More points. Yet more points have gone begging in what is turning out to be a rather trying Premier League campaign for Arsenal so far.
A couple of weeks ago it looked like the Gunners had their mojo back, putting 12 goals past Nottingham Forest, Sporting and West Ham.
However, since then, they’ve not had things all their own way. Arsenal drew with Fulham a week ago and were left to rue more dropped points, this time against relegation-threatened Everton.
You won’t find many games that Mikel Arteta’s men fail to get going but this was a real abject performance at home.
In truth, nothing seemed to click and when Bukayo Saka had a goalbound effort phenomenally denied by Jordan Pickford at the near post in the second half, you perhaps knew it wasn’t going to be the hosts’ afternoon.
So, where did all go wrong on Saturday afternoon?
Why Arsenal drew with Everton
Arsenal have not found it difficult holding onto the ball in recent weeks. Against Everton this weekend, they left the field having had 77% of possession but ultimately, they only ever created one big chance.
That really told the story of a lacklustre attack that only really saw Saka generate much of note in red and white.
That’s a familiar tale, really. Give the ball to Saka and hope. If something isn’t created by him then they’ll probably have to rely on a corner. Neither worked on this occasion.
You could put a lot of the blame on a dysfunctioning left-hand side again. What Raheem Sterling or even Gabriel Jesus have to do to potentially start on that left-hand side remains to be seen.
Passes
William Saliba – 103
Touches
Gabriel – 118
Key passes
Bukayo Saka – 3
Crosses
Saka – 10
xG
Martin Odegaard – 0.59
Defensive actions
Ashley Young – 14
Blocked shots
James Tarkowski – 3
Interceptions
Young – 3
Tackles
Young – 7
Duels won
Gabriel & Gueye – 9
It appears as though the issue stems from the day Granit Xhaka left the club. Let’s cast our minds back to the 2022/23 season. Arsenal may have finished the season five points behind Manchester City but it was some of the best football we’ve witnessed at the Emirates in years.
That was helped by a flexible structure across the pitch and one that wasn’t solely reliant on things happening from one side of the pitch.
There is no doubt that the combination of Saka and Martin Odegaard has worked a treat on the right but since Xhaka left, they’ve not had the same combination play on the left.
During that aforementioned season, Xhaka was involved in 16 goals while Gabriel Martinelli, who seemed to love playing on that left flank, had a hand in 21 goals.
Arsenal looked to have semi-fixed that in midweek with Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly featuring on the left with Trossard in behind.
In fact, it was a combination on the left that led to the opening goal, scored by Saka. Lewis-Skelly retained the ball brilliantly before feeding not Trossard, but Jesus, who swept a cross towards the back post.
There was no such luck this time with a “dull and inspiring” Martinelli – in the words of European football expert Zach Lowy – not at the races once more.
Performance in Numbers
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Gabriel Martinelli's performance in numbers
Martinelli starts one game. Trossard starts the next one. And repeat. That’s been the story of Arsenal’s season as far as their left flank is concerned and it’s now becoming quite the problem that neither of them can find much form.
Trossard did score in back-to-back games against Sporting and West Ham but his performance a week ago against Fulham didn’t amount to much, producing just a solitary key pass.
Martinelli replaced him late on and looked to have produced the game-winning moment, crossing to Saka at the back stick only for the Brazilian to be deemed offside in the build-up.
That painful moment didn’t impact Arteta’s judgement too much as the former Ituano winger has now started the last two matches.
His lack of impact, though, was alarming, particularly when you consider he was up against 39-year-old Ashley Young. In total, he attempted four dribbles but didn’t complete a single one. As it happens, Young wasn’t dribbled past once and won seven of his nine duels. Martinelli’s numbers in comparison were damning, winning just one of his eight duels.
Minutes played
74
Accurate passes
23/26 (88%)
Key passes
2
Shots on target
1
Shots off target
0
Dribble success
0/4
Cross success
1/3
Duels won
1/8
Offsides
1
Possession lost
14x
To make matters worse, the 23-year-old gave away the ball 14 times and produced just two key passes, while having a solitary effort on target.
Handed a 5/10 match rating by Football.London’s Kaya Kaynak, the reporter noted that the attacker’s ‘end product remains an issue’. Indeed, the Brazil star has only scored three times in the league this term and assisted two goals.
Contrast that with the right-hand side where Saka has contributed five league goals and ten assists and the difference is stark.
In all honesty, if Arsenal are going to win a Premier League title anytime soon, they need a high-functioning left-hand side. That feels unlikely until they sign another winger with end product.
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