Arsenal: Good players, poorly connected

The Arsenal squad boasts better players than the position they currently have in the league table. But the make-up of their squad is also disconnected and lacks cohesion and identity.

After an extremely positive summer transfer window in which Arsenal were widely praised for their smart recruitment and ruthless sales, there has been a general belief that this squad is far superior to the performances they have put in and the results they have accrued.

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This opinion is a fair one. Look throughout the squad, and you see extremely capable players that should comprise a solid, top-four challenging team. Before the season started, I argued that the Gunners have the fourth-best squad in the Premier League. That is still true.

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But while the personnel itself is encouraging, especially after the summer window, the manner in which it has been constructed is extremely concerning. These are good players in and of themselves, but when put together, they form an incohesive team that wants to play in different styles to best suit the players that make it up.

For instance, individually, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette are excellent players. In any Premier League team, they would be one of the best centre-forwards in the league. But can they play in the same team? Well, the evidence is increasingly suggesting they cannot.

Similarly, Mesut Ozil is a terrific creator, but under Unai Emery, Arsenal looked to play in transition, pressing high up the pitch and countering with speed and directness. They did not dominate possession and control matches like under Wenger. Ozil did not fit.

In midfield and defence, the same problems preside. Where Matteo Guendouzi and Granit Xhaka want to play a slower tempo that focuses on possession and command of the match through consistent passing and dictation from deep, Joe Willock and Lucas Torreira are more energetic players that thrive when games prise apart at the seams.

The team is also built to press high up the pitch. Lacazette and Aubameyang are extremely industrious centre-forwards, Torreira is a high-energy holding midfielder, while Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney form one of the more athletic and capable full-back duos in the Premier League. Yet, the centre-backs could not more unsuited to playing with a high line.

Sokratis struggles in one-on-ones when there are vast spaces behind, Rob Holding is slow, especially over long distances, while Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz are extremely susceptible to diving in and finding themselves out of position, especially on counter-attacks. This all leads to a squad that features good players that do not fit together.

So when fans complain that Arsenal should be performing better than they are because of the players available, they are correct. It is a fair criticism. But it should also come with the caveat that this squad has been haphazardly built. The individual pieces are neat, but they do not fit together, and that causes major problems.