LONDON – Maybe Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka Set pieces are not enough to win Premier League after all. arsenal Of course, much more is known about them, but much of the frustration in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with their opponents everton It is likely to be targeted at the club’s approach to the January transfer market.
The Gunners have no intention of spending big money next month despite creating title possibility Manchester CityReturn to Earth. City have said they will be in the market to back Guardiola as they try to arrest the team’s stunning decline, but Arsenal currently believe only injury or a special, unexpected opportunity will prompt them to invest heavily in January.
Mikel Arteta’s first stop in this conversation is usually to point out the options he has and the internal improvements they can make. At least the good news is there’s plenty of room.
Odegaard, Saka and Arsenal’s set-piece prowess – marked by specialist coach Nicolas Joffe’s mural from the corner of the back post at the Emirates Stadium – has proven to be a highly effective combination of late. But they perhaps mask Arteta’s lack of game-changing options in moments like this, where the team starts to defend and sink deep into a conservative position.
Due to the postponement of the Merseyside derby last weekend, Everton has not played for 10 consecutive days. Therefore, compared with Arsenal, which played two more games during the same period, Everton has received sufficient rest and training. This unusual imbalance undoubtedly played a role in the result, but despite the madness of the final 20 minutes, it was exactly the kind of controlled chaos that Arsenal are best able to create as they chase the game.
Too often, misplaced passes or poor choices in the final third undermine the overwhelming sense of momentum Arsenal usually create in such situations.
Arsenal’s substitutes didn’t make much difference, which helped Arteta and those involved. Odegaard Declan Rice Withdrawn after 62 minutes, a voluntary decision was made to dismiss Odegaard Saka –Timber Jury The right side is their most stable goal line recently.
Arteta confirmed afterwards that Rice was “feeling something related to an unspecified injury he’s had all week” but Odegaard’s substitution was purely tactical.
“It was a tactical decision for Martin to try to change the tempo on their side,” he said. “I understand. If Ethan comes on and scores, it’s a great goal. If he doesn’t score, you’ve ousted your captain. That’s football.”
Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing, but asking a 17-year-old to replicate or improve on the creativity of Arsenal’s playmaker on his 11th Premier League appearance felt like a huge gamble at the time. Seven minutes later, Arteta replaced Thimble at left-back as part of a double substitution. Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey introduced before Leandro Trossard replaced Gabriel Martinelli In the last step.
The end result is strangely disjointed. Kai Havertz It was a quiet afternoon, while Jesus has not scored in his last 23 league games and has scored just once in 34 games in all competitions. Trossard was completely ineffective; Raheem Sterling Despite the critical situation, no further progress was made.
A physical team defending isn’t necessarily an obvious issue for someone with Sterling’s skill set, but there’s a disquieting gap between the impact many hoped he could have since joining Sterling on loan. An uneasy distance. chelsea He quickly becomes an ineffective fringe player. It may also be a warning that market action does not always provide effective solutions. Arteta will no doubt also point to the fact that Arsenal scored 91 goals last season, their highest tally in Premier League history.
“In the end, you need spark, and you need precision,” he said. “We had a chance, it could be 2-0 or 3-0 and [then] No one is talking about it. “The reality is it’s 0-0 and they’re not going to talk about all the incredible things the team did in the game.
“Honestly, it’s hard to ask anything else from the team. Well, can we individually do things a little bit better, a little bit more quality and provide that magic moment when necessary? Yeah. But it’s not easy. ”
Arsenal have produced so many moments of magic in recent months, but equally, if there are more down days like this, Arsenal may soon feel the need to look for more stardust in the market.
