“I’m sorry to say, but he can no longer work under me at Arsenal”- Mikel Arteta told Arsenal star who lost the ball 16 times yesterday
Arsenal are in a rut. That’s putting it kindly too. The Gunners dreamed of taking home the Premier League title at the beginning of the season. There were also aspirations to go deep in the Champions League.
While their continental hopes are far from over, their form as a whole is rather worrying now. Their difficult patch continued against Inter on Wednesday evening, losing 1-0 for a consecutive game.
Everything that could go wrong is going wrong. For a side that prides itself on not conceding goals, they have now kept just two clean sheets in their last seven games. It’s not ideal whatsoever.
While that’s happening they’re also failing to find the net with much regularity. Having not scored against Newcastle and now against Inter, the sight of Martin Odegaard returning to fitness in injury time at the San Siro was a welcome sight.
Yet, they face Chelsea next. Gulp. Mikel Arteta’s men will no doubt improve but they need to do so pretty immediately. The ship is sinking without a trace and their Spanish tactician must wrestle back some momentum.
So, where did it all go wrong on Wednesday? Take your pick.
Why Arsenal lost to Inter in the Champions League
The tone was set early on when rampaging right-back Denzel Dumfries galloped forward and rattled the crossbar with a rasping drive.
Inter were by far the better team but the away side grew into things the closer we got towards the break. However, once again, the officials were not Arsenal’s best friend.
A ball was swung in, deflected goalbound but then struck the arm of summer signing Mikel Merino. He could not do anything about it and in the Premier League – due to rules regarding the proximity of the player in relation to the ball – it would have been disallowed. Things are different in Europe, though. Work that one out.
The penalty was given and upstepped the ever-reliable Hakan Calhanoglu who stroked the ball home with ease. It was a gutting blow but to their credit, the English side did fight back in the second half, all to no avail.
Without Odegaard, Arsenal have found it difficult to carve out regular goal-scoring opportunities. This was a similar story to the defeat at St James’ Park but their xG was supremely better on this occasion, rising from a dismal 1.05 last Saturday to 2.22 in Milan.
Yet, the vast majority of their chances came from open-play crosses or set-pieces. The Gunners had great joy from wide areas but Inter were comfortable in their shape and resolutely defended a whopping 13 corners and 46 crosses.
19 of those balls into the box came from Bukayo Saka’s boot but he only completed three which just about summed up the night. Saka was lively but there weren’t many other faces in red or white who deserved praise.
Arsenal’s biggest underperformers against Inter
Besides the penalty incident, the Gunners were as safe as houses at the back. It was in attack where they really laboured.
Once again Belgian star Leandro Trossard was poor in a central attacking area and was outclassed by Ethan Nwaneri who appeared as a late sub. You do wonder what the teenager has to do in order to start games.
He nearly rescued a point for the visitors, turning defender Stefan de Vrij deep into injury time before unleashing a shot that sailed over the bar.
Trossard too had one shot at goal but it was incredibly unmemorable. So was his performance as a whole, truth be told, registering just two key passes and losing possession on a frequent basis.
That said, Gabriel Martinelli also deserves some criticism. The Brazilian is such an exciting player on his day but unfortunately, over the last year or so we’ve not seen the best of him.
Often isolated on the left-hand side, the former Ituano star does lack support from his teammates but this was yet another match where he was indecisive and poor with his final actions.
Handed a 4/10 match rating by The Express, they summed things up succinctly, suggesting that he ‘must begin to stamp his authority on matches on a more frequent basis.’
That was lacking once again from a player who lost the ball a whopping 16 times on Wednesday night, as well as completing just five of his 13 crosses and winning six of his nine duels. As Arsenal writer Oli Price Bates said on social media after the game, he will have left the manager “fuming” at his inability to fashion goalscoring opportunities.
While Sofascore rated him as the best player on the pitch, it doesn’t tell the full story of a performance that lacked much quality.
Raheem Sterling will be ineligible to face his parent club at the weekend but Martinelli must be dropped. Gabriel Jesus has shown mini signs of revival in recent weeks – scoring against Preston last week – and could feature off the left.
Trossard remains an option to play out on the flanks where he looks far more at home than he does in the middle. Over to you Mikel. Something has to change.
