Arsenal: Away day pain must be solved

Arsenal fell to Everton in disastrous fashion on Sunday, losing away from home for the seventh time in their last 11 matches. Unai Emery must solve the away day pain if his team is to finish in the top four.

The performance on Sunday in a terrible 1-0 loss to Everton was not critically damaging to Arsenal’s top-four chances. But it was certainly an eye-opener, given just how poor they played. Fans have all been riding on the feel-good factor over the last few weeks, all saying how solid the team has looked. But amongst all this, many have forgotten how shaky and poor the Gunners have been away from home.

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It says a lot that when I looked at the remaining fixtures away from home, Everton were the only team I thought Arsenal would get all three points from. Watford, Wolves and Leicester City will prove much trickier opponents. Concerning, then, that the road-heavy run-in has already gotten off on a wrong footing.

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If Unai Emery wants to get anything from these games, he will need to demand so much more from his team. This was the flattest they have looked since West Ham United at Upton Park in January. There was no real attacking intent or movement off the ball, there was a lack of control in the midfield, with Matteo Guendouzi and Mohamed Elneny completely undermanned, and the defence allowed the Everton attack so much space. The only reason it wasn’t more than 1-0 was because of wasteful Everton finishing.

Admittedly, injuries and suspensions haven’t helped. But I wasn’t exactly filled with confidence when I saw the starting line-up, especially the central midfield area. Sadly, I, and many others, was proven correct.

Despite the good run of form, it is worth noting that Arsenal have only played four away games in the league since the turn of the year. Of those four, two did not end in defeats, an embattled draw against Tottenham Hotspur and a fortunate win over the league’s worst team, Huddersfield Town.

In fact, when you throw in two woefully bad away performances in the Europa League, there has been just one good performance away from home in 2019, the 1-1 draw against Spurs in a uniquely situated North London Derby.

It’s clear that this is one problem that Emery hasn’t solved. The away form has been a real problem for two seasons. If Arsenal harbour any hope of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League next season, then it is a problem that will need to be fixed now.

The Everton game was a letdown and showed that the team is still capable of throwing all the previous weeks’ good work away. They need to bounce back. Otherwise, that feel-good factor will soon be forgotten. The away day pain must be solved.