Is there any point in continuing with ‘the project’?

Southampton 1 Arsenal 0 
Premier League 
Saturday 16th April 2022 3pm   

A second Saturday 3pm kick off in a row feels like a bit of a rarity, but it’s also an indication that Arsenal matches don’t really matter so much these days, at least in terms of a wider TV audience. A third defeat in a row, and a fourth in the last five matches, points to the wheels coming off at the business end of the season, which is something we’ve seen a little too often since the club upped sticks in 2006 and moved to the Emirates.

Rather astonishingly, Arsenal’s chances of making fourth place are still very much in their own hands – given they still have to play all of the other four teams credibly vying for third and fourth place in their remaining seven matches. However, the Gunners can’t buy a goal these days – netting once in total against the combined might of Palace, Brighton and Southampton. Last weekend, Chelsea played at St Mary’s and walloped their hosts 6-0. You could argue that to get some confidence back under your belt, a game against Arsenal might be just what the doctor ordered. 

Southampton were very ordinary, and as resilient as they needed to be, which unfortunately wasn’t much, as Arsenal’s powder puff attack failed to score. Eddie Nketiah was given a run out at centre forward, although whether or not Alex Lacazette was dropped or actually did test positive for Covid, only those at the club know. Emile Smith Rowe was on the bench, and there is an argument to try Martinelli in the centre against Chelsea, drop Eddie to his accustomed position on the bench and bring in Smith Rowe. At least we have seen him score goals in the past. 

Nketiah did nick the ball off a Southampton defender to begin the move that was Arsenal’s best chance of the game, feeding Martinelli – who played the first half on the right side of attack – who passed across to Saka. He shot with his weaker foot, but nevertheless it required a good save from Fraser Forster in the Saints goal. He did also pull off a couple of decent saves in the second half, but for the most part, Arsenal shots were either high or wide of the target. Their 18 efforts against the home side’s four gives you an accurate picture of the game – the majority of it played in the Southampton half.

But Arsenal looked lacklustre – with a lot of sideways passing and not much in the way of penetrative balls to find runs which for the most part were not even being made. It looked like a team that had run out of ideas. Southampton’s goal just before the interval was just messy. Ben White rolled off the pitch for some reason, but was well enough to get back on it once a punched ball from Ramsdale was returned and Bednarek had enough space to fire the ball into the net. White wasn’t close enough to him to get the required block. 

As the second half wore on, with no sign of the home side wanting to try and increase their lead, Arteta replaced his two full backs with attacking players in the form of Smith Rowe and Pepe. Both had chances, but the keeper stopped anything on target and it became a training ground exercise with attack v defence in which the latter was very much on top. 

Arteta took a gamble in January – with no cup involvement after the defeats against Forest and Liverpool – to get by with a thin squad and not replace the now free-scoring Aubameyang. It looks like it was a gamble that he will come to regret.

Yes, there was a great run to get the team into the top four. Forgetting the cup defeats, starting with Southampton at home in December, they put together an incredible run of 28 points in 12 games, losing to title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool, the only other blemish a 0-0 home draw against Burnley. The points on the board are the reason that their top four fate remains in their own hands. But if the team are not able to perform against mid-table opposition, are they suddenly going to turn it around when four of their next five matches are against Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham and Spurs – three of those away?

I’ve never been totally convinced by Arteta. I have wanted to believe, but there was always a nagging feeling that – as a manager who could win football games – he just can’t do it enough to bring the club back into contention. That he cannot handle more opinionated or simply less disciplined players to get the best out of them narrows his options. What exactly is the story with William Saliba for example?

The other weakness is the lack of real leaders in the squad. The likes of Ramsdale and Gabriel may be spirited but genuine authority figures that can lift a young team around them seem thin on the ground. Is Lacazette really a captain? Odegaard had the armband yesterday. Tierney feels like an exception, but more like him are required, and they need to be on the pitch as well. Thomas Partey is not what I would call a leader, but without him, the midfield looks very fragile. Xhaka is slow and can do a job alongside Partey, but once the Ghanaian is removed, that area of the pitch becomes a problem one, through lack of presence. Lokonga has a way to go. The team seemed to lack drive and inspiration yesterday, and lost a game against a very average side who just looked like they wanted it a bit more. 

The question is whether or not another summer of transfer activity is going to change the script. Is it just the tools that Arteta has to work with? The answer to that is in the starting eleven. Xhaka was a fixture before. Martinelli was signed the summer before Arteta came to the club, although only became a regular starter under the current manager. ESR, Saka and Nketiah were promoted from the Under 23s and the other six players were brought under Arteta’s watch. So it’s pretty much his team out there. 

It just feels now like the attacking players have been worked out by the opposition and their threat nullified, the goals drying up. The players don't seem clinical enough with their finishing. Too many shots off target. It means defensive lapses can’t be afforded. Spurs’ surprise home defeat to Brighton may have put last weekend’s game at the Emirates into some perspective, but it also gave Arsenal a great chance to get back in the mix before things get potentially sticky on Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. That they failed to take it after disappointing performances in the previous two matches is a cause for concern. 

I don't think Mikel Arteta is the man to get Arsenal out of their rut and said as much at the end of last season – the nature of the Europa League semi-final exit and the inability to finish above eighth place an indication that this was not going to end well. Disbelief was suspended at times this season when the team really did play well. But consistency is the key to genuine success, and Arsenal’s only comes in patches before the good work is undone with stinkers of performances – think the pair of defeats against Manchester United and Everton, the last three games, the trio of cup matches that saw the club eliminated from both domestic cups in January. The odd defeat is a fact of life, but for a combination of reasons there have been too many. Arsenal might cling on to a European place – but the feeling right now is whether it will be sixth or seventh place. In the event that Palace win the FA Cup (unlikely, but possible), only sixth place would guarantee continental involvement next season.

Arteta had a lot going in his favour this season, including Spurs and Manchester United having shaky campaigns aside from the obvious stuff related to transfer spending and greater preparation time. But he does not have the experience to turn the club around, which starts with winning matches against teams you can beat consistently. His team can do it in patches, but we are getting to two and a half years in now and the dips are not disappearing. You could make a case that even seventh is progress, but under the circumstances, anything but a top four finish gives the board no reason to retain him. This ‘project’ isn’t going to work. Arteta has taken the team as far as he can, but his game management and squad management is not what it needs to be. The job came too early for him, and the fans are paying the price as he learns his lessons.

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