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Mikel Arteta is now discovering what it is really like to be an Arsenal manager. Like Unai Emery and Arsene Wenger before him, the Spaniard must prepare for another winter of discontent at the Emirates after a 2-1 loss at home to the Wolves. The Gunners are currently 14th in the table, having had their worst start to a Premier League season.
Arsenal haven’t started such a bad season since 1981-82, and they haven’t lost at home to the Wolves since 1979. Star forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who started at center-back against the Wolves, is still waiting for his first goal at the Emirates also from last season, so there really aren’t a lot of silver lights in the clouds hovering over the club right now.
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And just to compound Arsenal’s misery, they must travel to face bitter rivals Tottenham next Sunday with José Mourinho’s team sitting at the top of the table after their 0-0 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge earlier in the day. .
“We need more goals to win soccer games,” Arteta said. “We have to continue supporting the players. We are creating opportunities but fighting to score goals. That is the difference between winning and losing.
“When you lose games, confidence goes down because they believe that things can happen again.
“You need to win after a loss. We’ve been doing this in my time here, but this is the first time since we’ve been here. [that Arsenal have had a losing run]. “
There was always the danger that winning the FA Cup and Community Shield in the first year of Arteta’s reign in charge was too soon for a club that has lost its way as a Premier League force. Now it is proving to be the case.
Optimism grew with those Wembley successes, against Chelsea and Liverpool, and they likely played a major role in persuading Aubameyang to put an end to uncertainty about his future by signing a new three-year contract at the club in September. But Aubameyang has scored just one goal in the league since putting pen to paper on his contract, and Arteta’s progress has also stalled. The trophies plastered over cracks that haven’t disappeared.
That Arsenal went off the rails at the same time Aubameyang stopped scoring is no coincidence. With Arteta trying to solve the team’s long-standing defensive problems by making the Gunners more organized, there was always the risk that the plan would fall apart if Aubameyang lost his touchdown.
Arsenal have had 95 goal attempts in 10 league games so far this season, only four teams have had fewer, and scored from just 10 of them. They’re scoring at a one goal-per-game rate, so when their defense falls short, as it did against the Wolves, they are in trouble. How hungry have Arsenal been for goals? Center-back Gabriel’s header in the 30th minute on Sunday is the club’s only goal in open play in six Premier League games.
And the problems run deeper at the Emirates, where Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet in eight straight league games at home. When you’re struggling to score at home, you really need to be tight defensively, but Arsenal were all over the place against Wolves, just as they were in the last game at the Emirates when they lost 3-0 to Aston Villa.
The Wolves, who lost Mexican striker Raúl Jiménez to a terrible head injury after a head clash with David Luiz in the fifth minute, dominated this game and could have scored more than the two that scored through Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence in the first half.
Adama Traore was unlucky enough to be booked for diving in the 54th minute when replays suggested that the Wolves winger had been caught in the area by Gabriel, the Arsenal striker. The wolves should have received a penalty.
In Arsenal’s defense, the Wolves are a strong and impressive team under Nuno Espirito Santo, and they will take points away from many other leading teams this season. They were smarter and better organized, with the center midfielder and captain Conor Coady leading vocally from the rear.
Arsenal desperately need a figure like Coady at the heart of their defense, a defender who can rally four defenders and take command without the guidance of the band.
In contrast, Luiz and Gabriel seemed to barely know what the other was doing. Luiz has always been a non-conformist defender, one who can create more problems than he solves, but he was handed a new contract over the summer, so Arteta must have some faith in him.
The absence of the injured Thomas Partey in midfield did not help Arsenal, with Dani Ceballos taking Luiz’s approach by causing problems for his team with unnecessary fouls and discussions with the referees. But this is the Arsenal that Arteta has been in charge of for a year now, and the same old problems keep resurfacing.
He has made a big decision about Mesut Ozil and has chosen not to consider the German midfielder and with inconsistency being a major issue with the former Real Madrid player, Arteta cannot be blamed for that decision. That being said, he desperately needs someone on his team who can deliver Ozil-like levels of creativity, with a higher work ethic, to make Arsenal a more powerful attacking team and who can get the most out of Aubameyang.
As it stands, Aubameyang is stranded at the helm, hungry for service, and increasingly frustrated. Opponents have begun to realize that cutting off the supply line to Aubameyang practically nullifies Arsenal’s threat.
Arteta has a lot of problems to solve, but finding a solution to that should be the priority because all the other adjustments will mean nothing if Arsenal cannot score.
