The Premier League race is heating up, and Arsenal’s recent misstep could prove costly. Their unexpected defeat to Bournemouth has opened the door for Manchester City, who are now breathing down their necks. With their emphatic victory over Chelsea, City has narrowed the lead to just six points, signaling a potential shift in momentum away from north London.
This weekend’s clash between Mikel Arteta and his former mentor, Pep Guardiola, promises to be a high-stakes encounter. However, before that pivotal match, Arsenal must first navigate their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting Lisbon. They hold a slender 1-0 lead as they prepare to take the field at the Emirates on Wednesday night.
As the pressure mounts, Arteta’s efforts to galvanize the fanbase have been notable. Last April, he famously urged Arsenal supporters to ‘bring their boots’ in anticipation of their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. Despite his rallying cry, that match ended in a narrow 1-0 loss for the Gunners.
1. STOP WHIPPING THE CROWD UP
Arteta has tried to whip up the Arsenal fanbase in all manner of ways.
In April last year, he called on his supporters to ‘bring their boots’ ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain: a 1-0 defeat followed.
Mikel Arteta has tried to whip up Arsenal’s players and fans with stirring statements before matches
But, for all Arteta’s words, Declan Rice could not lead his team to victory on Saturday against Bournemouth
Earlier this season, the Spaniard implored them to ‘jump on the fun boat’ having been beaten 3-2 by Manchester United. And then, he cried ‘bring your lunch, bring your dinner… get there early’ before Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Bournemouth – safe to say his team did not live up to the occasion.
On Tuesday he was at it again, calling on the team to ‘play with pure fire’ and saying he was ‘on fire’ ahead of the Sporting clash.
There’s more. A club email was sent out last Friday to season-ticket holders titled ‘Special Request from Mikel’. It read: ‘Mikel has specially requested that as many people as possible are in the bowl before kick-off and to make as much noise as possible, before, during and after the game!’
It’s all got a bit mad, and the solution is simple: stop trying to whip up the fans with hyperbolic statements. It’s counter-productive. They get amped up, expecting a big display. When that fails to happen, nerves and frustration build which then make their way on to the pitch. That then clearly affects the players, who appear worried about making mistakes.
Arteta’s ploy can work for the occasional big match where a behemoth of an opponent such as Real Madrid arrive – but if it’s overused, it loses its punch. See Bournemouth at home on Saturday.
2. USE THE SQUAD DEPTH AND GIVE ZUBI A BREAK
What is the point of having a deep squad if it’s not used properly?
Martin Zubimendi was arguably Arsenal’s best player in the first half of this season. His positional intelligence and defensive timing, robbing opponents in terrier-like fashion, was a common occurrence. He had become a key cog in Arteta’s machine. And he liberated Declan Rice to wreak havoc higher up the pitch.
Now, he’s a shadow of his former self, as seen in his display on Saturday – and previously against Southampton and in the Carabao Cup final defeat by Manchester City. Numerous passes went astray, some going out of bounds, and there was a tendency to play negative passes.
Martin Zubimendi has seemed to run out of attacking ideas of late, possibly because he has been overplayed
The Spaniard has not become a bad player overnight. Instead, he appears massively fatigued. Zubimendi has started 31 of Arsenal’s 32 league matches and played in 47 games across all competitions this season. That is more than any other Premier League midfielder.
It begs the question: why the lack of rotation? Christian Norgaard has yet to start a league match, making just six substitute appearances and playing a grand total of 56 minutes in the Premier League. He’s looking like a waste of £12million.
Of the 30 league matches Jurrien Timber has been in the squad for, he has started 28. That’s despite suffering a season-ending ACL injury two seasons ago. Now, he’s out injured.
Arteta needs to rotate more.
3. BE MORE POSITIVE ON THE BALL
A negative approach from the off against a mid-table side does not bode well for a team trying to win the title. Against Bournemouth, David Raya made the second-most passes (49) and received 38 back-passes. It reflected an approach which was far too conservative.
The lack of creativity in the middle was stark. Without Martin Odegaard, and Eberechi Eze only on the bench, Arsenal badly lack a player capable of producing a piece of magic to open up a game. Viktor Gyokeres was left shouting at Zubimendi in frustration as he made numerous piercing runs, only to consistently not be found – or found too late.
That needs to change for those operating in the final third. Take a gamble with the ball. Try and make something happen. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.
The current approach, laced with anxiety and fear, is not working, with opponents sensing an opportunity that Arsenal are there to be got at despite the quality in their squad.
It’s all easier said than done, but appearing afraid to win is a major problem when in the crunch period. It’s now or never for the Gunners.
Arsenal are crying out for the attacking talents of the injured Martin Odegaard but without him they look lost for ideas
The Gunners can take an eternity to take their throw-ins. They lost over seven minutes to it against Bournemouth, a match in which they were never ahead
4. SPEED UP THE SET-PIECES
Get on with it. Arsenal’s habit of taking an age over their set-pieces is bizarre.
Arsenal wasted a total of 26 minutes, 31 seconds during the loss to Bournemouth. The time taken on throw-ins (7 minutes, 9 seconds), free-kicks (6 minutes, 40 seconds) and corners (5 minutes, 28 seconds) in particular all made the task at hand harder, especially as they were never ahead.
If the Gunners had been up in the match there could be a case for slowing things down where possible. Time-wasting with the game level or when behind, though, makes no sense.
It’s an easy change to make.
