How long ago August’s FA Cup win already feels at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta’s problems are mounting into a crisis and an existential threat both to his own job security and Arsenal’s in the Premier League. Make no mistake, any side which is less than two wins above the drop zone in December is quite clearly in a relegation fight.
Sunday’s defeat was harsh in some respects given Burnley, who had just 35% of possession and had their only shot on target saved, did so little to win it, but Arsenal’s failings are becoming habitual. There was only two ways Arsenal could lose this game: indiscipline and profligacy. Just in time for Christmas, they gift-wrapped both.
Arteta, understandably, looked rather shell-shocked by it all. “We threw the game away. We had total control and should have won it already,” he told Sky Sports. “We just gave the game to an opponent.”
Are Arsenal in a relegation fight?
Granit Xhaka appears to grab Ashley Westwood by the throat before his sending off
How long ago August’s FA Cup win already feels at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta’s problems are mounting into a crisis and an existential threat both to his own job security and Arsenal’s in the Premier League. Make no mistake, any side which is less than two wins above the drop zone in December is quite clearly in a relegation fight.
Sunday’s defeat was harsh in some respects given Burnley, who had just 35% of possession and had their only shot on target saved, did so little to win it, but Arsenal’s failings are becoming habitual. There was only two ways Arsenal could lose this game: indiscipline and profligacy. Just in time for Christmas, they gift-wrapped both.
Arteta, understandably, looked rather shell-shocked by it all. “We threw the game away. We had total control and should have won it already,” he told Sky Sports. “We just gave the game to an opponent.”SORRY!The video you are trying to watch cannot be viewed from your current country or locationPLEASE TRY SELECTING A DIFFERENT VIDEOhttps://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.431.0_en.html#goog_1213578188
If there is a criticism of the Arsenal boss, it is that he didn’t make enough changes to his squad over the summer and too much deadwood remains at the club. In fairness, some of that accusation must be levelled at the club’s hierarchy too.
But the club’s hierarchy can hardly be blamed for Arteta picking Xhaka over Dani Ceballos this weekend to such disastrous effect. It is certainly a curiosity that whereas Arteta has been so severe with the likes of Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi, there appears to be no limit to his patience with the under-performances of Willian, Alex Lacazette and Xhaka. You could probably add David Luiz and Hector Bellerin to that list too.
The problem at root remains that Arsenal simply don’t have enough players of sufficient quality. “These players are not good enough to play for Arsenal,” Graeme Souness starkly concluded. So what does Arteta do now? He will have to make at least two changes in midweek when they host Southampton with Bellerin and Xhaka suspended.
But what will be fascinating to see is whether he makes changes based on form. He has been reluctant to do so to date, but it’s high time Arteta wielded the axe to that lingering deadwood. Roy Keane warned a few months back that the Manchester United players will get Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the sack. Much the same could be said of Arsenal and their own player-turned-manager right now. It’s them or him.
