In their first match since the end of the Unai Emery era, Arsenal could only manage a draw against Norwich City. Freddie Ljungberg was unable to correct the mistakes which have plagued the team since the Wenger days and the Gunners again paid the price.
Same Issues, Same Result for Arsenal
Starting XI
For the first time this season Shkodran Mustafi started the match after having only featured in the Carabao Cup and Europa League. David Luiz joined him with Sead Kolasinac and Calum Chambers to round out the back four.
Fans have already seen how disastrous Luiz can be in such a formation this season. Meanwhile, Emery’s consistent omission of Mustafi was one of the few things he did right this season. Putting them together was a recipe for failure.
Kolasinac is a good attacker but an average defender at best. Finally, Chambers hasn’t played right back consistently since his Southampton days. Asking them to support a weak central partnership was also short-sighted by Ljungberg.
The Swede also did little to help shield this back four with his midfield selections. Granit Xhaka is known to have defensive lapses of judgement and neither Matteo Guendouzi or Joe Willock have experience as a proper defensive midfielder.
While the attacking trio looked like it would be a success, the defence and midfield seemed weak on paper. Unfortunately for the Gunners, they were both weak on the day.
Same Issues, New Coach for Arsenal Against Norwich
What transpired in the 90 minutes was not entirely Ljungberg’s fault. He inherited a thoroughly imperfect squad and had little time to prepare them for this match in the wake of Emery’s departure. However, his team selection did him no favours.
Neither Xhaka or Guendouzi even tried to thwart Kenny McLean‘s pass to Teemu Pukki to set up his opener. Of course, the most glaring errors on the play were committed by Mustafi and Luiz, who were too far apart to start the play and too late to close down the Finnish striker.
The German did partially deflect the shot which made the save impossible for Bernd Leno, but both he and his partner should have done better. It must also be noted that the Arsenal goalkeeper was in fine form throughout the match.
The second goal, coming just before the interval, was just as disastrous as the first. On that occasion, the defenders did get back in time to get between Onel Hernandez and the goal. However, they were all ball-watching and no one picked up the run of Todd Cantwell.
From there the finish was simple and it was made all too easy by Arsenal. These defensive frailties weren’t caused by Ljungberg, however, he should have known not to deploy the players he did.
Some Attacking Promise
The team did look much brighter with the ball than without. The final matches under Emery were plagued by offensive insecurities and a general lack of imagination. Arsenal showed at least some signs of bucking this trend against Norwich.
Neither Alexandre Lacazette or Mesut Ozil made it on to the score sheet but they were fairly lively. The striker attempted three shots while the midfielder completed four key passes. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did very well to bag his goals as well.
The team had 60% possession and seven shots on target, so a slight improvement from recent matches.
Larger Issues Than the Head Coach
Fans already knew entering Sunday’s match that the Gunners had larger issues than Unai Emery. They don’t have enough quality defenders to cover the back or enough quality defensive midfielders to shield the defenders.
Playing the likes of Rob Holding and Lucas Torreira should go some way to helping, but they aren’t permanent solutions. Better quality defenders are necessary to finding stable success at Arsenal and their draw with Norwich proves as much.
It is up to Raul Sanllehi, Vinai Venkatesham, Edu Gaspar and Josh Kroenke to steady the ship and recruit these players to support the next permanent head coach. Then again, perhaps a big-name appointment would aid the hunt for replacements.
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