Arsenal's attacking woes have a surprisingly simple explanation that offers hope

Despite winning ten of their opening 11 matches across all competitions this season, Arsenal's attack remains somewhat unconvincing.

The Gunners are struggling to score goals at volume, while a lot of their attacking play feels turgid and uninspiring. They continue to yield fewer shots than their possession levels suggest they should, and this was evident in Sunday's game against Nottingham Forest.

Despite having 74% of the ball in the first half at the City Ground, Arsenal generated just four shots, while they finished the match with nine efforts and 1.1 expected goals. They sit fifth in the league for total xG created, while they're in the bottom half for total shots taken.

Mikel Arteta's side's resilient defence is carrying the team, just like it did last season. However, there might actually be a simple explanation for some of Arsenal's offensive deficiencies, and this specific explanation actually offers the Gunners hope moving forward.

Arsenal aren't scoring first half goals

Since the opening game of the season, when the Gunners found themselves 2-0 up against Coventry City inside 23 minutes, Arsenal have scored just one first-half goal in the league. This was Kai Havertz's equaliser against Chelsea at the Emirates.

Games against Aston Villa, Sunderland, Leeds and Forest have all required second-half goals to deliver Arteta's men the points. This highlights how strong Arsenal's bench is, with many of these games eliciting strong substitute performances, but Arteta will hope this trend doesn't continue.

This extends into the Champions League. Arsenal have failed to score in the first half of their first two European matches this term, against Napoli and Lille, respectively.

Scoring first half goals will change things for Arsenal

Arsenal are certainly not doing enough in the first half of games to score goals. They regularly let the opening 45 minutes pass them by, playing with little urgency or intensity before they're forced to click into gear later in the match.

That said, the extent to which they've been unlucky not to find the back of the net in recent first halves has been insane. This trend shouldn't continue, with this level of profligacy in first halves completely unprecedented for a top team.

If and when they do manage to start scoring in the early stages, this'll make a huge difference to Arsenal's attacking fortunes.

Take Chelsea, for example. The Blues have been extremely fortunate to score very early in several of their matches so far this season. These early goals have changed the game state, forcing the opponent to adopt a more expansive approach, creating more space for Chelsea to exploit.

It's much easier to attack when you have an advantage, and Arsenal should start getting an advantage earlier in matches more frequently.

So often in the past, the Gunners have used set pieces to open up games. They're currently on a barren run in this department, and if this changes, it should also help them to attack with more danger.

Extremely odd trends like Arsenal's inability to score first-half goals don't last forever. Eventually, one will crash in somehow in the first 45 minutes, and that'll make the whole game feel a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable.

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