve and about the position and his movement and where we can find him (Aubameyang), of course we can talk about is this the right or wrong place for him, but when things were working and he was scoring that debate wasn’t there. What is certain s that with these numbers, scoring this amount of goals is impossible to fight with the top teams so we have to maintain the numbers that we have defensively in our organization and for sure we have to improve our numbers attacking-wise if we want to be challenging and if you want to be consistent in winning football matches.”
As I have written many times before, the Gunners OBVIOUSLY need to find a way to score goals, and soon. Case in point, Aubameyang had zero shots on Sunday. ZERO as in NONE, NIL, NOTTA! That doesn’t calculate into wins. Lacazette and Willian were also non-factors all day long, except for the wide open header Lacazette missed that would have tied the game, neither player had much to say.
So, does Arsenal need Mesut Ozil after all? Did Arteta make a huge mistake by putting the German playmaker into exile? Should the Gunners sacrifice some pressing defensive player in orderto create more scoring chances on the offensive end?
Look, I’m a huge fan of Mikel Arteta. I think he has done wanders for this football club. However, great leaders are willing to make sacrifices and provide change when situations are falling short of expectations.
I know, it’s too early to panic. There are 30 Premier League matches yet to be played, but we do not want to find ourselves in the same position at the end of this season that we found ourselves in during July. We can’t depend on winning the Europa League or FA Cup to qualify for European competitions. If the Champions League i our main objective, then we need to do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal.
And finally, the other thing to consider is to make sure this team never gives up again like they did on Sunday v Aston Villa. Losing, and losing big is not easy when things aren’t going your way on the pitch, however, a true championship caliber club never gives up, no matter the score line.
Remember, quitters never win, and winner never quit.
Gunner1953
Manchester City has lost five matches in a row in all competitions while being outscored 4 to 14. City will play Liverpool at Anfield on December 1st.
Nov 30 – West Ham United (A)
Ethan Nwaneri scored his first senior team goal for Arsenal v Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
