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Arsenal’s woeful start to the Premier League season continued Sunday night after losing to Wolves, and any last glimmer of optimism is quickly fading under Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners were consigned to their fifth loss of the Premier League season after just 10 games following their 2-1 loss to Wolves, who were also struggling to stay fit, at the Emirates.
He has marked Arsenal’s worst start to a league campaign since 1981, when he amassed just 12 points compared to 13 this season.
While Arteta has made Arsenal much more compact on defense, at the top they are devoid of creativity and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is enduring a horrible slump in form that is hugely alarming to fans.
The Gunners have scored just 10 times in 10 games so far this season, with only the last four scoring fewer.
Following their FA Cup triumph, which was later backed up by their success at Community Shield, there was hope that Arsenal had turned the corner, but suddenly they seem to have returned to box one after Unai Emery’s firing a year ago. Yesterday.
While there are still high hopes that Arteta will succeed as a coach, he is encountering procedural difficulties at this time at a club that has been in decline for several seasons after years of mismanagement.
Here Sportsmail takes a look at what has really changed at the club since Arsenal decided to part ways with Emery, who was fired after a bad run of results and boring football …
COMPACT GAME STYLE
After the departure of legendary coach Arsene Wenger, Arsenal moved away from their philosophy of fluid football under Emery, but their fortunes didn’t necessarily change on defense.
Emery wanted his Arsenal team to soak up the danger and kill teams on the counter, but overall this plan didn’t work as the Gunners still conceded a lot.
Arteta came in, and after a couple of months of acclimatization with the players at his disposal, he soon sealed his authority on the team and set about implementing a clear game plan.
Similar to Emery, Arteta chose to take a defensive-minded approach, but there was a clear game plan for all to see that seemed to be paying off.
Arteta guided Arsenal to their fourteenth FA Cup at the end of last season, beating Manchester City in the semi-final before beating London rivals Chelsea in the Wembley final.
And the main reason for its success? Defend yourself as a unit and allow the Aubameyang talisman to provide the magic at the other end.
The Gunners were extremely tough against City and Chelsea, especially in the semi-final, as players like David Luiz produced heroic displays after receiving much criticism previously.
Speed on the fast break and his deft passing allowed Arsenal to punish City and Chelsea, while they also managed to claim Liverpool’s scalp in both the Premier League and Community Shield.
Arteta had finally made Arsenal that much harder to beat, and his journey seemed to take another step in the right direction after a dominating victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford in early November.
But in the midst of that victory, the Gunners have endured a troubling slump and came to a head when they were defeated once again by Wolves.
While Arteta has made Arsenal considerably tougher on defense, their problems now reside up front and their football is certainly no longer pretty or fluid.
AUBAMEYANG AND THE ATTACK CANNOT BE SEEN BY PART
While Arteta has come in and prioritized the defensive side of things, he has struggled in the attacking department.
The Gunners were outmatched once again when the Wolves put them to the sword on Sunday, and Aubameyang and company were nowhere to be seen.
The Gabonese forward has not scored in open play since the season opener against Fulham and on Sunday had only one shot on goal and just nine touches in the Wolves penalty area.
During Aubameyang’s first full season with the club, he scored 22 of Arsenal’s 73 goals in the 2018-19 campaign before scoring another 22 last season, as the Gunners only shot home 56 in total.
But this season, the Gabon forward has only scored two goals in 10 Premier League games.
Since signing his lucrative new contract, which was seen as an important step in the right direction in the club’s bid to reclaim his place among England’s elite, he has been completely out of place.
But one of the main reasons behind that alarming shape is the way Arsenal is set up. The prioritization of defense has led to offense being somewhat neglected, and there is very little relationship between midfield and offense.
Gone are the days of Arsenal’s tiki taka football that terrorized opposing defenses and left fans in awe.
The current attack is so disjointed, and there seems to be no understanding whatsoever between the front line and the midfield: who, it must be said, underperforms enormously.
Most worryingly, there is no obvious solution to Arsenal’s problems, and if anything, their attack form has worsened with Arteta.
