Saturday was just an awful night for Arsenal
There haven’t been many of them in recent times, but that was certainly one of them. It was one of those games when everyone was just a bit off. There were so many sloppy errors and that’s something you just don’t really get from Arsenal any more, so it was strange to see. Look at Leandro Trossard’s pass that led to the incident that saw William Saliba sent off and then there was Jakub Kiwior’s back pass which led to the penalty. It was just a really slack performance from Arsenal and they were punished for it.
I thought the Saliba red was just about justified
but I can also see the argument that once the referee has made his decision on the pitch, then the VAR shouldn’t really get involved. Was it really a clear and obvious mistake? Saliba and Evanilson were a long way from goal. Referee Rob Jones had a good view of it and he clearly felt there was enough doubt over how the incident would have played out to only give Saliba a yellow.
It was clumsy from Saliba and it summed up Arsenal’s display really
He didn’t need to commit to the challenge, but he panicked a bit. Yes, Evanilson was ahead of him, but had he let the incident play out I’m sure he would have got back and dealt with the Bournemouth striker. It was just a really poor night for Arsenal and I don’t think the team selection helped. I was really surprised that Arteta went with all three of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, and Mikel Merino in midfield. That always looked like a midfield that would struggle to create and that’s how it played out.
Mikel Arteta in an Arsenal training session (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
It will be interesting to see what Arteta does against Liverpool on Sunday
because that’s a huge game for Arsenal now. They have to get back on track and win that one and I’m sure the performance will be very different. The fact that Saliba will be missing is far from ideal but Arsenal do have plenty of other options. If Jurrien Timber is fit, I would bring him in at right-back and move Ben White into the centre to play alongside Gabriel Magalhaes. That seems like the best option to me because I can’t see Kiwior starting that one.
Martin Odegaard didn’t train on Monday ahead of the Shakhtar game
so he is obviously a doubt for Tuesday night and Liverpool on Sunday might also come too soon for him. It’s too early to rule him out for that, but you can’t really take any risks when it comes to hamstring injuries. One thing that is for sure is that Arsenal will do everything they can to have Saka available for the weekend.
Antoine Semenyo has had a strong start to the season for Bournemouth
and his comments that he is an Arsenal fan certainly caught the attention of some fans. Jamie Gittens is another player who has been named as a potential target for Arsenal. But, like Semenyo, it’s really too early to be talking with any real substance about who the club might look to bring in to strengthen their squad. Gittens has caught the eye of late and we know Arsenal will be looking at options out wide.
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal look to do any business in January. I’m sure they will if they can, but we all know it’s a very difficult month to do anything significant when it comes to transfers. That’s not to say that they won’t dip into the market. If the right opportunity arises then I’m sure they will go for it, but it’s still more likely they wait until the summer to spend big money.
