The only reason these deficiencies weren’t so glaring before now is that Martin Odegaard’s brilliance compensated for their substandard play. Between Martin and Saka’s production, plus some goals from Havertz, Arsenal have been putting up a mirage that they have a championship-caliber front line. Odegaard’s absence shattered that mirage. This front line is basically toothless without him.
That brings the spotlight to Leandro Trossard. You know, the guy who was scowling and mean-mugging after scoring l vs Aston Villa; supposedly in protest over not being a regular starter? He’s starting now. How’s that working out? The numbers from Newcastle are atrocious. 77% passing. Double-digit turnovers and only two duels won while pulling the strings for an offense that mustered one shot on goal all day.
That’s somewhat excusable because Trossard is not a natural CAM. He’s a winger, who, like Martinelli, doesn’t start regularly because he is consistently inconsistent. Then there is Raheem Sterling, who has lost at least a yard of pace and done nothing to justify his presence in the lineup or on this team. He is a pale shadow of the player he used to be. His next team will likely be in the MLS or Saudi Arabia.
Are you starting to notice a theme here? A collection of consistently inconsistent forwards who are all playing some of the worst football of their careers at the same time. Because that’s what they are. It’s what they’ve always been, but the only reason no one noticed is that Odegaard and Saka created so many chances that they scored despite themselves.
With Odegaard out, the entire left side of our attack (Trossard and Martinelli) and our backup center forward (Gabriel Jesus) have proven themselves to be dreadfully substandard. They are also making Arteta look like a fool for keeping faith with them this summer, instead of breaking the bank for Gyokeres after the Sesko deal fell apart. Now, this season looks to be falling apart because of that gamble.
It’s hard to imagine Ethan Nwaneri being more ineffective than Trossard at CAM (or whatever false 9 gambit he’s playing with Havertz). TBH it’s hard to imagine practice cones being more ineffective than any Arsenal forward not named Saka. Unfortunately, putting Nwaneri in at this point, when the team’s title run hangs in the balance, is unfair to him and could be setting him up for failure. With that said, Arteta’s seeming intransigence vis-a-vis Nwaneri has been difficult to understand.
He’s not much younger than Cesc Fabregas was when he broke into the lineup and became a star. I know Arteta has his reasons, but this team has one point in three games. Arsenal’s offense yesterday was like watching paint dry; dull, drab gunmetal gray paint. It’s been that way since Odegaard went down. What’s more concerning is that there was never a plan B for an injury to Odegaard or Saka.
The way this team is playing, they will be lucky to score ten goals between now and Christmas. Liverpool may have a double-digit points lead by then. Meanwhile, Odegaard is going to win team MVP while sitting on the bench, because Arsenal is obviously not a title contender without him. That is the ugly truth.
The people responsible for constructing this team need to be held accountable for it. That’s also true of the nearly half-dozen underachievers in the attacking core who haven’t been good enough all year long. Depth was supposed to be Arsenal’s strength. Yet the club is still rice paper thin in the attack.
It’s borderline ridiculous.
