IN Monday night football Jamie Carragher took aim at Arsenal’s failed strikers this week. It seems unlikely that Mikel Arteta would use this passage as a motivational tool – thanks to Amazon cameras, we know he looks to light bulbs for inspiration rather than former Liverpool defenders.
But it may have given Arsenal’s strikers a boost. Carragher has suggested that diminishing returns from Arsenal’s front line could prevent them from beating Manchester City in the title race. An image appeared on the big screen showing that Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus are scoring fewer goals per minute this season in the Premier League than last season.
“It’s not the same fluidity, the same pace, the same energy and creating chances – you can see that. “The reason I don’t think they’re as fluid is because I think the attacking players individually have been average this season, whereas last season they were livid,” said Carragher, who is in “There was an attack in the first season.” half of that was missed by Lance, which saw all four players involved, plus the regularly mocked Kai Havertz, who was on the scoresheet.
You can imagine Thierry Henry, Micah Richards and the rest of the CBS gang bantering with their colleagues’ protégés as the Emirates gates crumble.
Arsenal’s strikers certainly looked inspired to prove their point. When Martinelli added a quart before the half hour was up, I was reminded of this. Last dancethe documentary “Lockdown,” documenting the golden era of the Chicago Bulls, and the famous line from Michael Jordan’s protagonist: “And I took it personally.”
A 15-minute blitz put Arsenal 4-0 ahead in the 28th minute, with a rejuvenated Havertz putting them ahead while Jesus, Saka and Martinelli all scored in quick succession, with the latter struggling to make a selection in the group. took possession of the ball. Try. Odegaard was a little boy left out of the party until Takehiro Tomiyasu rushed over to offer him an olive branch, a piece of birthday cake, and a cross with a loop, which he managed to secure in the bottom corner.
The match ended 6-0, Arsenal’s biggest victory of the season.
Carragher’s argument was that Arsenal were winning too many games by one goal and that the small difference would eventually have a detrimental effect. The Gunners suffered defeats of 4–0 and 5–0, but five of their nine league wins were achieved by one goal, with the second and third goals in the 3–1 win over Manchester United coming on 95th and 98th minutes.
By comparison, in the 2022/2023 season Arsenal won 11 of their first 13 league matches, six times by two goals or more, and the remaining five games by one goal. The differences are minimal, but Arsenal have won 55 per cent of their league games by just one goal this season, compared with 45 per cent at the same stage last season. The theory is that there is less chance of error if you win more games than you lose.
Goals haven’t been a big problem for Arsenal so far, although they have scored fewer goals than Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton. But their defense is so good that only City have a better goal difference. Arsenal may have been lucky defensively at times, but they are difficult to break down.
The rest of the Premier League is wary of how far Arsenal could go if they can replicate the ruthlessness they showed against Lens in domestic matches. Carragher would be right to note that the concept of defending seemed foreign to Lens’ baffling backline, but Arsenal played with such arrogance that it would have been difficult for any team to stop them.
For the first time, Arteta managed to include all six players in his starting XI, namely Declan Rice, Havertz, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli and Jesus. By reputation, this is probably Arsenal’s best six and Arteta will be very encouraged by how well they fit together.
There were some positives too. It was the night Havertz had been waiting for, a performance that showed he could belong in this team. Jesus looked fit and strong and was the center of the attack. Martinelli’s impeccable scoring record should give him the confidence to contribute to his only Premier League goal.
“We have different options compared to the opponent, and today we were very attacking when we played with Alex. [Zinchenko] “Also in defence,” Arteta said afterwards. “We wanted to approach the game to win it and dominate from the start. I think we succeeded.”
He added: “I think we had six different goalscorers, no. [Jorginho scored the sixth]? So it’s great that the team has that ability. Kai again scored two goals in two matches. This is very good for the confidence of the players.”
Lance’s brutal performance gave a glimpse of what Arsenal could be: unstoppable in attack and impenetrable in defence. Only the latter applies to most of this season. This is the plan Arsenal can use to win the title. And proof that people like Carragher are wrong.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.