1 year ago
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Tighten up at the back
Arsenal’s defensive problems in the absence of William Saliba are little secret. They have conceded 2.17 goals a game without the centre-back; with him, that figure reads 0.93. Arguably they have missed Takehiro Tomiyasu in equal measure: he has been injured since mid-March, like Saliba, and could have slotted in at centre-back, taken on bespoke defensive tasks at left-back or, perhaps most attractively, been fielded at right-back to allow Ben White a move inside.
Without Saliba and Tomiyasu there has been too much reliance on Rob Holding, who is competent but does not have the required quality in or out of possession. Jakub Kiwior, a January signing from Spezia, is evidently not deemed ready to step in.
This reads like a list of complaints, though, and the reality is Mikel Arteta must find a way to make his backline work in May. Daft errors such as the pass Aaron Ramsdale, who has been inconsistent, presented to Southampton’s Carlos Alcaraz have not helped; nor have some uncharacteristically cheap ball concessions in midfield.
The rest of the side has clearly been unbalanced by the loss of Saliba. Even so, this is not a group of players that should be shipping three goals at home to Saints or capitulating at West Ham. If Arteta can return his defence to basics, Arsenal have enough further forward to get back on track.
Get Saka firing again
With the exceptions of Erling Haaland and on recent form Kevin De Bruyne, there has not been a better player in the Premier League this season than Bukayo Saka. He has been irresistible for most of it: decisive, creative and a transmitter of the relentless energy that characterises this outstanding side. But his form has dropped a little of late and Arsenal must find a way to get him firing again for the run-in.
Arteta has spoken more than once about his plan to turn Saka into a durable, high-output machine who can produce consistently over a 60- or 70-game campaign. He has barely given the forward a break, starting with him on the bench only once, when he felt ill before this month’s visit of Leeds. While that approach may pay dividends in the long run perhaps it is taking its toll on a player who is 21.
The counterpoint here is that, as recently as the Southampton game last week, Saka was teeing up a goal for Gabriel Martinelli and sweeping in a late equaliser that almost set Arsenal up for another rousing late victory.
That is not outwardly the sign of a player running out of steam. But he was subdued in the draws at Liverpool and West Ham, missing a penalty in the latter. While an early burst to the byline at the Etihad Stadium promised much there was a sense he took the safe option too often thereafter. His goalscoring return has dipped slightly after a fruitful mid-season and Arsenal need him to summon up a second wind.
Make better use of Trossard and Jorginho
Leandro Trossard has played for 96 minutes, all from the bench, in Arsenal’s four-game winless run. But the forward made an impressive impact in his first two months after joining from Brighton and his contribution deserves more time.
Gabriel Jesus is misfiring while Saka and Martin Ødegaard have been a notch short of their best. It would be a tough call to drop any of them but Trossard, who dovetailed particularly well with Martinelli and can operate in all of the front six positions bar holding midfield, should at least be granted more opportunities to sharpen up the attack.
A similar case can be made for Jorginho, who was brought in alongside Trossard and has the kind of trophy-winning experience Arsenal are widely proclaimed to lack. They have struggled for midfield control in recent weeks and Thomas Partey, in particular, has endured a slump in form.
Jorginho received half an hour’s action at City and 23 minutes against West Ham. Otherwise he has not been seen since the comfortable win over Leeds. It feels like time to give an extended run to a player who knows how to master the sharp end of a season.
Don’t let up now – take it to the final day
Will City slip up at any point before 28 May? It looks unlikely, but Arsenal will not want to rue clocking off early and failing to capitalise. City are in irresistible form, but they must play eight times before the final day, a far rougher schedule than Arsenal’s four.
When City beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 15 February, many assumed the title was essentially sewn up from there: Arteta subsequently cajoled a seven-game winning run from his players and the pendulum swung back his way.
The fixture list offers no gifts this time. Even though Chelsea are plummeting, a London derby on Tuesday may be something of a leveller. The risks in a trip to Newcastle speak for themselves; Brighton may still be in European contention when they visit north London and nobody would fancy a trip to a raucous City Ground if Nottingham Forest need points on 20 May.
But if Arsenal can rediscover their form all of these games are winnable: the slightest stumble from City would then make for a potentially classic final day. Arsenal would be fancied to beat Wolves at home while City face a tougher-looking assignment at Brentford, who beat them at the Etihad Stadium.
Arteta’s message will be that Arsenal must hang in there and harbour no regrets.
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