Arsenal performed well against Aston Villa but then collapsed. A ‘liability’ must be removed and Mikel Arteta is increasingly likely to do so.
It may be a scary modern term, but there are some game weeks that so obviously change the atmosphere of the Premier League title race that it feels overwhelming.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility for someone to believe that there’s a lot of truth to this, that someone could take the attention away from Liverpool before the end of the game when Brentford had 35 shots and 90 minutes without a goal. arsenalAbout an hour later, in the relative comfort of a home game against Aston Villa.
The outcome seems certain, but Liverpool performed exactly like the championsand Arsenal collapsed like champions.
“Fine margin” is a phrase often used in elite football, and to a certain extent, that’s exactly what it is. The gap was back to six points and almost narrowed to two points. The beauty of this Liverpool game is that it can be adjusted to mood: an optimistic Reds or a pessimistic Gunners will automatically incorporate these three points into their maddening grind math, just like a defeatist Liverpool fan or a positive Arsenal supporters are equally as impulsive as they imagine David Moyes leading Everton to the most ridiculously rearranged victory.
But the opposite is also true. There’s nothing “good” about giving up a two-goal lead, nothing “marginal” about it, Arsenal change nothing, perform well and change nothing, suddenly look vulnerable and then continue to change nothing until it’s too late Night. anything.
There is passivity, there is activity, there is passivity. Mikel Arteta is the representative of the latter.
He handled a difficult game deftly in the first half and the opening ten minutes of the second half. Arsenal started brightly and then gradually narrowed but still kept Villa at arm’s length. Even though Ollie Watkins led the break and tried His trademark stride, touch and low shot across the goalJurrien Timber helped him up and escorted him off the field.
It was a professional job, handled impeccably, and it paid off when Gabriel Martinelli barely forced Leandro Trossard’s superb cross over the line.
Early in the second half, Trossard once again did well to expose Matty Cash before passing the ball to Kai Havertz, who doubled the lead and put to rest the argument that Arsenal needed a centre-forward at least. Another week of silence.
But then something goes wrong and there’s nothing in particular that triggers it, which is really painful and embarrassing. When clubs and coaches analyze every micro and detail of the game to a ridiculous degree in the big games of 2025, hoping to eliminate any semblance of a chance, and there are reams of data available to any fan and pundit designed to explain why When the smallest things happen like this, simple complacency can feel like a cop-out answer.
But what exactly is it? William Saliba absent? Maybe, but this should be a better, sturdier, stronger Arsenal side that won’t collapse without their leader. Last time they were two goals ahead in the Premier League but failed to win In April 2023, an injury to the Frenchman derailed their title challenge. Almost two years later, these same weaknesses shouldn’t exist – Gabriel is a) arguably a better leader, b) certainly a better defender this season, and c) against Villa The game was very good.
Arteta expressed fatigue after the game, and while that may have played a role, Villa halved their advantage in the 60th minute and equalized in the 68th minute. It wasn’t a final collapse caused by tired legs, Arsenal inevitably pushed harder and moved closer to victory over the next half hour or so.
Even the lack of signings in the January transfer window is an unsatisfactory simplification of this specific outcome. Arsenal lead 2-0. They struggled a bit scoring, but managed to score twice and performed solidly at home against a team that was pretty inconsistent.
Dropping two points from this position would be bad under any circumstances, but it was bad after a transformative victory for Liverpool.
The visiting team did not rush out of the penalty area in response to Havertz’s goal. Youri Tielemans scored on the first sustained attack of the first half and Watkins could have equalized with his third or fourth goal. Villa didn’t have a shot from the 35th minute to the 59th minute, then scored two of three goals and another hit the post.
Thomas Partey is a Premier League player in his 30s, but definitely not a right-back. He completely ignored the goal threats of Lucas Digne and Watkins. His undeniable talent doesn’t offset the growing responsibility that comes with making at least one costly mistake in a game.
Mikel Merino failed to track his midfield runner. Even Trossard, probably Arsenal’s best player, conceded a needless free-kick in the build-up to Villa’s second goal after struggling to catch up with Watkins on the counterattack.
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Arsenal had plenty of time to attack but Havertz’s handball prevented Merino’s deflected shot, who then hit the post at the start of stoppage time. It’s fair to say that they lacked game-changing attacking depth at the time – Raheem Sterling was the only substitute used, and it was really poor – but Arsenal shouldn’t need to change anything.
The first goal could be seen as a brief misstep, but it was also a warning they refused to heed. If bringing on another defender might be a step too far at 2-1, then at least Jorginho or even Alexander Zinchenko could be used to control the midfield. There was simply no need to bring in a substitute, just a slight tactical shift to focus on a stronger defense rather than immediately bringing on a third player to restore the buffer.
The collective lapse in attention lasted a full eight minutes but defined a maddeningly imperfect season designed to undermine greatness. Arsenal have dropped points in as many games as last season, and a team whose longest winning streak this season is three will likely need to win their next 16 games without exception to have any hope of success. There is a small chance of winning the championship, and their head coach looks increasingly incompetent. deliver.
Read next article: Mikel Arteta slams Partey’s mistake ‘cannot be part of our game’
