After another defeat to Aston Villa, has Arteta learned from his mistakes?

                                   

After another defeat to Aston Villa for Arsenal, has Mikel Arteta learned from his mistakes from earlier in the Premier League season?

By Adam Le Roux

This feels like Groundhog Day. Sat here ripping apart another Arsenal defeat to Aston Villa, where the Gunners didn’t look worthy of taking a point from Dean Smith’s side, let alone all three.

Watching the match on Saturday felt just like watching the match on November 8, where Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley and Ollie Watkins toyed with Mikel Arteta’s side, like three older kids playing with their brothers at the park.

Many Gooners would have gone into the weekend feeling confident of a reaction from their side after the horror-show against Wolves in midweek, but it wouldn’t have taken long for that hope to be dashed.

As has so often been the case this season, Arsenal were manufacturers of their own downfall once again in the Midlands, with Cedric Soares the guilty party this time around, as he gifted Bertrand Traore possession 20 yards from goal.

And before you know it Villa are one up, as the Burkinabe star turned the ball towards Watkins, who’s deflected strike nestled in the bottom corner, leaving debutant Mat Ryan with no chance in goal.

Arsenal then had 88 minutes and more to try to get back into the game, but apart from a speculative free-kick from Granit Xhaka, and a tame effort from Nicolas Pepe, they were found wanting, not for the first time this campaign.

Which begs the question, how much has really changed from that 3-0 defeat to the Villans back in November, and has Mikel Arteta learned from his mistakes earlier in the season?

Static strikers are causing concern

When you look at the four players that spearhead the opposition attack on Saturday, they never stopped buzzing around, and always seemed to have something up their sleeve.

Whether it be the trickery of Grealish, or the ingenuity of Barkley and Traore that were feeding Watkins, each player seemed hungry for the ball, and had the technique and nous to turn the game from defence to attack within seconds.

On the other side of the coin, Arsenal had Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette up top for the first hour of the match, and their inability to dynamically lead the attack proved costly once again.

Apart from Bukayo Saka, who never fails to impress whenever he pulls on an Arsenal shirt, there seems to be a lack of verve and flair from this side at present - with no players capable of pulling that rabbit out of the hat just when they need it most.

You look at some of the chances that Villa created during the game; a neat turn by Traore leaving the Arsenal defence for dead before Ryan smothered his tame effort, Barkley brushing off Xhaka before teeing up Watkins to have a dig…. The hosts were full of forward-thinking, and were all singing off the same hymn sheet.

Then when you look at Arsenal’s attacking intent, we had a 30-yard free kick from Xhaka that was clawed away by ex-Gunner Emi Martinez, before Pepe had an effort kept out from a tight angle in the second-half, but as clear cut chances go? None, nada, nil, zip.

Four months on it looks like Arteta is still left in the same quandary; a lack of attacking intent is costing the Gunners dear, as they look devoid of ideas anytime they come close to the opposition’s penalty area.

With two transfer windows under his belt, the Spaniard should have addressed these issues in a more timely fashion, as it has been plain for all to see for quite some time now.

The addition of Martin Odegaard will hopefully go some way to igniting some fire in the Arsenal frontline, because we all know it’s needed, with only seven teams scoring less goals in the Premier League this season.

Dodgy defence in confidence crisis

After a promising looking post-Christmas period, and a rosy looking month of January, it almost looked as if Arsenal were turning a corner in 2021 - new year, new me and all that.

But the same old problems seem to be arising of late, and it looks like we are back to square one in terms of defensive issues, with the finger lingering far too close to the self-destruct button for comfort.

Saturday was another prime example, with Cedric gifting the opposition an early lead to protect, which immediately puts Arsenal on the back foot, and all the pressure on a misfiring forward unit.

They often say Championship winning teams are built on a great defence, but we aren’t even asking for that this season, just a top-half finishing team would do. Even so, the same adage still applies.

You are never going to win more games than you lose with a shaky defence, and with the current backline, Arsenal fans are forever on edge - especially when their side is out of possession.

Kieran Tierney’s injury problems are no doubt a major factor in this, with the dynamic left-back such a reassuring presence at both ends of the pitch when he takes to the field, but in his absence things are looking rocky.

Dubious red card or not, we all know what a liability David Luiz can be at the back, while Gabriel hasn’t looked quite so assured in the centre of defence since returning from a positive COVID-19 test.

The loss of Pablo Mari at the centre of defence certainly hasn’t helped Arteta’s cause, with the Spaniard at the heart of everything that the Gunners seemed to be doing right in the early stages of the year before sustaining a calf injury.

But once the 27-year-old is back up and running, as well as Tierney on the left side, Arsenal will be much more assured at the back, leaving the forward-thinking players the chance to excel while having faith in their teammates keeping it tight at the back.

Positive results will return

Despite the two setbacks within the last week, there has been cause for optimism for Arsenal recently, with a freak match such as the one against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side one that can be quickly forgotten.

These are the sort of results that happen in football sometimes, with moments of madness and Portuguese piledrivers changing a game in an instant, but overall there are definite signs of improvement compared to four months ago.

With a fully fit defence and a revitalised frontline, the Gunners will see results turning in their favour sooner rather than later, and there’s no better place to start than at the Emirates this weekend.

Pepe’s red card for a headbutt at Elland Road against Leeds is definitely a contender for the lowest point of the season to date, and he will be more determined than anyone to right the wrongs against Marcelo Bielsa’s side this time around.

Photo Credit: Getty Images