by Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal can no longer afford to “slip up” if they are to stay in the Premier League title race.
The Arsenal manager also admitted that during his time in charge there was a worrying pattern of the team going on a long streak of games without a win which undermined their campaign.
“We want to stop that as quickly as possible,” said Arteta. “Every time you lose the next most important thing is to win to stop that. We failed to do that and that’s a reality and we have to face it.”
Arsenal return to league action in the home basket at lunchtime against Crystal Palace on Saturday amid one win from seven games in all competitions including an FA Cup exit to Liverpool and a Champions League dead-rubber draw at PSV Eindhoven . .
But that sequence also includes an 11-point drop, from a possible 15, in the league with Arsenal dropping to fourth – five points behind leaders Liverpool and only now ahead of Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference.
The concern is that this has happened before – and in each of Arteta’s previous three full seasons in charge. Of course, it can happen to any team, and wins often run in barrels because of the obvious effect they have on confidence and the factors behind them (a string of injuries, for example).
But for Arsenal it happened too often and too consistently. A pattern needs to be addressed: last season there were just two wins from eight, as well as two winless streaks in four (including one with three wins). In 2021-22 there were three longer streaks – four losses in five, no wins in five (and three losses) and no wins in four (and, again, three losses). The previous season Arsenal won three of 11 games (losing six), one of five and two of eight (with four wins).
“We have done a lot of things and produce as much as possible during the games and get as little as possible from the opponent. It just happened,” said Arteta when asked what he had done to stop this trend. “In the end you just have to win the games and we haven’t.”
Given the tight margins at the top, and with Manchester City strengthening for the second half of the season and Liverpool facing them, Arteta is clear that anything short of maximum points against Palace is unacceptable and questions will be asked more therefore important.
“Well, we had a better start to pick up points for sure if we’re going to be there,” he said. “We will have to have three points on the board consistently and we know you can’t have more slips at this level.”
Arteta’s frustration – or so he claimed – was that the statistics show Arsenal should have won far more games than they did this season.
“If you look at all the details Arsenal, Arsenal – top, top, top,” he insisted, before adding: “The reality is we haven’t won many games so there’s something something about that. It’s like an onion: first layer, two layers. We have to go to the bottom to understand what is making us win or not. It was the small details, the small margins… we have to change that. We have to find something else to win.”
This has been worked on, including trying to simplify things in attacking positions, during Arsenal’s warm-weather eight-day training camp in Dubai, where the players are allowed to bring their families, to benefit from a bank The Premier League’s stumbling winter.
Arteta admitted that the confidence was affected. “Definitely, that’s a big factor,” he said before adding: “But… we create more chances than any other team in the league.” However the data does not support Arteta’s claim – Arsenal are only sixth in the Premier League on the key metric xG (expected goals) and fourth in terms of shots and only seventh in terms of shots on target. They have a higher rate, second only to Manchester City, in passes into the final third.
After 20 games, Arsenal are 10 points worse off than last season and have scored fewer goals (45 versus 37) and conceded more (20 versus 17) while investing heavily in the transfer market – including striker Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £65 million. The elephant in the room, of course, is the decision last summer not to buy a center forward.
The £105 million investment in Declan Rice has been successful, and he is part of Arsenal’s strongest back line with Gabriel and William Saliba, but the commitment to Havertz is not so great.
In fairness any criticism has to be seen through the prism of Arteta and Arsenal undoubtedly overachieved last season – so it’s hard to compare points and goals – but elite sport must continue improvement and moving forward. “Marginal gains,” called Arteta and, unfortunately for Arsenal, that is not in evidence at the moment as the manager struggles to identify the reasons for their repeated runs without enough wins.
Arsenal must also decide whether to allow Emile Smith Rowe to go on loan to West Ham United who have inquired about the attacking midfielder. The indications are that Arsenal are the keen player. “I am very happy with Emile,” said Arteta even though he is undoubtedly a marginal player. “He’s on the right track and he’s settled, he’s training very well and you know I’m not prepared to talk about any individual situation.”
