Arsenal Football Club: Masters of their own downfall

Arsenal Football Club: Masters of their own downfall

By Adam Le Roux

And just when we think Arsenal are building up a head of steam, they shoot themselves in the foot. Again.

How many times have we said that over the years? Too many to count, that’s for sure, and against Burnley that was the case again, with Granit Xhaka gifting the Clarets an equaliser to cancel out all the hard work done to get the Gunners into the lead.

It has been a constant theme for the squad this season, whether it be moments of petulance, or shambolic defending, or wayward finishing, it seems like there is always a finger lingering over the self-destruct button.

If the club are going to progress this needs to stop, because it’s hard enough beat teams as it is, let alone when you’re giving them a helping hand week in, week out.

Slack Xhaka holds Arsenal back

Mikel Arteta’s side flew out the blocks at Turf Moor and looked exactly like the team that blew away Leicester last week, as well as progressing past Benfica in the Europa League.

One man who has been oozing confidence recently is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with the Gabonese star back among the goals after a slow start to the campaign, and that good run of form in front of goal continued in the early stages in Lancashire.

After picking the ball up on the left hand side, the 31-year-old danced past a number of defenders before unleashing a strike that caught out Nick Pope at his near post, with the England stopper unable to keep the effort out despite getting a hand to it.

And from there, it only looked to be going one way, with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Aubameyang looking dangerous every time they came forward with the ball.

But the profligacy that haunted the Gunners in the early part of the season started to rear its ugly head once again on Saturday, with a number of players failing to hit the target in an attempt to double the lead.

The way the game was going, the didn’t look to be too costly, but a moment of madness from Granit Xhaka changed all that within an instant just before half time, with the Swiss midfielder having a moment to forget against Burnley for the second time this season.

After grabbing Ashley Westwood by the throat in the meeting at the Emirates earlier in the season as he saw red, the former captain dallied with the ball in his own penalty area, before inexplicably hitting the ball off Chris Wood and consequently beyond Bernd Leno to see the hosts equalise.

Honestly, you couldn’t make it up, even when they look as good as they have all season Arsenal still find a way to capitulate and change the game in an instant.

From that moment the momentum in the game changed, as Sean Dyche took his side into the changing rooms level, and they came out fighting for everything in the second half.

Suddenly the free-flowing football of the first period had disappeared, and the Gunners were on the back foot, with Leno having to be on his toes to keep the Clarets out more than once as the seconds ticked away.

At the other end, chances continued to come and go again, with Nicolas Pepe missing his kick when it seemed easier to score, before about half the team had a swipe at the ball in a spell of penalty area pinball in injury time, ultimately to no avail.

It summed Arsenal’s season up in one match; toothless up front, bad decisions all over the place and a feeling of regret at the end of it, a sensation every Arsenal fan will have become used to by now.

A pain in the pass

How the fortunes of the team can change within a week, for we have seen the very best and the very worst of Mikel Arteta’s game plan in Arsenal’s last two outings.

Against Leicester last Sunday, the Gunners looked unplayable at times, as they ripped the Foxes apart with a number of slick passing moves and neat buildup play from the back.

The performance at the King Power Stadium made us think the side had turned a corner, and the mindless mistakes that had plagued the squad had been eradicated, but how wrong we were.

The passing round the back can work a treat at times, and you can see exactly why the Spaniard persists with the tactic, but there has to be a point where safety comes first.

Pass, pass, pass, the ball went from side to side across the Arsenal backline, while Burnley continued to press, press, press, and force the ball back towards goal with the visitors being increasingly penned in.

At this point, Leno or Xhaka or whoever just needs to get the ball away from the danger area, let the team regroup and start again, but this one-track mindedness to continue to play the ball about was exactly what lead to Wood getting his goal.

You would have though the Gunners would have learned by now, with this misdemeanour the latest in a long list of errors that have cost them points this year.

It beggars belief how much further up the Premier League table Arsenal could be if they stopped gifting the opposition goals, and shifting the momentum in games when they look to have the upper hand.

With this domestic season looking more and more like a dead rubber already, let’s hope these mistakes get ironed out in the future, because the club will be meandering in mediocrity if nothing changes soon.

So let’s take this one as a steep learning curve, let’s move on to Olympiacos and hope the Gunners raise their game ahead of the clash with the Greek giants.

Photo Credit: Getty Images