Sports

Arsenal’s lack of firepower proves costly in the Champions League race but the path to improvement remains clear | Football news


Arsenal’s 0-1 loss to Southampton on Saturday has stretched 15 games since one of their strikers scored in their opening Premier League game, a game that spans all of December. .

Eddie Nketiah has been selected to lead the squad at St Mary’s in the absence of Alexandre Lacazette, who has been ruled out of Covid-19, but he has been playing a bit better than his teammates lately.

The 22-year-old has had at least one shot on target, more than Lacazette scored in the 2-1 comeback against Brighton a week earlier, but he has never really threatened to find the net. .

It’s now been more than two months since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to Barcelona but damn it, after scoring seven goals in all competitions in the first half of the campaign, he remains Arsenal’s top scorer this season. .

Please use Chrome browser for more accessible video player

WATCH FREE: Highlights from Arsenal’s loss to Southampton

Arsenal have coped well without him initially, winning 10 of their 13 Premier League games and scoring 26 goals between mid-December – when he was expelled from the team – and the end of March.

But with Lacazette and Nketiah unable to provide enough spearheads up front and Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and the rest of Arsenal’s supporting strikers struggling to execute consistently in front of goal, results has declined significantly.

Poor finishing proves costly

It’s not for lack of trying.

Arsenal had plenty of scoring opportunities against Southampton, with Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard going closest, but the familiar result was Jan Bednarek’s goal, from one of Arsenal’s nine shots to 23, which proved decisive. determined.

From December to March, Mikel Arteta’s side managed to convert enough opportunities to rekindle their top four hopes, but wasted finishing has been an issue throughout the season.

According to Opta statistics, Arsenal are 5th on the table in terms of expected goals this season, but their actual total is 45, ranked 8th, sandwiched between Leicester and Crystal Palace.

Opta’s Projected Goals model says they’ve scored about 10 goals less than they should have over the course of the campaign, based on the quality of the chances they’ve created.

The only teams with a worse goalscoring record this season are bottom Norwich and midfield Brighton.

Arsenal’s poor finishing was in stark contrast to their opponents on Wednesday night.

Please use Chrome browser for more accessible video player

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he hopes Alexandre Lacazette will continue to focus on playing for the club despite doubts about him

Chelsea of ​​course have had problems on their front this season.

Romelu Lukaku, signed from Inter Milan for a record £97.5m fee at the start of the season, has failed to live up to expectations and is now relegated to the bench, his future uncertain. .

But while Arsenal struggled to convert chances into goals, Opta data showed Thomas Tuchel’s side scored almost eight times. than more than expected, making them the most efficient team this season in terms of finishing, despite the problems surrounding Lukaku.

It gives them a significant advantage ahead of Wednesday’s game.

Encouragement in basic numbers

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring their team's second goal of the game
Picture:
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka celebrates after his recent goal against Watford

Arteta knows Arsenal gambled by letting Aubameyang go without bringing in a replacement in January. Logic, he explains to Sports sky in March, the right player simply wasn’t available mid-season.

“Even if you want to do something, but you think it’s going to get you in trouble in the coming months or years, you shouldn’t do it,” he said. “But whether it is a right decision, we will only know at the end of the season.”

It looks like it will increasingly be remembered as a bad thing, even if it is accepted that Aubameyang’s presence at the club becomes more of a hindrance than a help, but at least it is. The encouragement is found in the basic numbers.

Arsenal have come a long way to being at their best late in the game, with injuries to Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney affecting their performances significantly, but overall they are still creating chances. .

In fact, since the start of the year, they have scored a higher expected total than their opponents in nine of their 12 Premier League games, the only exceptions being against Manchester City, Liverpool and Crystal Palace.

Statistically speaking, Arsenal’s performances at both ends of the pitch throughout the second half of the campaign were better than any other period of Arteta’s tenure.

It’s a small consolation for now, as a top 4 spot slips out of reach, but the numbers suggest that an increase in firepower over the summer could have an impact on the future outcome of the game. surname.

Inexperience must be addressed

Arsneal players protest against decision in 1-2 loss to Manchester City
Picture:
Arsenal have lost 4 of the last 5 matches in the Premier League

Arsenal’s gamble in January becomes even riskier considering the squad Arteta now has at his disposal.

Last summer’s recruitment drive proved successful, new signings reinvigorating the team and lowering the team’s average age considerably, but with youth comes immaturity and enthusiasm. That lack of experience has shown recently.

“The players we have, they haven’t done that in this league,” Arteta said after the game against Southampton. “When you have a world-class player who has played in the league for 10 years, you probably wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Arsenal’s inexperience can be seen not only in their inability to convert opportunities in recent weeks, but also in the way their form has fluctuated throughout the campaign.

Failure comes in clusters and so does victory.

The stalemate is characteristic of youth and underscores the need for more experience this summer, something the club were aware of when it focused on recruiting players aged 23 and under last year.

“I think we can now be more flexible in the type of recruitment because obviously we are the youngest team in the league right now,” added Arteta. Sports sky March. “We have to be careful about what the balance is.”

That balance isn’t quite right yet and that’s another factor that could cost them the Champions League this season. But the path to improvement is clear – even if there’s a lot of frustration between now and the end of the campaign.





Source link

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button