He hasn’t been at the club a year yet and we can’t expect miracles given the squad he has and the limits imposed on transfers by the pandemic. Luckily Arsenal have a very talented crop of young players coming through and some of them have been able to step up when required. He did deliver the FA Cup against some pretty tough odds and it looks like the defensive side of our game has improved for the first time in a few years.
Our problems at the moment lie in attack though and our inability to score goals is hurting us badly. So much was made of our lack of victories away to any of the “big six” in almost six years that it was a huge relief to finally end that run at Old Trafford last month, but that 1-0 win was the only points we have taken and the only goal we have scored in our last four league games. As it stands only the bottom four clubs and Wolves have scored less goals in their first eight games despite Arsenal possessing one of the best strikers in the world.
While a large part of our problem might be the inability to make chances at the moment it’s very hard to look beyond why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is being played on the left when it seems obvious to one and all that he should be played as the central striker. With him in the middle we can surely play two attacking players, such as Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka in the wide roles and they can supply him with the chances he needs. For me Alexandre Lacazette isn’t good enough to hold the position ahead of Aubameyang and playing him there is hurting us at the moment.
Of course the failure to sign a creative player in midfield has had an affect on our creation and the demise of Mesut Ozil hasn’t helped either. The signing of Thomas Partey has given us some real class in midfield, but we need someone to play in front of him and whoever else is chosen to play alongside him in a defensive role. I think the manager might hope Willian can play there, but he’s looking less likely to do so with each passing game.
With Ozil completely out of the picture it could mean the only real option is promoting Joe Willock to first team duties. Willock has looked the part in our Europa League games so far, but it’s a big step up from the Europa League to the Premier League. He offers us something different at the moment though and that’s something this team is badly missing.
When our strikers struggle to score goals it’s a real problem for the team because our midfield just doesn’t have enough goals in it. Willock could possibly be the player to get those goals and it might just be the time to see what he can do.
In the latest 2021 odds to win the Premier League, Arsenal sit just below Leicester at 50/1. The Gunners had an upset defeat at home to Villa in their last game and Villa are listed below them at 66/1. It’s difficult to understand how we have reached a point where Leicester are shorter odds than us to win the league and Villa’s odds aren’t much longer. I know it’s early days in the season, but it’s not easy to argue with those odds.
For me a big part of our problems besides the lack of goals is the lack of pace in our game. We’re too comfortable just to keep possession and work the ball through the team with nobody willing to take an opponent on or make something happen. We’re really struggling to open teams up and the ability to take players on and beat them is one that cannot be underestimated.
We only have to play two of the big six in our next 12 games and that run has to give us an opportunity to make up some ground on the teams ahead of us and put some points on the board. We’ve been out of the Champions League for far too long and there’s a real chance of making the top four this season, but only if we can find some attacking flair. The players may have reacted well to how the manager wants them to play, but now he has to concentrate on improving our attacking options and getting that across to the players.
I think he’s the right man for the job, but it’s not easy watching Arsenal at the moment. When so many fans are left sitting in their homes because of the pandemic it appears that every little problem with the team is under the microscope and that’s understandable with so little else to do at the moment. He needs to keep the fans behind him and he could be in danger of slowly losing them if he can’t solve our attacking issues and make watching them more enjoyable.
That’s it for today.
See you tomorrow.
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