Arsenal’s downward trend hit yet another low yesterday as they were soundly beaten 2-1 by Wolves at the Emirates. A third consecutive home defeat in the Premier League has intensified pressure on manager Mikel Arteta, with Arteta even starting to receive questions about his job security in the post-match press conference. It has been a swift fall for the Gunners since winning away at Old Trafford against Manchester United a few weeks ago, with many fans now openly revolting online about the current state of the team.
It was always going to be a transitional year of sorts as Arteta has stated that he will need multiple transfer windows to bring in the type of players he desires, but 14th place after ten matches is simply unacceptable. The issue the squad faces continues to be very obvious; There is absolutely zero creativity in the midfield. The following pass map from yesterday’s match illustrates this point perfectly:
There is a noticeable hole in the center of the attacking third, forcing all of the Gunners’ attacking play to be generated from wide positions. That’s a great strategy if you have a center forward with strong aerial abilities, such as Olivier Giroud, but Arsenal do not have a target man leading the line. Whipping in crosses to the pace-centric Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or the undersized Alexandre Lacazette is simply not going to generate goals. Arsenal’s current squad is full of strikers and wingers that prefer to use their pace to get in behind the defense, and they need a creative number 10 to link up with.
This is why Mikel Arteta so badly wanted to sign Hassem Auoar in the transfer window. A player with his vision and technical ability is exactly what this team is lacking. Dani Ceballos was thought to possess some of these attacking qualities, but it is clear that he is better suited as a ball retaining midfielder, not one that will break open a back line. Thomas Partey was a wonderful signing, but he adds steel and energy to the midfield, not attacking creativity.
It is divisive to say, but Mesut Ozil would be nice to have in the squad in an attacking sense. While he is a complete liability defensively, he at least possesses vision that very few footballers on the planet can equal. With every passing match that continues to show offensive ineptitude, the pressure will mount on Arteta for his decision to leave the German playmaker out of his squad altogether.
It is still far too early to fully judge Mikel Arteta on the job he is doing, as there have undoubtedly been many highs in his short reign. The club hierarchy has placed a lot of faith and backing in the Spaniard, and they will certainly not pull the plug on this investment anytime soon. The January transfer window will prove to be enormous, as an attacking midfielder simply has to be brought in if Arsenal has any hopes of achieving anything of note this season. Leaving the squad as it is will result in a relegation battle, not a fight for a place in Europe.
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