Arsenals performance at home to Liverpool at the weekend was well below par even with the relatively weakened lineup Mikel Arteta was forced to select. From the very first minute Arsenal were completely outplayed by a Liverpool side who had been struggling. Arsenal were passive throughout and showed none of the attacking threat displayed in recent months. Individual performances were really poor and tactically they were also very questionable. They faced a side on a poor run of form who would have presumably been lacking in confidence. Arsenal played into their hands allowing them easy possession. Liverpool quickly gained in confidence and really turned the screw in in the second half. Mikel Arteta has to take some responsibility here. Arsenal should have put a fragile Liverpool under pressure. The Merseyside club lined up with a centre back partnership of Kabak and Phillips-both of whom are inexperienced. Arsenal have the kind of attacking talent to take advantage of this inexperience and yet they barely even threatened to do so. Aubamayeng really struggled to make any sort of impact on the left wing. Lacazette couldn’t build on his performance against West Ham and Pepe was largely anonymous on the right. The players behind them didn’t fare much better. It was evidence-if it was really needed that both the squad and the manager need to improve dramatically and that Arsenal are far from the level they want to be at.
Arsenal went in to this game without Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Granit Xhaka while Kieran Tierney was forced off injured. The lack of depth in Arsenals squad was truly exposed as Liverpool strolled to a 3-0 victory. Arsenals missed Smith Rowes creativity and intelligent game play. Dani Ceballos struggled in place of Xhaka and Arsenals failure to find a backup left back in Janaury was punished when the naturally right sided Cedric replaced Tierney. This all points to a side that relies too heavily on individuals. Arteta has worked hard to build an identity over the past few months and have shown promising signs since Christmas. However, all it took for that identify to disappear was a few injuries to key players.
The Liverpool performance demonstrated that Arsenal have a huge summer ahead of them-both on the training ground and in the transfer market. A back up left back is essential to relieve the pressure on Kieran Tierney. Midfield needs a huge amount of work. Dani Ceballos’ recent struggles mean it is very unlikely that he will be an Arsenal player next season. Mohammed Elneny is a decent squad player but not at the level to take Arsenal forward. Question marks still remain surrounding the futures of Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Granit Xhaka has been excellent since the Chelsea game on St. Stephens day but Arsenal should not be relying on him to the level they have. A midield partner for Thomas Partey is an imperative. Ideally, the Gunners need a player who combine Xhakas consistency in possession with more mobility, pace and defensive instincts. Arteta and co should also be doing all they can to bring Martin Odegaard in on a permanent basis. The Norwegian has been outstanding since his loan move from Real Madrid in January. A back up goalkeeper for Bernt Leno will be necessary as will a right back if Hector Bellerin departs. Areta must also use the 3 months over the summer to revise his tactics and learn from his mistakes. A lack of squad depth and the fact that he is still relatively new in his job may be used as an excuse now but they simply won’t cut it next season.
Arsenal’s form since December should not be forgotten amidst Saturdays calamitous performance against Liverpool. They have shown promise and had shown a consistency in terms of performance prior to Saturdays game. They have the attacking talent to truly hurt teams and will hope to use this to their advantage in the Europa League, which is essentially their only route into European football next season. They need to be braver than they were on Saturday. They need to be aggressive and move the ball quickly. If they are as passive as they were against Liverpool-they will not last long and will blow an opportunity to win their first major European trophy. Saturdays performance made it blindingly obvious that Arteta’s plan for Arsenal’s success would take time. It is long term project. However, achieving short term goals will be essential if long term success is to be gained.
TheGoonerStation 