Match report – Player evaluation – Arteta’s reaction – Video
Well, it couldn’t have been any worse. Arsenal suffered a heavy defeat to 10-man Manchester United in the FA Cup, lost Gabriel Jesus to what appeared to be a serious injury, and are likely to suffer a few more minor problems along the way, missing a number of chances and conceding penalties. They missed out, played 30 minutes before Wednesday’s North London derby, lost in extra-time, and suffered a demoralizing loss as they lost on penalties in their own half.
The first-half goal was obviously disallowed for offside, but other than that there wasn’t much to write home about from the first-half performance. The main topic was Jesus’ injuries. He was hit in the face by Lisandro Martinez and injured his knee in the process, but continued treatment. He seemed to be moving well, but a few minutes later he made a mad dash back to chase down Bruno Fernandes on the edge of the box, landed awkwardly and remained stationary.
The sight of him being carried away on a stretcher, holding his head in his hands, was perhaps enough evidence of how serious this was. The player knows he did something wrong. I can’t help but fear for the ACL, but we’ll know as soon as he gets his scan today. Mikel Arteta said afterwards:
“Big worry. That’s how I feel. He was in a lot of pain and had to come off on a stretcher. I’m worried about his feelings. He had to fall off and he suffered. That was the pain.”
Unfortunately for him, we’ve done things this season that have upset the injury gods, so I don’t really expect good news from this one. It may be a pleasant surprise, but losing another player from a front line that already lacks numbers and firepower will be a pain. Raheem Sterling was appointed as his successor.
The second half started poorly and a misjudgment by Gabriel on the halfway line allowed Garnacho to run into the box and cross the ball for Bruno Fernandes to make it 1-0 with a great finish. Mikel Merino created a chance for Kai Havertz, but the German miskicked the ball when it should have hit the goal, sending the ball wide.
But with an hour remaining, the pendulum swung again when Diogo Dalot was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Merino. It was a sign of the times since the opponent had a player sent off against us. Certainly this will give us enough of an advantage to continue winning. Gabriel’s equalizer just two minutes later should have really crushed United’s players. Martinelli’s cross was not handled well by the keeper and the centre-half’s shot deflected past the keeper and into the net, making it 1-1.
Now turn the screw. Although there are some concerns about the number of goals at the moment, I think it’s fair to say that we had a good chance to win this game twice. I have to admit that the penalty given to us was a bit lenient, but Martin Odegaard’s shot wasn’t 100% convincing, but Altai Beindir made a good save. The captain then played a great cross to substitute Declan Rice, but his header was well saved. Havertz made his third terrible mistake of the week, taking a shot from close range in a situation where he could easily have scored. Bindil then denied Rice again as he slipped out and fired a left-footed shot.
As the game went into extra time, Rice’s shot was blocked, Havertz got behind and fired, and all eyes were on Trossard to score, but De Ligt made a great clearance and stole the ball. Thomas Partey’s carelessness and poor positioning created some danger for our side, but Raya made a good save. We held our breath after that, but United continued to defend stubbornly.
I have to say it’s strange that despite having the man advantage, they tend to only attack one side instead of using the extra man to extend the play. I know Horseshoes of Ruin isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but there are times when it’s useful, and 11v10 is one of them. The alternative, bar rice, didn’t work for me. Trossard basically offered nothing, and although Sterling ran with the ball a few times, he had very little play with the ball. His play was summed up for me in the moment when we needed the ball into the box and he ended up just exchanging passes with Partey until the referee blew the whistle.
Then came the penalty and I couldn’t help but feel like I was being made to pay for the missed opportunity. And it was proven. United took 100% of their spots, helped by a very strange display from Raya who seemed to time his kick too early, making it easier for his players to pick their spots. And it must have been Havertz who missed out. I’d wager he hasn’t had a worse week as a pro in terms of missed chances and their consequences, but when you add in the missed penalty (which to me was a bit of a good save rather than a terrible mistake) But still) ), he looked completely disappointed after that.
So, after another early exit in the FA Cup and losing to Newcastle earlier in the week, they are now just one step away from the Carabao Cup. Jesus injury, Julian Timber’s possible hamstring problem, Jorginho sent off injured, 120 minutes of energy-sapping football, a main striker who had a seven-day nightmare in front of goal, and people’s feelings about this team. All the questions you have are correct. Even more valid now after the crazy cup draw. It was a disaster in one day, but with the North London derby coming up in two days, the manager has to pick them up and get the game going.
That explains his post-game comments about how much he loved his players. I think most people can understand why he said that in public, but there’s nothing else he can say because morale will obviously go down and he can’t get the public to sympathize with him. They have work to do Wednesday night (and beyond), so that’s the only message he can send.
But in private, he must be worried. I don’t want to talk about xG, I don’t want to talk about how much we’ve underperformed in the last few games, but it’s about putting the ball in the back of the net. And it could be compounded by another injury that could potentially take a player out for an extended period of time. He was then asked if this meant he had to sign a striker, and I thought Arteta’s answer was interesting.
I understand that, but I couldn’t love the player more. And I’m very focused on having to perform at the highest level. that’s it. The rest is not in our hands or mine.
It suggests, at least to me, that if there is any impediment to spending, it is coming from higher up. I just can’t believe that the manager doesn’t want to add players to his front line this month, no matter how much he has put in over the years. Bukayo Saka has been out for months, Ethan Nwaneri is out as well, we’ve probably lost Jesus for a long time, Sterling has no goal threat at all, Trossard has been in poor form this season and Martinelli has six goals in 28 games. . Needless to say, our leading scorer struggles with missing the kinds of opportunities that I think he is more than capable of.
Of course he is right to focus on our players. There’s no point in doing much else when there’s a game every three days, but this team needs at least one more clinical player in the final third, and probably more. One thing was never more obvious than yesterday. In the long run.
At its root is the feeling that the team is playing within itself…limited and handicapped by minute coaching to give it control, and unable to express or improvise enough to really threaten. It’s not being done. Yesterday he was looking to finish more than anything, but he played with his butt out (for lack of a better word) and in the end it came back to Arteta himself. We need to take that stick out of there and bring someone in during this period to give the team the help that it so badly needs right now.
In the meantime, all we can do is wait for the news of Jesus and resolve to go again on Wednesday. It’s always a must-win game, but after such a bad week in the cup, this game takes on even more significance.
For me yesterday, I’ll also be broadcasting Arsecast Extra in a little while. We asked for questions on BlueSky @gunnerblog.bsky.social and @arseblog.com using the hashtag #arsecastextra. Or, if you’re an Arseblog member on Patreon, leave your questions at #arsecast-extra-questions. A channel on a Discord server.
The pods should come out around noon. For now, have something good.
