Mikel Arteta doesn’t care how Arsenal cross the line in the title race, but he should point the finger at the Spaniard as the wheels risk falling off
Mikel Arteta chasing glory (Image: PA)
The path to true love is rarely smooth. And after three near misses, Mikel Arteta is determined to take Arsenal on a different path to glory.
This season was all about getting the job done. Arteta has been characterized as a risk-averse, safety-first manager who will ultimately deliver the holy grail of the Premier League title.
As long as you get results, that’s fine. But then, if something suddenly happens, derailing Arsenal’s title bid after only picking up two points from their last three games, it’s the perfect storm.
Arsenal’s football has been quite lackluster and they have experienced their biggest dip in form this season. Manchester United legend Paul Scholes this week claimed Arsenal would be the worst title-winning side in Premier League history.
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That seems unreasonable. But even more poignantly, Scholes said:
“Look at the previous champions. Liverpool’s forwards are great. Saka is probably the only one, but I don’t think he’s been great. He hasn’t had many goals or assists this year.”
That’s the point. Arsenal’s forwards are a problem. Bukayo Saka has scored four goals and provided three assists in the Premier League this season. He has also not scored a goal in 13 official games.
Incredibly, just 57 per cent of Arsenal’s Premier League goals this season have come from open play. In the Premier League, he has scored 16 goals from set pieces and 24 overall.
Arteta made Arsenal decisive from corners, free-kicks and set-pieces. But the question arises: “Why?” First and foremost, they play to their strengths to the fullest.
Gabriel is a very important player for Arsenal. He is effective in set pieces. And despite being in the lead and the only team ahead of them is Manchester City, it feels like they are struggling to score goals.
It seems difficult and difficult. Victor Goqueres is joint top scorer in the Premier League with Leandro Trossard, with five goals each. Their forwards weren’t great so they had to look elsewhere.
Gokeres has not had the impact in front of goal that Arsenal had hoped for (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images)
Frank Lampard and Ilkay Gundogan have scored the fewest goals for a team that won the title in Premier League history, with 13 goals each for Chelsea in 2004/05 and 13 goals each for Manchester City in 2020/21.
More than half the season is over, but Arsenal are well on their way to cracking it. Gokeres didn’t work at all. He was signed to score goals, but he didn’t do that enough and his all-around play was poor.
Arsenal are really missing Kai Havertz. This is because he is able to hold the ball and bring other players into the lay, which is especially effective on the road. At the moment the ball just bounces on the break. Havertz’s return has been delayed for some time.
Arsenal needed to strengthen their squad last summer. They spent a lot of money. Gokeres’ transfer cost £64 million and he has started most of the games.
Martin Zvimendi attracted the most attention as other players such as Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard, Piero Hincapie, Kepa and the promising Cristian Mosquera failed to become regulars.
They have depth, but arguably the best team can only be in that class if they win the league. And Arsenal have a long way to go.
Perhaps another reason Arteta put safety first and distanced himself from the free and exciting football of 2022/23 and 2023/24, which marked his first title challenge, was last season’s failure to seriously challenge Liverpool despite finishing second.
Last season, Arsenal drew nine of the 30 games they led. This is a loss of 21 points from the winning point. In the end, they lost the title to Liverpool by 10 points.
This season has become rare. In the game against Sunderland, they conceded the lead and drew 2-2. They took the lead last Sunday but lost to Manchester United. It was my first time.
The problem here is that Arteta knows the pressure is on him to win the title. They’ve been experimenting for the past three years. But no matter how you portray it, he still did a great job.
If the line is not crossed, Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta, not Arteta, will have to bear the greatest responsibility. But Arteta is playing it safe to ensure Arsenal end their 22-year wait to become champions, and he doesn’t care what they do with it.
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