Kai Havertz’s struggles against Man Utd highlight Arsenal’s striker problem, but is Mikel Arteta to blame? | Football news
Another string of missed opportunities, a potentially serious injury to Gabriel Jesus and a grueling shoot-out defeat at home to an ailing rival. Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Manchester United couldn’t have gone much worse for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.
The manner of the defeat, just five days after they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle in similar circumstances in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, further highlighted Arsenal’s attacking problems. How did this happen? Who is to blame? And what should happen next?
How serious is the problem?
Kai Havertz was the main striker on Sunday, curling a superb chance over the bar in the 88th minute from almost the same spot as he headed home a free-kick with Arsenal’s best opener against Newcastle. After that, he could only bury his face in the lawn.
Havertz is Arsenal’s top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions but has had nine shots worth 1.91 expected goals in his last two games without hitting the net.
While his flair for getting into the right positions is undeniably positive, his wasteful finishing is a known problem.
Over the last three seasons, Havertz has been one of the biggest underachievers in the Premier League when it comes to expected goals, scoring almost five less than he should have, based on the quality of the chances he’s had. Jesus, Arsenal’s only centre-forward, whose injury makes them even more vulnerable, posted similar numbers.
Havertz, like Jesus at Manchester City, had the same problem at his previous club Chelsea. But the 25-year-old is not the only one currently struggling in front of Arsenal’s goal.
In total, Arsenal created chances worth 6.44 expected goals against Newcastle and Manchester United, yet only hit the back of the net once, a Gabriel Magalhaes deflection on Sunday.
Arteta expressed disbelief at the result afterwards, as he did against Newcastle, saying it was “unbelievable” they didn’t win and added: “We didn’t get what we deserved, clearly.”
He generally played down Arsenal’s need for a sharper attack. For all their recent struggles, he can also put up respectable numbers for a full season. As a team, Arsenal have actually exceeded their expected goals this season.
But these statistics do not tell the whole story. Arsenal are a fearsome team in dead ball situations, but they lack players who make the difference in open play.
This was the 14th game out of 31 in all previous competitions in which they scored at most one goal. Premier League leaders Liverpool, by contrast, have had just four such games from 29, highlighting the gulf in firepower between the two sides.
Losing Bukaya Saka to injury only made the problem worse. Arsenal are also without Ethan Nwaneri, while Jesus looks set for a lengthy spell after being stretchered off on Sunday.
But Arsenal’s attack looked weaker even before the injuries – the Gunners failed to score in eight games in all competitions last season, twice as many as champions Manchester City – and that raises the question of why the club didn’t act in the summer.
Summer jobs under scrutiny
Arsenal’s main off-season recruits were Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori, while Raheem Sterling later arrived on loan. All three struggled to make a positive impact, with Merino and Calafiori making just 12 starts each and Sterling just five.
Injuries didn’t help. All three encountered problems, with Calafiori suffering another setback that saw him sent off on Sunday. However, question marks hang over them regardless of their injuries. Were they really what Arsenal needed to take them to the next level?
Merino, for example, brought aerial prowess and duel-winning ability to Arsenal’s midfield when it was arguably in greater need of creativity and goal threat, particularly after selling Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham and allowing Fabio Vieira to join Porto on loan .
The club were hoping that Sterling could use those attacking qualities when they jumped at the chance to sign him on loan. But it’s damning that Arteta rarely spoke to him, even when he was fit. Halfway through his spell he played a miserable 146 minutes in the Premier League.
He will likely need him now, with Jesus joining the injured list. But, like Merino and Calafiori, he must work to show he can give Arsenal and Arteta what they need.
Arteta spoke of his “love” for his players after Sunday’s defeat, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that the only solutions to their attacks lie in the transfer market. The problem is that the January window is far more difficult to navigate than the summer window.
Is Arteta to blame?
The signings of Merino and Calafiori continued the trend of focusing on defensive recruits under Arteta. The club have brought in just six attacking midfielders or forwards on permanent deals since his appointment compared to 18 defenders, defensive midfielders or goalkeepers.
This is partly due to circumstances. Arteta inherited a defensive unit that needed a complete overhaul, but he had far better tools to work with in attack in the form of Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Many fans, however, feel that the imbalance is better explained by Arteta’s emphasis on the defensive side of the game. Arsenal set the club record for goals scored in the Premier League last season, but reducing risk at the other end is undoubtedly key to the manager’s philosophy.
The caution that Arteta observed has become a bone of contention for many. But he certainly sounded like a man aware of the lack of firepower up front after the Newcastle game.
“That’s what you have when you have real quality up front,” he said when asked about Alexander Isak’s match-winning impact. It felt like a scathing comment to the club’s hierarchy about what he still lacked in the squad.
Arsenal’s pursuit of RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Ceska shows that Arsenal tried to strengthen their attack during the summer. The failure to reach that deal cannot be attributed to Arteta.
Although influential, he is far from being solely responsible for recruiting and building the club’s squad. Sports director Edu, who is now gone, should be under scrutiny, as well as other club decision-makers.
Time to gamble on the market?
Arsenal are active in the transfer market and are ready to act if the right opportunity presents itself. Whether they will, however, is another question.
Arteta highlighted the difficulty in finding available players who can make Arsenal better. “Bringing in bodies doesn’t help us at all,” he said last week. “It’s about someone who can make an immediate impact on our performance and bring something that we don’t have.”
He’s right, of course. It’s not good to sign someone for that. But all signings come with an element of risk. Even the ‘perfect’ player may not produce the desired effect. In the same way, you can be rewarded for gambling on a seemingly imperfect option.
Liverpool’s attack shows why. Diogo Jota, for example, flourished at Anfield despite never scoring more than nine goals in a Premier League season before joining from Wolves.
Darwin Nunez is far from living up to his price tag, of course, but Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, both signed for relatively affordable fees by today’s standards, continue to provide value for the money, with the former doing so right after arriving midway through the 2022 season.
Then, of course, there’s Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has shown phenomenal success but, while productive in Italy, was far from a guarantee when he arrived from Roma after previously failing to make an impact in the Premier League with Chelsea.
There is a lesson for Arsenal there.
Already paying the price on the pitch for failing to sign in the summer, they certainly can’t let another window slip by without taking action – even they have to compromise on what they can get.
