Arsenal were let down by “uninspiring” 5/10 star who lost 88…

More points. However, Arsenal have had a tough time in the Premier League so far and they have picked up more points.

A few weeks ago, the Gunners seemed to have their mojo back, beating Nottingham Forest, Sporting Lisbon and West Ham United with 12 goals.

However, since then, they have stopped doing things their own way. Arsenal drew with Fulham a week ago but sadly dropped more points, this time against relegation-threatened Everton.

You won’t find Mikel Arteta’s side struggling in many games, but this was a poor performance at home.

Indeed, there seemed to be no progress and when Bukayo Saka’s shot was stunningly blocked by Jordan Pickford at the near post in the second half, you might have known it wasn’t going to be the home side’s afternoon.

So what went wrong on Saturday afternoon?

Why Arsenal drew with Everton

Arsenal have not found it difficult to keep the ball in recent weeks. Against Everton this weekend, they left the pitch with 77% possession, but ultimately only created one big chance.

It really tells the story of an underwhelming attack, with only Saka in the red and white really producing much of note.

This is indeed a familiar story. Give the ball to Saka and Hope. If he doesn’t create something then they may have to rely on corners. Neither works this time.

Once again you can place most of the blame on the dysfunctional left side. It remains to be seen what Raheem Sterling or even Gabriel Jesus would have to do to start from the left.

The problem appears to stem from the day Granit Xhaka left the club. Let’s turn our thoughts back to the 2022/23 season. Arsenal may be five points behind Manchester City this season, but this is some of the best football we’ve witnessed at the Emirates Stadium in years.

This is made possible by a flexible structure on the pitch that is not solely dependent on what is happening on one side of the pitch.

There’s no doubt that the pairing of Saka and Martin Odegaard has been huge on the right, but they haven’t had the same combination on the left since Xhaka’s departure.

During the season mentioned above, Xhaka was involved in 16 goals And Gabriel Martinelli seems to enjoy playing on the left wing, Involved in 21 goals.

Arsenal seemed to have semi-solved the problem in midweek, with Mikel Merino and Miles-Lewis Skelly playing on the left, with Trossard in behind.

In fact, Saka’s goal was brought about by the combination on the left. Lewis Skelly controlled the ball brilliantly and then the pass came not to Trossard but to Jesus, who passed the ball to the back post.

No such luck this time ‘Boring and inspiring’ Martinelli – In the words of European football expert Zach Lowe – no more playing.

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Gabriel Martinelli’s stats

Martinelli started one game. Trossard started the next one. and repeat. That’s been Arsenal’s story this season in terms of their left wing, but neither of them can find good form at the moment and it’s become a huge problem.

Trossard did score in back-to-back games against Sporting Lisbon and West Ham United, but his performance against Fulham a week ago was modest, Only generates a single key delivery.

Martinelli replaced him late on and looked to have produced the match-winning moment when he crossed to Saka with a back post, but the Brazilian was deemed offside.

That painful moment didn’t have much of an impact on Arteta’s judgment as the former Ituano winger has now started the past two games.

However, his lack of impact is concerning, especially when you consider he’s up against 39-year-old Ashley Young. He attempted a total of four dribbles but failed to complete any of them. As it happens, Young didn’t dribble past anyone once and won seven of nine faceoffs. Martinelli’s statistics were abysmal by comparison, as he won just one of eight duels.

To make matters worse, the 23-year-old conceded the ball 14 times, made just two key passes and had just one shot on target.

Handed one 5/10 match rating for Kaya Kaynak from Football.Londonthe reporter noted that the attacker’s “end product remains an issue.” In fact, the Brazilian star Only scored three goals Assisted two goals in the league this season.

Compared with the right side, where Saka contributed 5 league goals and 10 assists The difference is obvious.

Let’s be honest, if Arsenal want to win the Premier League title anytime soon, they need an efficient left winger. That feels unlikely until they sign another winger with the final product.

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