Less than six months ago, Mikel Arteta was making the headlines for different reasons. His Arsenal side – of which he took charge at the end of last year – was starting to show credible signs of progress. Those notions would be supported when the Gunners went on to beat Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea in the space of a month, and also carted off with the FA Cup.
However, in December 2020, Arteta is in the headlines for different reasons, as he went off at the press with stats over his team’s failure to win games.
Mike Arteta Stat Rant
Is Mikel Arteta Unravelling at Arsenal?
“Last year we won the game against Everton with a 25 per cent chance of winning, you win 3-2,” the Arsenal manager said.
“Last weekend, it was a 67 per cent chance of winning, any Premier League game in history, and a nine per cent chance of losing, and you lose.
“Three per cent against Burnley and you lose, seven per cent against Spurs and you lose,” he added.
“There is something else apart from that. It is not just the performance on the pitch, it is something else that needs to go our way and at the moment it doesn’t.”
Mikel Arteta dropped these statistics as Arsenal prepare to face Manchester City in the League Cup. Arsenal are off the back of another league defeat, as they suffered a loss to Everton at the weekend. That meant the Gunners are in 15th place in the league, without a league win since the start of November. In seven games, Arsenal have managed two points, and have scored just three goals. For many his talk of stats bears semblance to a rant, and look like signs of a man getting rattled and frustrated
The Case Against Mikel Arteta at Arsenal
It’s not just the lack of goals for the Gunners, it’s the lack of creativity. The Gunners rank in the lower third of the league for shots on target, chances created, and goals. Before Gabriel’s goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of November, Arteta’s side had gone a fair share of games without scoring from open play.
It’s also the predictability and passivity with Arsenal. In the earlier part of Arteta’s rein – at the tail end of last season – Arsenal had a signature goal, especially against stronger opponents. Draw the team out, and attack with surgical precision. When it worked, it worked to a tee. But since the start of this season, that signature move became their only one, and when opponents figured that out, by refusing to be drawn out, Arsenal looked hapless.
They’ve looked hapless for a while now. Arsenal are remarkably easy to defend against; sit back, and they can’t seem to find space if you don’t hand it to them. That passivity and predictability has played a part in the lack of chances, hence lack of wins, and lack of confidence. The most harrowing thing about the side might how there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of this tunnel.
The Case for Arteta
But while Arsenal look limited, in terms of coaching, they still have a limited squad as well. Besides Mesut Ozil – whose baffling omission from the squad looks better left untouched – the lack of creators in the side is telling. There’s a staggering lack of invention in the team, especially in the final third, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have looked lost lately.
Most of Arsenal’s attacking moves have bothered more on desperation and urgency, than any sense of creation. And while Arteta isn’t blameless, one could point that he at least tried to invent a formula in the side. The problem, as always, is when it doesn’t work.
When the routine doesn’t work out – and it hasn’t worked for a while – there’s no improvisation in the side. No one to grab the game by the neck and impact it on an individual level. Arsenal were interested in Dominik Szoboszlai, who has those traits, but the Hungarian opted to join RB Leipzig instead.
The problem with Arteta’s feels similar to Pep Guardiola’s Man City in the past. Except, City were more like a group of schoolboys who have sacrificed their freedom for improvement under a teacher. Arsenal, meanwhile, seem a set of limited players who can’t work out what to do once their formula falls flat.
Where Are Arsenal and Arteta Headed?
There’s the sense that Arteta will be given more time at the Emirates. There were signs of improvement before Arsenal came unstuck, and there has hardly been talk of Arsenal already looking at potential replacements. Perhaps eyes should be fixated on the winter transfer window, and whether creative additions will be made, or Ozil will be back in the fold.
For now, Arsenal are left to sweat and labour. For now, Arteta seems to be facing circumstances beyond his control. Perhaps all he can do is rant and point to the numbers.
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