Arsenal Vs Man. Utd: The Missing Ingredient Delaying Success

Arsenal have not quite replicated their blistering early season form in recent weeks. However, the key missing ingredient could delay success this weekend.

The form of Arsenal has not quite replicated the blistering displays of September and early October. The passing has not been as precise and fast-paced, they lack the same intensity and movement off the ball and while their defensive performances are still resolute on the whole, there have been a few individual errors that could have been punished against better opposition.

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What has been particularly clear over these past few weeks has been the mechanical, clunky style of the midfield duo. Francis Coquelin is an extremely talented player in defensive scenarios. He is strong, aerially powerful and has a brilliant reading of the game.

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However, he is not a pass-master. He is not a tempo setter, the metronomic influence that every team needs. His partner during this drier spell has been either Granit Xhaka or Mohamed Elneny. Both are talented players, tidy in possession with a great range of passing. However, neither possess the necessary mental attributes to control games. They lack the vision and the creativity, choosing to pass safe, rather than looking to advance attacks.

The man who has employed this all-important role for the past two years has been Santi Cazorla. The Spaniard arrived at Arsenal as an attacking midfielder, someone who looked to exploit space in between the lines, playing off the main striker. However, as he has developed and has matured, he has dropped deeper into a deep-lying playmaker role in which he has excelled.

It is not a coincidence, then, that Arsenal’s struggles recently come with the absence of Cazorla thanks to an ailing Achilles’ injury and subsequent knock to the knee. After initially thinking that he would only be unavailable for a couple of weeks, Cazorla could now be set to miss the weekend’s trip to Old Trafford, and it is certainly harming the chances of his side.

Playing Manchester United is always tough. Playing them with Jose Mourinho, the notorious antagonizer of Arsene Wenger, is an even greater challenge, particularly if Mourinho sets his side up to limit and disrupt the passing rhythm of Arsenal.

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Cazorla is the integral cog to the Gunners’ attacking play. Without him, against a potentially defensive resolute United side, it is only more challenging to overcome.