Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal’s goalscoring problems have become a psychological issue for his players after his side were once again penalized for failing to capitalize on their chances.
Arsenal’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat at home to Liverpool, who scored twice late in the second half, means Arteta’s side have lost three consecutive matches since Christmas.
Their inability to capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities has become a common problem in these matches; The forwards once again squandered a series of great chances against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Asked whether missed opportunities had become a mental issue, Arteta agreed and said his team needed the “reset” provided by the upcoming winter break.
“It probably is [become psychological]said Arteta. “Especially after today, more than against Fulham or West Ham [Arsenal’s previous two losses] before this. So I think we need to reset. This break was good. It’s coming at a good time.”
‘I have to stick with them and support them’
Arsenal fans were heard demanding the club sign a new striker for Sunday’s match, but Arteta warned it was “unrealistic” to expect a striker to be signed this month.
“I haven’t seen a team produce what we did against them in the last six months. [Liverpool] In the last two games,” Arteta said. “We didn’t use capital letters. Not just today, but also in the last few games. That’s why we can’t win matches.
“On merit, there is no doubt we deserve to win games but the results are very different. But when my team plays with this courage and attitude against arguably the best team in Europe in terms of momentum, what can I do but stick with them and support them?”
Arsenal’s attacking problems were exacerbated by star striker Gabriel Jesus suffering a knee injury. Jesus has had surgery on two knees since December 2022 and has been feeling pain in the same knee in recent days.
“We had a scan that showed something,” Arteta said. “I hope it’s not something big. It’s the same knee he has.” [previously]so we couldn’t take any risks.
On the possibility of signing a new striker in the January transfer window, Arteta added: “It doesn’t look realistic at the moment. My job and what we need to do is to develop our players and try to get better results with the players we have.”
Artillery fires with empty guns
3rd minute: Nelson throws balls after balls.
The two players coming together for the revamped Arsenal team came together early when Aaron Ramsdale picked out Reiss Nelson’s run between full-back and centre-back with a beautiful long pass. It’s not easy to control a ball coming out of the air and Nelson did well to get the ball under his spell, but the angle narrowed and he could only find the side netting. Could it be that he was late and sought a cut? It was probably never fully clear.
Gilt-edged luck score: 7/10
8th minute: Nelson shot from the top of the penalty area / Havertz curler
Neither of these attempts were standout chances, but both Nelson and Kai Havertz hit fairly tame strikeouts from distance looking for a runner. Havertz’s better attempt was to open his body and attempt a shot with his left foot into the far corner, but it was easy for Alisson.
Gilt-edged luck score: 4/10
11th minute: Nelson shot blocked/Odegaard hits the bar/Judge chance
Three chances within 30 seconds and the passage of play will remain etched in the memories of Arsenal fans. Saka and his teammates managed to force a high turnover from Joe Gomez and sent Havertz into the penalty area.
Could he have run around the ball and tried to beat Alisson with his left foot? Playing the cut was probably the right decision, but Ibrahima Konaté made a goal-saving block to deny Nelson.
Martin Odegaard curled his shot past four Liverpool defenders before curling a shot towards the post before Saka saw a right-footed shot blocked. Could he move the ball left and drive hard towards goal?
Gilt-edged luck score: 9/10
30th minute: Havertz’s shot is blocked
It was another promising position for Havertz in the penalty area, but he took too long to assess the situation after Odegaard’s forward pass. Liverpool’s defenders recovered and the ball headed straight into Alisson’s arms.
Gilt-edged luck score: 6/10
38th minute: White shot was saved by Alisson
Perhaps inspired by Pedro Porro’s off-foot screamer in north London on Friday night, Ben White attempted the spectacular with a shot that Alisson tipped over for the first time. Arsenal’s right-back at least hit the ball harder than most of the attackers.
Gilt-edged luck score: 4/10
39th minute: Havertz headed in
Set-pieces have been a prolific avenue of scoring for Arsenal this season and Havertz could have proven this again if he had made more purchase than he did with his header at the back post.
Gilt-edged luck score: 7/10
45th minute: Havertz is late
It’s a moment that colors perceptions of his first-half performance when Havertz takes some time to get the ball into position to shoot on the edge of the penalty area. The angle was narrow when he pulled the trigger and fired directly at Alisson.
Gilt-edged luck score: 6/10
50th minute: Saka is behind Gomez.
A sharp run from behind the Liverpool defense took Saka away from Gomez, but a promising position still failed to translate into a goal for Arsenal. Could a sharper Saka have run over Gomez and either forced him to foul or force the Liverpool defender to release him? He tried to turn and shoot with his left hand, but Gomez blocked it. In this case, the defense deserves credit.
Gilt-edged luck score: 6/10
58th minute: Gabriel misses a header/Saka shoots
A well-worked set-piece sent Havertz just past the Liverpool defense and his little delivery into the box was a good move. Did centre-back Gabriel need to come to his senses or did he hear a voice? Saka couldn’t make the shot and flashed clumsily.
Gilt-edged luck score: 8/10
61st minute: Saka could not find Odegaard
It was close to the chance Arsenal were looking for, as Havertz’s deflected cross almost tipped over Alisson with his fingertips. Saka was supposed to send the ball into Odegaard’s goal with his right foot, but it turned horribly sideways.
Gilt-edged luck score: 8/10
68th minute: Martinelli beats Alexander-Arnold but no clearance
It was a move that was symptomatic of Arsenal’s season as Martinelli beat Trent Alexander-Arnold in a one-on-one duel but found no Arsenal players in the six-yard area. Konate made a good block but it was one of Arsenal’s best openings of the second half.
Gilt-edged luck score: 6/10
91st minute: Nunez almost scores an own goal
In a game with so many missed chances, two own goals would have been appropriate and Darwin Nunez was not far from equalizing for Arsenal with a defensive header.
It would be a bit tongue-in-cheek to count this as a missed chance for Arsenal, but it shows that the story of missed chances has more to do with the first half.
Gilded edges luck score: 3/10