Horrible streak of results
When Arsenal decided enough was enough with Emery after 18 months at the helm, the Gunners had not won in seven games, culminating in a sad defeat at home in the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt.
It was the club’s worst streak without a win since February 1992, which was eight games with George Graham.
Arsenal said the decision to fire Emery, after being eight points behind the top four at the time, was made “because the results and performances were not at the required level.”
But we move forward 12 months and the results are not better. The Gunners hobbled last season to eighth, 10 points behind fourth.
Their FA Cup triumph somehow saved a disastrous season by claiming a place in the Europa League.
But he plugged the cracks and problems have continued for Arsenal this season.
Five losses in 10 Premier League games is simply not good enough for a club like Arsenal, and their terrible streak now places them in a humble 14th position with a goal difference of minus two.
And unfortunately, it won’t be any easier for the Gunners as they prepare to face North London rivals Tottenham next Sunday.
Arsenal fans fear the worst and if they don’t get another win soon, with matches against players like Chelsea on the horizon, things could get ugly with the team’s confidence boost.
ARTETA TRYING TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS IN THE WINDOW
After years of mismanagement by the club hierarchy in the transfer window with money being wasted on players surpassing their peak, it has been up to Arteta and Edu to attempt to reshape Arsenal again.
Certainly Arteta has been given more voice on the hiring front by working closely with Technical Director Edu, but there is still a lot of work to do.
The Gunners coach brought Pablo Mari to a left-handed center in January to bolster his defense while enjoying a positive transfer window in the summer.
Thomas Partey was the box office signing, joining a £ 45m deal from Atlético de Madrid on the day of the deadline and also bringing in Gabriel Magalhaes for £ 27m from Lille in what turned out to be a shrewd deal.
Gabriel has been Arsenal’s most prominent player thus far at the heart of the Gunners defense, while much more is expected of Partey as he recovers from injury after starring against United.
They have been led to improving the team’s backbone and it certainly showed against United on November 1.
But the Gunners have long been crying out for a creative midfielder who can work his magic in midfield and help unleash Aubameyang.
Houssem Aouar was an important target for Arsenal in the summer, but Lyon played hard and kept their star player. There is no doubt that they will come back in for it.
A playmaker is the priority for Arteta as she desperately seeks to find that star that can turn defense into attack in an instant, and provide that link between the baseline and the front line.
BUT DESPITE THE DARK CLOUDS RISING BIG IN THE EMIRATES … THERE ARE STILL POSITIVES
Despite his inexperience and after Arsenal’s poor form, Arteta is undoubtedly a coach who has a lot going for him, and the Gunners hierarchy has all their faith in him.
At the beginning of the season, Arsenal changed Arteta’s job title from head coach to manager, and the club recognized the brilliant early work he had done at London Colney.
‘Mikel has been here since the end of December and the last nine months have been probably the most challenging nine months in Arsenal’s history, and we’ve been here for 134 years. Despite all those challenges, Mikel has been pushing this football club forward, ” CEO Vinai Venkatesham told Arsenal Digital.
“It has raised spirits and energy here at London Colney and with Arsenal fans around the world. He’s doing an absolutely phenomenal job.
‘The other thing that’s clear is that from the day he walked in the door, he was doing a lot more than just being our head coach. So we will change the title of your work in the future. He will go from head coach to first team coach. That’s an acknowledgment of what he’s been up to since the day he walked through the door, but also where we see his capabilities. ‘
Arteta has demanded authority since he stepped foot inside London Colney after taking the reins, and that has been reflected in Arsenal’s reversal of fortunes on defense.
Players seem to have much more confidence in Arteta than Emery despite recent results, knowing that there is a more concise game plan that has paid off previously.
But to make sure things don’t get even more bitter, Arteta needs a big win to change the mood at the Emirates.
While the coach will always be the center of attention, Arsenal players must stop hiding behind Arteta and take responsibility for their own downfall.
And there would be no better place to stand up and be counted than at their staunch rivals Tottenham …
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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