Were we at fault for going too defensive too soon again?
Arsenal continued their Premier League season with a share of the spoils against the men from Merseyside on Sunday evening. the goal scorers for the Gunners were Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino, both scoring in the first half of the stalemate.
The latter scoring his first goal for the club with a really good header from yet another brilliant set piece, while the former netted his 50th Premier League goal for the Arsenal in style after producing a lovely piece of skill to get past Robertson before emphatically finishing off his chance.
These two goals came in the first half which goes a long way in answering the question in the headline above and the answer is plainly “yes” and this has been a repeated pattern after we’ve taking a lead recently, not necessarily against weaker opposition but against those sides that we know will pose a threat.
Against Liverpool again was no different as we went for a more conservative/pragmatic approach in the second half in spite of dominating the Reds in the first half. In fact, they were there for the taking and we should have absolutely been going for the third to kill off the game rather than sitting a bit deeper.
I believe Arteta is not telling or did tell them to sit back, rather, I think it’s something mentally wired in players to naturally not take too many risks when leading. However, in our case, it was just too early too soon considering how precarious the lead was and how we had them on the ropes in the first half.
It’s becoming concerning and I do hope it’s because of the number absentees we had for the game, however Arteta will still have to look into this regardless, because it has and will cause dropped points in the past/future if it continues.
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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The gaffer made two key summer additions, in the summer, Italian defender Calafiori and midfielder Merino, the former scored a scorcher against the champion on his debut announcing his arrival.
There seems a clear plan to fortify the defensive side of the game as opposed to covering potential attacking weaknesses, whether that’s the right strategy only time will tell, but it does appear only injury can derail the Spaniard bold bid for home domination.
You do not win trophies by being a coward to push for better wins. Liverpool were beginning to accept our strength until our tactics betrayed us. We gave them the opportunity to attach and equalise moreover we failed to press further to add on our slim lead. Such has been the case for last season loss to Aston Villa, this season Man City, Liverpool, Brighton games. We should never be satisfied with a one goal lead otherwise we have succumbed at the last minute to lose two valuable points. Let the referees as has been assumed do their part wen we are leading by a big margin. Arsenal should buy a traditional striker to boost our win and dominance of the Premier League
I think the coach wasn’t bold enough with his team selection. He should have played Lewis Skelly at left back and Timber at right back, both Skelly and Nwaneri are ready and hungry for 1st team action.