Opportunity missed for Arsenal as one player's form is a real concern
Sunday's draw at Fulham felt like a massive opportunity missed for Arsenal after Liverpool's game at Everton had been postponed earlier in the weekend.
It was a real chance for Mikel Arteta's side to close the gap on the league leaders and they couldn't take full advantage, which was a real blow. You could sense the disappointment afterwards.
I didn't actually think they played too badly. Fulham are a decent side who have had a good season so far and Arsenal completely dominated them in terms of territory and possession, but again the issue was they just didn't do enough with the ball in and around the final third.
It's an ongoing issue with this Arsenal side, especially when they come up against teams who set up in a low block. They just find it difficult to break teams down.
It was no surprise that the goal they scored came from a set piece, we know all about how dangerous they are from dead ball situations. But given how much of the ball they enjoyed in the Fulham half, they really should have done more with it.
On the whole, Arsenal don't struggle to score goals. They score plenty. They did last season and only Chelsea and Brentford have scored more than them in the current campaign.
The problem is in these really tight games, when teams are sitting deep against them, they can struggle to unlock them. They really do lack that mercurial X-Factor type player who can do something out of nothing and win a game on his own.
That's why I really wanted them to go for Michael Olise in the summer. I think he would have been perfect for this Arsenal team and was the exact type of player that they were missing. Nothing that he has done since moving to Germany has changed my mind.
Gabriel Jesus' form is a real concern as well. His cameo in the second half at Craven Cottage summed up where he is right now as a player.
He looks shot of any sort of confidence. When you throw a striker on at 1-1 midway through a second half you really want to see him influence a game. To get on the pitch and show why he should be starting.
But Jesus did the opposite. He could barely find his man when he was on the ball and when a half chance came his way from Declan Rice's clever pass, he didn't even swing his foot at it.
He was really poor and his ongoing struggle for form and confidence means that Mikel Arteta has little option but to continue playing Kai Havertz week in, week out and he is unsurprisingly now starting to look like he needs a rest due to the sheer amount of minutes he is being asked to play.
So there are clearly attacking concerns at Arsenal at the moment which will once again raise the question about why nothing was done to really bolster the forward options in the summer, aside from the late call to sign Raheem Sterling on loan.
They are justifiable questions as well and you do feel something has to be done to strengthen Arteta's options in the final third in January if they are to have a chance of keeping pace with Chelsea and hunting down Liverpool.
Man City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday desperate for victoryCityzens fell further into crisis with late Manchester derby defeatVillans hoping to further punish miserable Man City formManchester City make the challenging trip to Aston Villa on Saturday in the Premier League as they desperately look to end their three-game winless run.Last weekend's late and embarrassing defeat to local rivals M...
Team newsCrystal Palace will be without Eberechi Eze, who injured his hip in the midweek EFL defeat by Arsenal.Matheus Franca and Adam Wharton are still sidelined because of groin injuries, with neither expected to feature again in 2024.Defender Daniel Munoz, who served an EFL Cup ban in midweek, is again suspended as a result of accumulating five yellow cards in the Premier League.Arsenal midfiel...
After their dreams of EFL Cup stardom crashed and burned in midweek, Brentford make a welcome return to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, when Nottingham Forest visit for a Premier League battle.Thomas Frank's men fell to a 3-1 loss to Newcastle United in Wednesday's cup quarter-final, while the Garibaldi pulled off a tremendous late turnaround to sink Aston Villa 2-1 last weekend.Away days...
Looking to enjoy a top-flight success in front of their East Anglian faithful for the first time this season, Ipswich Town will welcome Newcastle United to Portman Road on Saturday afternoon for a Premier League clash.The Tractor Boys delivered a significant blow in the survival race last weekend by downing Wolverhampton Wanderers in the West Midlands, whilst the Magpies have enjoyed a pair of pro...
Vincent Kompany will hope his Bayern Munich side can take a huge step towards the Bundesliga title when they welcome RB Leipzig to Allianz Arena on Friday.Bayern lead the way in the top flight with 33 points after 14 matchweeks, but they lost for the first time in the league when they were beaten 2-1 by Mainz 05 on December 14, while Die Roten Bullen are fourth with 27 points and defeated Eintrach...
With their Serie A title hopes all but ended before reaching halfway, AC Milan hope to boost their pursuit of a top-four finish when they visit Hellas Verona on Friday evening.While Milan have slumped into mid-table following a run of one win from five, Verona ended a run of four straight defeats with victory last time out.Now 11 points behind arch-rivals Inter Milan and 13 shy of Serie A leaders ...
Girona will be bidding to halt a four-game losing run in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign with a clash against struggling Real Valladolid on Friday night.The hosts will enter the match off the back of a 2-1 defeat at Mallorca, while Real Valladolid moved off the bottom of the La Liga table courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Valencia last time out.Girona will bring a six-game ...
Lille will look to avoid a potential cup shock when they travel to third-tier Rouen in the round of 64 of the Coupe de France on Friday night.Bruno Genesio's side are currently 16 games unbeaten in all competitions, but face a team that have been rejuvenated since the arrival of manager Regis Brouard.This fixture has the potential to become one of the biggest stories of the weekend if Lille slip u...
Eyupspor will be eager to retain their place in the top four as they face Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super Lig round 17 at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium on Friday.It will be the first meeting between both sides in over eight decades, with the hosts welcoming one of the most successful clubs in the country to their home for the first time in the top flight.Eyupspor are enjoying a solid start to their...
Enzo Maresca has said that Chelsea believe Mykhailo Mudryk is innocent following his positive drugs test and will continue to "support" the player.Mudryk and Chelsea released statements on Tuesday confirming that the FA had been in contact over the Ukraine winger supplying an adverse urine sample, with both player and club expressing their surprise.Head coach Maresca faced the media for the first ...
