Morning all.
There’s been a lot dialogue about targets and objective scoring and open play the previous couple of days. I feel it’s all completely legitimate, by the way in which, and as I mentioned yesterday I feel Arsenal have some severe pondering to do forward of January, however I additionally assume there’s a tendency for speaking factors like this to get overblown a bit.
This stat from Orbinho was posted simply earlier than the weekend’s fixtures, and it reveals that that is an Arsenal staff which is greater than able to scoring targets from open play:
Objectives from open play in 2024 within the Premier League:
58 Man City57 Arsenal56 Chelsea, Liverpool52 Spurs46 Newcastle45 Brentford41 Aston Villa40 Fulham37 Palace, Man Utd
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— Orbinho (@orbinho.bsky.social) December 6, 2024 at 11:14 AM
There’s little question we’ve been much less prolific this season, and it’s unquestionably an space we have to enhance, however after we scored 5 towards Sporting, three of these targets have been from open play – two from set-pieces, together with one penalty. We scored three open play targets towards Nottingham Forest, and the 2 non set-piece targets within the 5 we acquired towards West Ham got here from some pretty soccer. So, I get it, it’s irritating after we can’t discover a strategy to win a recreation, and the squad/staff wants some fine-tuning within the attacking third (on the coaching floor and within the switch market), however I feel we’ve sufficient expertise to make that Fulham recreation a rarity relatively than a regularity.
As we mentioned on the Arsecast Further yesterday, there are issues we are able to do with the gamers we’ve. I wish to see the midfield trio of Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard begin some video games collectively. Once we made the Actual Sociedad man our goal in the summertime, it’s protected to imagine that was the plan – or at the very least a serious a part of the plans.
Accidents to Merino himself, and the captain, have made it tough for Arteta to select that mixture, however I hope it’s one thing we get to see. I’m not 100% satisfied on Merino but, however a run of video games in what the supervisor views as his ‘pure’ place would give us a greater understanding of what he’s able to, and the way he may dovetail with two guys who’re first identify on the teamsheet gamers. It will additionally enable Rice to play the place I feel he’s greatest, anchoring the midfield, and my hope could be that it unlocks one thing within the staff after we go ahead.
The opposite choice we’ve out there to us is Ethan Nwaneri within the left 8 place. I do know there are good causes for Arteta to be cautious about his deployment, however there should come a time when his expertise makes him tougher and tougher to disregard. He has performed in 8 of Arsenal’s 15 Premier League video games thus far, however accrued lower than 90 minutes in whole. It tells me that is about burden, not skill, and that stability might shift the opposite means sooner relatively than later as he continues to develop bodily.
Let’s additionally point out one other younger participant, Myles Lewis-Skelly. Regardless of taking part in most of his youth profession in midfield, he’s been reshaped within the first staff atmosphere as an choice for left-back and maybe his is a state of affairs we have to apply some additional focus too. I’m hoping that Riccardo Calafiori’s harm hit begin to life at Arsenal is about coming to phrases with the bodily calls for of the Premier League relatively than an indication of issues to come back, but it surely’s onerous to not fear.
Oleksandr Zinchenko was lacking once more, as is pretty typical of him; Takehiro Tomiyasu stays sidelined for the foreseeable future; and whereas Kieran Tierney was on the bench, he hasn’t performed a aggressive recreation for the reason that summer season, and was doubtless solely there due to the opposite absences. Left-back is an issue place for us. I don’t assume you may ignore that side once you surprise why our left-hand aspect isn’t as fluent as the fitting (even leaving apart the 2 very particular skills who are likely to function there). Ben White’s constant availability over the past couple of seasons has helped deliver the very best out of Bukayo Saka and Odegaard, and we noticed on Sunday that when Thomas Partey is used at right-back, it has an affect on the mixtures larger up the pitch as a result of he doesn’t get ahead in the identical means as White or Jurrien Timber.
I had a take a look at how harm susceptible our left-backs have been. That is what number of every video games every participant has missed via harm since becoming a member of Arsenal:
Kieran Tierney (2019): 89 + 21 for Actual Sociedad throughout his mortgage there final season – 7 distinct accidents.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (2022): 37 – 8 distinct accidents.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (2021): 77 – 8 distinct accidents.
I don’t have the time/skill to work out what proportion of accessible video games they’ve missed, however I don’t assume I even have to. Between them it’s a variety of soccer, and what you additionally have to consider is how these absences punctuate kind and rhythm, and thus efficiency ranges. Thus far, Calafiori has missed 12 of the 22 video games we’ve performed this season, however as I mentioned, I hope it’s nearly coming to phrases with the calls for of English soccer greater than the rest. It’s onerous to not have some issues although.
Again to Lewis-Skelly then, and if he has the potential to actually stake a declare for a primary staff place, then perhaps we have to prioritise his place within the pecking order. Zinchenko is unreliable, Tomiyasu appears like a forgotten man (which is gloomy as a result of he’s so good however how will you rely on him?), and I feel requires Tierney to come back again are primarily based extra on him being a good, sincere professional that folks appreciated greater than the rest. His absence has made the guts develop fonder, however he too is extra prone to play a number of video games then break down than produce a constant run of kind and health.
Left-back is an issue place we have to take note of. Signing harm susceptible gamers to switch harm susceptible gamers doesn’t appear to be figuring out for some purpose, so in some unspecified time in the future we have to take a look at methods to repair that downside. It won’t be Lewis-Skelly, however with the necessity to prioritise any switch outlays by offering the assault the depth it wants, an inside resolution appears the most suitable choice out there to us proper now. And he’s the obvious choose.
Proper, I’ll depart it there. Be part of us in a while Patreon for a Premier League round-up in The 30, and a sneaky little Monaco preview podcast later this afternoon. Have an excellent one.
