Arsenal: 5 disappointments of the season so far

Is everyone enjoying some international-related downtime? It’s still football, yes, and for the English supporting Arsenal fans there is the chance to see Bukayo Saka in action, but does Andorra and Hungary tickle the tastebuds?

It’s just not the Premier League.

With a while to go until the team are in action against Crystal Palace on October 18 (there is still some Arsenal women action, fortunately) the time for reflection of the season gone by is upon us.

Only seven games into the 2021/22 campaign, which equates to 18.4% of the league campaign, not that anyone asked, there is still plenty of time to go for Arsenal to improve, or even worsen. Fingers crossed it’s the former, of course.

5 disappointments of the season so far under Mikel Arteta as his Arsenal side sit 11th in the Premier League table after seven matches

Glancing at the table and seeing ten points from a possible 21 obtained isn’t especially reassuring, then again Mikel Arteta’s side are still only four points off the top four (not happening) and also four points off the top six (a possibility of happening).

There have been ups and down already with small sample sizes to deduce from given it’s felt like two entirely different teams have featured so far, as well as memorable moments to savour. North London Derby wins are always special.

Just as there have been huge positives to take individually as well as some reassuring aspects collectively, there have also been some disappointing sidenotes from the season so far; a few areas that have been underwhelming and sometimes surprisingly so.

With plenty of time for elements of the season so far to change and for the narratives to flip, five stand out from the seven games played thus far.

1. Atrocious Start After Strong End to Last Season

There was undoubted mitigation. No discounting that; Arteta went into the new season with the Amazon Prime cameras capturing all the drama unfold in glorious 4K format.

Not only were there injuries galore to key personnel in the group, a bout of COVID-19 struck the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, unsettling an already difficult start to the campaign away at Brentford on a historic night for the Bees.

Under the Friday night floodlights and with a centre-forward making his Premier League debut, there was a lot that could have gone wrong. And, true to form, a lot did go wrong.

While the circumstances were unfavourable, given how strongly Arsenal finished the previous campaign with a team not too dissimilar from the one that secured four straight wins prior to the season concluding was disappointing. With a £50m signing at the back as well it added to that.

Everything did feel like it was working against Arsenal, for sure. Yet following that up with atrocious displays against Chelsea and Manchester City – two teams streaks ahead of Arsenal, of course – added to a glum mood that had been building from pre-season.

Results have since drastically improved with performances somewhat following suit. Nobody is going to forget the meekness of those opening three games though, with or without a team on show bursting with new arrivals.

Continued…

2. Kieran Tierney Playing Below His High Standards

Something isn’t quite right with Kieran Tierney.

His performances this season, it must be said, have been disappointing. Setting such high standards for himself last season, the drop off this term has been, well, surprising more than anything.

Usually accurate and deadly deliveries are either failing to beat the first man or ending up beyond the right-winger, while his movements in one-on-one situations are predictable.

In the opening day stinker away at Brentford he was one of the few players on the pitch worthy of any praise. Since then it’s been well below average.

Looking for explanations as to why, one could probably point to a combination of a systematic impact and a simple lack of form. The back three build-up method is set in stone and sees him occupy an even higher starting position than usual, one that gives him less freedom to charge beyond his marker and run at the opposition as opposed to receiving in tighter areas.

Maybe, too, having the less experienced Albert Sambi Lokonga on the left side of midfield instead of Granit Xhaka to find him in space is having an impact? It’s tough to tell, but nobody will know better than Tierney that he has been underpar.

He still starts every week and remains a brilliant footballer. He just needs to recapture his form, find more comfort positionally and grow a better understanding with Sambi.

There are no fears over the Scot. It’s surely just a blip.

Continued…

3. Poor Decision-Making in the Final Third

Seven games in and Arsenal have only scored five goals. They should have got close to that against Norwich alone.

To many, the season only began once the window slammed shut and the August pre-season matches were over, so in fairness to the positive few, that’s the way this will be framed.

In that case, the decision-making in the final third still stands out as something disappointing. Noticeable against Norwich at the end when the wrong pass or the wrong choice of shot was made, Arsenal could and should have walked away from there at least three goals to the good.

That followed over into the Burnley game where despite being forced to put in a resilient defensive display, the amount of opportunities on the break for Arsenal that didn’t even result in a half-chance was aggravating.

Three points were secured which is most important of all, but the wrong passes in the final action, an extra touch when it wasn’t needed and plain poor final passes in general meant the game was tighter than it needed to be.

Five goals from seven matches is poor. With the attacking talent Arsenal have and better progression from the back this shouldn’t be the case. Everything clicked against Tottenham, and that’s about it.

Getting players into the right areas is the manager’s job. Being smart and incisive in those zones falls on the players.

Continued…

4. Holding, Mari & Particularly Calum Chambers Looking so Average

With Ben White having only just joined, Takehiro Tomiyasu yet to join and Gabriel out injured, opportunities presented themselves for this particular backup trio.

Pablo Mari being so poor was a gigantic surprise, purely down to how dreadful he had been during pre-season giving everyone a head start. Nonetheless, this was a central defender that fans were lauding last season and encouraging to start ahead of Gabriel when his form was patchy. He was never an excellent centre-back, but he’d done well.

Good luck finding anyone who wants to watch him in an Arsenal shirt again.

Rob Holding, in his defence, no pun intended, has played twice this year in the Premier League against the champions of England and the champions of Europe. That is not easy. There must also be a mental aspect to it having had his place in the team confirmed as second fiddle the minute £50m was parted with. Never more than good, he is the least disappointing of all due to everyone already knowing everything about him.

The same can’t be said about Calum Chambers. It was reported that his awful form to start the season forced Arsenal into pushing to sign Tomiyasu, someone they might have left off signing for a little while longer due to the significance of the outlay already in the summer. Chambers made the decision very easy.

Another player who was never more than serviceable, his form at the end of last term was a legions away from the outings he put in to start the season. In the five matches since the Man City debacle he’s been on the bench twice (Norwich and AFC Wimbledon) and been left out of the matchday squads entirely in three others.

Is anyone especially bothered? Not really. Tomi is doing a fine job. However, it would be preferable having an ‘in-form’ Chambers as backup right-back than Cedric.

Continued…

5. The Brighton Match

When the final whistle blew at the Amex Stadium with the performance Arsenal put in earning them a point, there will have been a few sighs of relief.

If you play s**t, just don’t lose.

But why were Arsenal so bad? After the high of beating Tottenham in the manner they did, with a full weeks’ worth of preparation time and just the solitary injury to contend with, they shouldn’t have been.

Worth noting is that Arsenal are not a great team yet. Great teams are consistent. Inconsistent teams with a strong batch of players tend to fall into the mid-table bracket. Credit also goes to a very impressive Brighton, of course.

The tactical decision to have Sambi at left centre-back, Aubameyang’s abysmal first touch and the core central players of Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard struggling did leave supporters rightly disappointed.

It is a game that Arsenal will brush off and leave behind them. Sometimes there are just bad days.

Still, with the momentum behind them and a near fully fit squad facing one with key injuries it leaves, not a sour, but an ever so slightly bitter taste in the mouth with the international break here. Alas, onwards and upwards.