Mikel Arteta described Arsenal’s performance away at Inter Milan in the Champions League as their best in Europe against a big team under him, but defeat at the San Siro extends a difficult run of results for the Gunners.
Arsenal have now lost back-to-back games without scoring a goal heading into a crucial game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday.
Their Premier League title bid is faltering. Three games without a win has seen Arteta’s side fall seven points behind league leaders Liverpool.
Wednesday’s controversial defeat in Milan now means their unbeaten start in Europe has come to an end, denting their bid to finish in the top eight of the new Champions League standings to qualify automatically for the last 16.
So, after being tipped by so many for a successful season ahead of the campaign, why are the Gunners struggling?
Is it just bad luck?
Arteta said his team were “harshly done by” over two penalty decisions in the defeat to Inter.
He has a point.
Midfielder Mikel Merino inadvertently handled the ball to give away a spot-kick, although there was little he could do to move his arm out of the way of Mehdi Taremi’s flick. It’s a decision that likely would not have been awarded in the Premier League.
Merino then felt he should have had a penalty earlier in the first half when Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer connected with his head as he punched clear Gabriel Martinelli’s cross, but VAR did not see enough to overturn the on-field decision.
Asked about it in his post-match press conference, Arteta said: “We were told at the start of the season that wasn’t a penalty. That was clear. Today it was a different story. But OK. They decide that is a penalty.
“But if that is a penalty then the one on Mikel Merino where he punches him in the head has to be a penalty, 1,000 per cent. These are the margins in this game and it’s very, very difficult to accept.”
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson agreed. “He has literally punched his head off. It’s a double punch. It should be a penalty. Merino headed the ball and Sommer has come and punched his head off.”
The Inter defeat is the latest in a number of hard luck stories for Arsenal this season.
From Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard receiving red cards for delaying restarts against Brighton and Man City respectively, to William Saliba’s red card at Bournemouth and a disallowed late goal against Liverpool, debate over decisions has arguably been the story of Arsenal’s season so far.
What’s the old saying? Refereeing decisions will even themselves out over the course of the season. Whether or not Arsenal are “harshly done by”, they will be hoping for a change of fortune soon.
Are injuries an excuse?
Over the past couple of seasons, every time Arsenal stepped onto the field their big players were fit and available.
It was a huge part of their rise up the table, and apart from the loss of Saliba towards the end of the 2022/23 season, Arteta was regularly able to call upon his first choice team.
That certainly hasn’t been the case this season.
Martin Odegaard returned to action having been out since August in Milan after picking up an ankle injury in the first international break of the season, while new signing Riccardo Calafiori and defender Takehiro Tomiyasu have had long spells on the sidelines.
Bukayo Saka also picked up an injury on international duty, missing a couple of games last month, and there have been niggles for Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Jesus, Merino and Rice, who missed the game against Inter.
Merson told The Football Show on Sky Sports News: “Arsenal have had a bit of bad luck. Odegaard’s been a big miss. Rice and Saliba have been suspended and Rice was injured for the Milan game. These are big, big footballers.
“We’ve seen it with Man City. Rodri gets injured and Man City, who are also without Kevin De Bruyne’s guile, are not the same team.
However, Sky Sports’ Gary Neville has no sympathy for Arsenal and Man City and thinks it’s an issue big teams just have to overcome.
Referencing both the injuries at Arsenal and Man City, he said on The Overlap US: “I’m not interested. Honestly, I am so not interested in clubs who have spent hundreds and hundreds of millions of pounds on their squads, who talk about the quality of the squad.
“Do you know something, I actually think it’s an insult in some ways. Because sometimes these managers pay lip service to the idea that they believe in their squad, they trust their squad, their academy, their youth players. I think City have got some really special young players. They’ve got some fantastic young players at Arsenal. Believe in them, trust them!”
There’s no doubt, whether you agree with Neville or not, injuries are a disruption and Arsenal have more than had their fair share this season. But Arteta will be hoping that once this injury list clears up, starting with skipper Odegaard, they can start to pick up the form they have shown in recent seasons.
Gunners too reliant on Odegaard
Odegaard’s absence has been a huge loss for Arsenal and they have felt it.
It has come into really sharp focus in recent games, particularly in Milan, where they attempted 20 shots in the match, their most without scoring in a single Champions League fixture since November 2006 against CSKA Moscow (23).
“After the first 10 minutes where Arsenal rode their luck, I thought they were good,” Merson said on Sky Sports News.
“Inter Milan are a decent team. They haven’t let in a goal this season in the Champions League.
