Joe Cole warns that Arsenal still have ‘a way to go’ after producing ‘more questions than answers’
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‘There’s still work to be done’: Joe Cole warns Arsenal still has ‘a way to go’ after producing ‘more questions than answers’ in a humiliating 2-0 defeat to PSV… as Martin Keown worries that the ‘power in the depth’ isn’t quite there’
- Arsenal came loose against a sparkling PSV team on Thursday evening
- The Dutch team tore Arsenal apart in the second half on their way to a 2-0 victory
- The Gunners can still top Group C next week with win against Zurich
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Arsenal lost their entire season for the second time on Thursday evening, coming into contact with a resurgent PSV side who brought them to the sword in a dominating 2-0 display in Eindhoven.
And pundits were quick to dissect Arsenal’s performance, with former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole claiming The Gunners still have ‘work to do’ to compete with the continent’s best teams.
The North London team fell prey to a sparkling performance from the hosts in the second half, with Luuk de Jong masterminding the victory for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side from the bench.
Arsenal fell to a poor 2-0 defeat against PSV on Thursday, inspired by supersub Luuk de Jong
Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole believes Arsenal still have a way to go after defeat
As part of BT’s coverage of the Europa League clash, Cole said: “If Mikel shows his players that and the details and the fundamentals – if they’ve done that right, they’ll get away with a point or three. There are more questions than answers tonight.
“I don’t want to be too critical of this group of players because they were a lot of fun, but today is a reminder that there is still work to be done and a way to go.”
And ex-Gunners defender Martin Keown added: “I don’t want this to derail his team – five people missing and five submarines. Depth isn’t quite there yet, but as long as they can learn from it, they’ll use it as fuel for the Forest game.’
Martin Keown suggested Arsenal would use the disappointment to ‘feed’ their reaction
The Gunners were poor defensively and got two lifelines from VAR . in the first half
Arsenal dropped points for a third time in 2022-23, lost pace in the Netherlands on Thursday evening and struggled to find an answer.
Despite five substitutions, Arteta couldn’t find enough spark in his side to turn the game around, although all is not lost for the Gunners in the Europa League.
And the defense for the second goal – in which Aaron Ramsdale managed to make a corner but timed it horribly wrong – was heavily scrutinized by Keown.
Aaron Ramsdale completely mistimed his corner punch for De Jong to make it 2-0
He stated: ‘Why is (Kieran) picking up Tierney De Jong? I yell at the TV – Ramsdale goes for a big haymaker, he should go with a straight arm. I’m not sure why Tierney is going against him (De Jong). Holding on should have helped him.’
Mikel Arteta also hopes his side will not be affected too much by the poor result
For Cole, however, the concern was whether a draw at the weekend followed by this loss could derail Arsenal’s momentum.
He added: ‘Everyone patted themselves on the chest so far, good mood. Arteta will now have to lift (Albert Sambi) Lokonga and (Rob) Holding – he may need them soon, especially if (Thomas) Partey gets injured.
‘Another challenge for his management now. He will have to lift the team, get the basics right and now get the result over the weekend. You don’t want this to affect the start of the weekend and the competition now.”
A win would have sealed qualifiers in first place a match early – something they have every chance of finishing successfully against Zurich next time.
But before that, Arteta’s side travel to Nottingham Forest on Sunday for the final game in what was the club’s third busiest month in their entire illustrious history.
