Where Do Arsenal Go From Here?
Arsenal 1 Wolves 2
There was a moment of tribute to the late Diego Maradona before this match. And towards the end of the 90 minutes that followed, I reflected how Arsenal need an injection of something (an unfortunate metaphor, but I’ll stick with it) akin to that Maradona gave Napoli in the 1980s and his national team at the World Cup Finals in Mexico. Because things are going downhill very badly. Let’s look at the cold hard facts in the Premier League. Three consecutive home defeats (strangely all to Midlands teams). Four points from the last 18 available. One performance that passed muster with the away win at Old Trafford.
Where is the hope? The return of Thomas Partey? The comeback of the long-term absentee Gabriel Martinelli? The continued development of Bukayo Saka? The fact the club does seem to have bought an excellent leader at centre-back in the form of Gabriel? Please don’t tell me it’s the re-integration of Mesut Ozil – although were that to be the solution, we’ve a two month wait. Immediately, you would have to say it's the return to form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who looks like a player shorn of confidence right now. In fairness to the Arsenal captain, the service he is getting at centre forward is minimal. His colleagues work the ball forward, but rarely pose much of a threat once they get anywhere near the opposition goal.
So it was against Wolves. Pepe (suspended) and Holding made way for Saka and David Luiz from last weekend’s draw at Leeds. By half-time Wolves were leading 2-1, Arsenal’s defending on the first goal hardly textbook, and goals conceded at the far post after Hector Bellerin has been outjumped are becoming a thing. It was good to see an immediate response, with Willian crossing well for Gabriel to score from a header, but it didn’t last. The ball was lost in midfield, and the resulting break saw Podence display a little of the Maradona in his skill to fashion a scoring chance to put the away team ahead.
All of the goals followed a ten minute stoppage after a clash of heads between David Luiz and Wolves’ striker Raul Jiminez. The latter, with apparently a cracked skull, was taken to hospital, whilst Luiz was bandaged up to complete the half, something of a surprise given the general caution around head injuries. His bleeding through his bandage was reminiscent of the white away kit with the blood streaks - which rather oddly Bernd Leno was wearing. I think of it as the Rwandan Genocide kit, due to the sponsor logo on the sleeve, and the effect was not a good look on Luiz bandage, which had most people wondering how the doctor concerned had given him the ok to continue. He was replaced by Holding for the second half.
The last 45 minutes saw greater attacking threat from Arteta’s team, albeit partly due to Wolves’ manager Nuno Espirito Santo going with a we hold what we have policy with his substitutions. It worked just fine to nullify any attacking threat. Over the entire game, Arsenal mustered one other attempt on target aside from their first half goal, a soft effort from Aubameyang that had the weight of a backpass.
There are some already calling for Arteta to go. That isn’t likely to happen anytime soon for two reasons. The club still do not sack managers lightly. And financially, they really are not in a position to pay him compensation.
In a WhatsApp chat, one friend of mine reflected, “Arteta probably will be a good manager one day but needs a few years experience in a smaller club, and he probably arrived at Arsenal at the wrong time. I like the way he carries himself but on paper we have good enough players to finish top 6 so the buck stops with him really (and those who appointed him). Who knows, perhaps we stumble on a successful formula and hit a winning run, but unlikely.”
I responded, “It's the result of years and years of incremental decline. Started in 2008, and has been very gradual. Too many poor decisions on players coming in and the handling of contracts. Arteta needs another transfer window, but as said, these players should be better than 14th place.”
My friend replied with a tweet from Arsenal-supporting journalist Matt Scott, which read, “A squad of players lost, an inexperienced manager, a decade and a half of a transfer “strategy” mishmash, a near-£250m wage bill and £100m in revenue down with huge transfer installments to be paid. I’m terrified we’re witnessing the slow death of a great club.”
There have been some poor decisions in recent seasons, and the club has not been run efficiently. They are trying to turn things around now, and the end of the season will see a number of players depart who are some way down the pecking order in spite of picking up hefty salaries. Arteta inherited a mess, as did Unai Emery, but use of funds, even after Arsene Wenger’s departure (and the decisions of his final couple of seasons are still hampering the club) has not always been the most judicious, not least the amount splashed out on Nicholas Pepe.
What the club required was a manager to get good habits in place and eliminate the culture of complacency that had taken over at London Colney. It felt like Arteta made huge strides in that direction, although coming up to a year after his appointment, he’s hit a real slump. Defensively, things are not great, but it would be churlish to suggest there has not been improvement. They have conceded less goals than eight of the 13 sides above them in the table – but that has come at the sacrifice of the attacking play. Only the three sides in the relegation zone have scored less than the Gunners. Summary – when the captain’s goals dry up, so do the points. Arsenal currently look like a mid-table team. Football moves in cycles, even within a season, and you can imagine that things will turn around enough for Arteta to deliver at the minimum a top ten place.
He will be given more time, the powers that be believe in him. The players though, are another matter. The lack of quality in the attacking play is a concern. Is the lack of wit and creativity in the build-ups down to Arteta or the players he is asking to execute his tactics? We are in the midst of an abysmal run, but it cannot last much longer. The hope is that it ends next weekend, although right now, getting anything at Spurs looks like a long shot. Still, when did derbies ever take account of form? That is the straw we are clutching right now. Difficult times.
Hindsight is currently suggesting that the club would have done better than to appoint a more experienced manager, such as Ancelotti, to replace Unai Emery. Yet I recall people calling for Arsene Wenger’s head in the autumn of 2001 after some poor results and the failure to build on the 1997-98 season (they could so easily have won four trophies in the three seasons that followed). It’s difficult to retain faith in Arteta right now, but we have to remember the good things he has done, and perhaps be aware that what has happened here is that a key player has gone off the boil. Had our number 14 scored another three or four goals, we might be looking at a top four place. We wait to see how things can turn around, but there is no debate that putting the ball into the opposition net is now where the focus needs to go. Two goals in six games is, as the manager likes to say, unacceptable.
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