When a stretcher picked up an injured Gabriel Jesus from the Emirates ground, you half expected him to stop and also collect the further remnants of Arsenal’s crumbling campaign.
A season that started promisingly, but is now on the verge of crashing. Towards the end, Gabriel’s left-footed volley, two minutes after Diogo Dalot’s second yellow card for a foul on Mikel Merino, was not enough to keep Mikel Arteta’s side in the FA Cup – the competition the Gunners have won this season. offered the best chance of winning silver. .
It is still Arteta’s last and only major win at Arsenal dating back to 2020. The Spaniard’s actions on the touchline gave a further indication of the value he had placed on this match.
Dalot’s sliding challenge on Merino sent Arteta sprinting from his seat to the byline with the urgency of a lifeguard, waving his arms anxiously. In extra time, Arteta had turned into a ball boy, rushing to get the ball to his side.
Before Sunday’s defeat, a 1-1 draw against Brighton in the Premier League, followed by a 2-0 defeat against Newcastle on Tuesday in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, had left the Gunners in trouble .
Now it’s this nine-day period that has completely changed the fortunes of Arsenal’s season for the worse – and made the possibility of a trophy at the club, for this season at least, look complicated indeed.
Arsenal’s season started promisingly, but is now on the verge of crashing
Mikel Arteta’s sideline activities gave an indication of the value he placed on the FA Cup
Kai Havertz had his face buried in the grass after putting the ball over the crossbar late on
The gap with Liverpool in the league is six points (the Reds have a game in hand), the two-goal deficit to the Magpies away from home is a tough ask and the Champions League has some better contenders.
Arteta has taken this club far in five seasons. Going from consecutive eighth places to the expectation of silverware, as well as a massive cultural reset, is no mean feat. However, there are serious questions to ask, especially when it comes to the front lines.
It was one of those afternoons for the Gunners. Kai Havertz had his face buried in the grass after firing the ball over Altay Bayindir’s goal from a yard out in the 88th minute, prompting Arteta to clutch his own cheeks.
Yes, Manchester United under Ruben Amorim were resilient. He suffered his first defeat as Man United boss on December 4, against Arsenal in the Emirates. That 2-0 defeat, via two set pieces, set off the terrible run in which United hovered above the relegation zone in the league.
Amorim’s return to the scene where he had first seen the extent of the mess he is inheriting at United had clearly left both him and his side in turmoil.
Even with ten men from the hour they were in this fight until the end. But the visitors’ stubbornness, refined a week earlier at Anfield, ignores a glaring problem for the home side that is not new: their attack.
It’s as basic as the white kit worn on Sunday for the ‘No More Red’ awareness campaign against knife crime. It’s also an area that has been papered over for the past two seasons, as something needs to be fixed everywhere else but the front line.
Since Arteta was appointed Gunners boss in December 2019, only six attacking players have been signed: Jesus, Havertz, Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling (on loan from Chelsea), Willian (left in August 2021) and Marquinhos (on loan to the Brazilian side ). Cruzeiro). In the same period, seventeen defenders were contracted.
Since Arteta was appointed in December 2019, only six attacking signings have been made
Gabriel Jesus was forced off the pitch on a stretcher after suffering an injury against Manchester United
Sterling, Jesus’ replacement on Sunday, returning from a knee injury, showed signs of promise. But the winger, signed in the final hours of the previous transfer window due to Chelsea’s desperation to offload him, is one of the Gunners’ main attacking threats and is a clear indictment of a failed strategy.
The statistics reflect this. On Tuesday, Arsenal fired 23 shots without success – the second most in a single match without scoring under Arteta.
On Sunday they had 26 shots, resulting in one goal – from a centre-back. Without Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri, nothing will happen if Jesus’ injury does not prompt the North London club to buy a striker in January.