Arsenal: 4 things we have to see vs Aston Villa

Who ever thought Friday night football was a bright idea? Monday night football is more than enough, and only occasionally, so for Arsenal to take on Aston Villa in two weekday slots is both unjust and unwarranted.

There is nothing that can be done about it, and Mikel Arteta refused to use it as an excuse despite the peculiarity of it, with all from the home side hoping for no repeats of the last time they played in London on a Friday night.

Arsenal were desperately far off where they needed to be against Crystal Palace. Having had the additional resting time after the international break and no European football up until this point, there is no excuse for what came across as a mentally fatigued performance.

Relinquishing possession, pressure and positivity to their opponents around the 15-minute mark, pass sequences dropped and the return of stupid decision making in possession settled into the players’ minds.

Arsenal: 4 things we have to see from Mikel Arteta’s side vs Aston Villa as three Premier League points are vital on Friday night

Hopelessly off the mark, victory over Villa on Friday is paramount. Absolutely nothing else will suffice. Palace was the first of two Premier League matches on home soil against sides below Arsenal in the table. Six points was the minimum, which has now been unacceptably reduced to four.

Anything remotely similar to the 70 or so minutes in the middle of Monday’s game will see Arteta’s side scoop the solitary point from these two fixtures. Boasting an abysmal home record under this manager – 17 wins, 6 draws and 10 defeats in 33 matches – the visit of Dean Smith’s side, who’ve beaten Arsenal in the last three meetings without conceding, presents a daunting task.

It shouldn’t do as Villa have been defensively poor all season and have shown frailties from set pieces, but these aren’t strengths of Arsenal’s. They don’t test teams enough and set pieces are merely exercises to hand the ball back to the opponent in the meekest manner possible.

A lot has to change. A significant amount of improvement has to be on show as the excuses for Arteta have ran out. Palace weren’t great against Arsenal but Patrick Vieira showed what he can do with a squad of players he’s barely got to know. That period is over for the Spaniard. He needs the results and the performances. He’s getting neither.

1. Thomas Partey Partnered in Midfield With Sambi Lokonga

There are matches where Thomas Partey can hold the midfield all on his own. Playing two attacking No. 8’s is a strategy that can have huge benefits, so long as the players operating in those roles are comfortable with them.

Martin Odegaard is someone who can feature as a one, so too Emile Smith Rowe. But what are their specific tasks within that system? For the Norwegian, someone who has a penchant for operating in the right half-spaces and delivering left-footed passes from angles he’s comfortable with, should not be told to drift into the Granit Xhaka-like left-back role.

Smith Rowe has found a freedom playing as a left forward who has width added by the movements of his left-back. It means he can make his clever runs and carry the ball. Shifting him out to the right of those No. 8’s and being asked to tandem with Nicolas Pepe, a duo that has barely had time to gel, adds risks and limitations on his qualities.

And as seen against Crystal Palace, Odegaard playing as the central midfielder who covers the left and occasionally ventures forward is asking too much of him: he isn’t comfortable in his positioning and, crucially, it limits Partey’s options in possession.

Against a side like Villa who have a neat balance in midfield with Douglas Luiz and John McGinn in the pivot with a pressing No. 10 in front, the same issues will return to the fore.

Putting Sambi Lokonga in there will allow Arsenal to build passing sequences and reduce the risk of being played through centrally. Partey and Odegaard have been poor two matches running, of this there is no escaping, but they aren’t helped by systematic implementations that ask too much.

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