“It was a good performance from Arsenal but the only thing that was missing was a bit of guile. They dominated the game and should have come away with at least a draw, but they were missing that guile.
“Arsenal have earned the right now around Europe where teams are going to sit back against them. They have earned that respect. Then, in that scenario, that’s when they need an Odegaard to thread the ball through the eye of a needle.
“At the moment, they haven’t got that.”
Odegaard’s influence on Arsenal is clear. Since August 2021, with the Norway international the Gunners’ win percentage is 65.60 per cent compared 47.10 without him. Their average goals for per game is 2.0 compared to 1.8 without him.
The main positive for Arsenal in Milan was the sight of Odegaard returning to action, albeit for the final five minutes of the game in Milan.
His return will be a huge boost and there will be the temptation to throw him straight in against Chelsea as Arsenal look for a solution to remedy some of their creative issues.
Should Arteta throw him straight back in the fold at Stamford Bridge? “That comes down to this week,” Merson added. “They will know how Liverpool and Man City get on. If they both win, I think Odegaard must start. Ten and nine points is a lot of points if they both win. It will be a must win.
“Unless he’s not going away with Norway, I think he has to be thrown in. He’s that important to Arsenal.”
Attacking struggles continue
Arsenal did dominate game the against Inter and the stats do back that up.
However, they were slightly one dimensional in the way they attacked the Serie A side, sending 46 crosses into the penalty area without much success. They also had 13 corners and rarely threatened.
There’s certainly been a drop off from Kai Havertz in recent weeks with the German forward only scoring one goal in his last six matches compared to the six he scored in his first 10 games of the season.
His numbers are also down in terms of shots and xG in that period, pointing to a lack of service in recent weeks.
Odegaard’s absence is obviously related to that but a lack of quality in delivery from wide areas is an issue.
Arsenal are also being hampered by Gabriel Martinelli’s difficult spell.
The Brazilian has struggled to reproduce his 2022/23 form when he scored 15 goals and provided six assists. There’s been a steady decline in his goal involvements too with just eight goals and five assists last season.
So far this campaign he has two goals and two assists and in among a few bright moments, he is struggling for end product as he searches for conviction and confidence in the final third.
Arsenal will be hoping he can find that groove again to help them put their attacking struggles behind them.
Should Arsenal have done more in the summer?
There’s plenty going on off the field for Arsenal too with sporting director Edu suddenly leaving the club earlier this week.
The former Gunners midfielder has overseen a relatively successful tenure in north London and been responsible for the signings of Odegaard and Rice, while he helped offload several players on big wages including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil.
But will the failure to bring in more attacking reinforcements in the summer prove costly?
Despite recording their highest ever tally for goals in the Premier League with 91 last season, many called on Arsenal to bring in another striker.
Alexander Isak, Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres were all linked but a striker signing never materialised as Raheem Sterling joined the club on-loan from Chelsea on Deadline Day as cover for Saka.
Sterling has failed to hit the ground running since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium, scoring just one goal in the Carabao Cup in eight appearances.
It leaves the question open as to whether Arsenal should have done more to reinforce their attacking options in the transfer window.
Away form dip has added to problems
Arsenal’s start to the season always looked difficult on paper.
Away games at Spurs and Aston Villa, trips to the Etihad Stadium, St James’ Park and Stamford Bridge, and a home clash with Liverpool all in the opening 11 games of the Premier League season. Thrown in Champions League games at home against PSG and away at Inter and it would be difficult to argue for a tougher fixture list.
However, Arsenal navigated the early part of the season brilliantly. The win at Tottenham was an sixth straight away win and contributed to a run of 12 games unbeaten on the road in the league.
Arsenal have set the bar high but hat soon changed and defeats on the road to Bournemouth and Newcastle without scoring have seriously hampered their title bid.
The losses at Newcastle and Inter are the first time they have lost back-to-back games away from home since November 2023 and Arteta’s side are now without a win in their last five Champions League away games, failing to score in four of them.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher said after the defeat to Inter: “Arsenal were better than they have been in away games we’ve analysed before, the difficult games they had at the end of the last season, the draw in Atalanta, the defeat to Newcastle last week and other games in the Premier League.
“You can argue Inter didn’t have their best team out on the pitch but there were more chances, set-piece threat and bodies in the box.
“We talked about did they have the courage? I think they did have the courage but they didn’t have the ability or the quality to finish off the chances.”
Things don’t get any easier for the Gunners as they head across London to face Chelsea, live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday (kick-off 4.30pm), but Arteta was in bullish mood in Milan as he looks to get Arsenal’s season back on the right track.
Watch Chelsea vs Arsenal live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm