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.
Villa eye Porto star as possible Rashford replacementAston Villa are scouting Porto striker Samu Aghehowa as they look to strengthen in attack this summer.There are doubts over the club's desire to trigger the option to buy Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins has been linked with a move away, so Samu could be the solution to their problems.McKennie set for bumper pay rise at Juventus?Weston McKennie...

Chelsea have reportedly made an approach over the potential transfer of Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who is available for £60m.The England international has been a star performer for Villa, contributing a total of 18 goals and 12 assists in all competitions for club and country this season.Still, it seems Villa would be willing to listen to offers for Watkins, with Chelsea also ready to...

Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Kvaratskhelia vs Timber 1st half Arsenal 0-1 PSG (1st leg) Myles Lewis-Skelly VS Desire Doue PSG TAKE FIRST-LEG LEAD TO PARISThey've now beaten all four English teams in this season's Champions League Can BARÇA Win a TREBLE of TREBLES? Thoughts Five saves and a clean sheet. Gianluigi Donnarumma came up 𝐁𝐈𝐆 in north London Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. ...

LAURA WOODS announced a shock return to TV as she watched Arsenal vs PSG with new baby Leo.The glamorous TNT Sports host gave birth to her first child with fiance Adam Collard in January.Laura Woods watched Arsenal lose to PSG with baby boy LeoWoods revealed her pregnancy joy last July before taking a step back from the spotlight.But she made sure she was not going to miss her beloved Arsenal in t...

Luis Enrique has warned Mikel Arteta he is ready to land his fourth Premier League scalp of this season’s Champions League ahead of Arsenal’s semi-final showdown against Paris St Germain.PSG saw off Manchester City in the group stages before beating Liverpool on penalties in the last 16, and then knocking out Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.Arsenal secured a statement 2-0 win against...

Jude Bellingham is confident Real Madrid can overturn a 3-0 first-leg Champions League deficit against Arsenal on Wednesday to book their place in the last four.Real were left stunned by the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium last week after Declan Rice scored two outstanding free-kicks to leave Carlo Ancelotti’s side with a mountainous task.But 15-time European champions Real have produced som...

Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique admitted his side would not be intimidated by a hostile atmosphere at Aston Villa as they looked to finish the job in their Champions League quarter-final.The Ligue 1 champions travel to Birmingham with a 3-1 advantage from last week’s first leg in Paris and are heavy favourites to progress to the last four.But they will face a sterner test on Tuesday as th...

Arsenal forward Alessia Russo has silverware in her sights as she prepares to take on Real Madrid in the first Champions League quarter-final of her career.The in-form England international is the second highest scorer in the Women’s Super League this season with 10 goals and has also registered five times in Europe.Arsenal – the only English club to have won the Champions League, foll...

Paris St Germain head coach Luis Enrique believes the team which prevails in their last-16 tie against Liverpool at Anfield will be Champions League finalists.PSG trail 1-0 from their first leg despite a dominant display at the Parc des Princes but the former Barcelona boss is confident they can turn things around on Tuesday.“The most important game is the one which comes next and I hope it ...

Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor believes her side will be “desperate” to earn a good result in their midweek Women’s Super League clash with Leicester at Kingsmeadow.The Blues dropped points for only the second time in the league this season after Lauren James’ second-half equaliser rescued a point in a 2-2 draw with Brighton at the weekend.The defending champions mainta...



- 1 Daily Laugh - Harry Maguiredinho vs Athletic Club
- 2 Leroy Sane turns down Saudi offer to stay
- 3 Liverpool owner's wife drops hint on Trent Alexander-Arnold's future
- 4 Ruben Amorim says Man United not through to final yet despite victory in Bilbao
- 5 Arsenal beaten by Paris St Germain to dent Champions League final hopes
- 6 Enzo Maresca warns Chelsea against complacency after big win at Djurgarden
- 7 Manchester United thrash Athletic Bilbao to close in on Europa League final
- 8 Paul Pogba 'in talks' for exciting transfer
- 9 Michael Schumacher’s son ‘splits from Miss Universe finalist girlfriend’
- 10 Laura Woods announces shock TV return