Struggles and asks?
Arsenal’s capitulation against Watford on Sunday was the most recent reminder. In the long run, despite having attained they were lucky to emerge in Vicarage Road with a stage.
That they avoided defeat, however, is little consolation to Arsenal fans who have seen it. A visit to the bottom side of the Premier League ought to have been a relatively straight-forward assignment. Rather, Arsenal created another masterclass .
On this particular event, the main offenders were Sokratis Papastathopoulos, whose weak pass from inside his own box enabled Tom Cleverley to evaluate Watford’s first goal, and his centre-back partner David Luiz, that surrendered the punishment for the equaliser when he brought down Roberto Pereyra.
“For a long time, going back to when I was a kid, Arsenal were called a very solid group,” Jamie Carragher tells MNF Extra. “They have gone the other way. They are a team you expect things to happen to. When they’re 2-0 up, you will never be able to be convinced by these.
“I think Liverpool had a similar issue a couple of decades ago, underneath Brendan Rodgers and at the beginning beneath Jurgen Klopp. Regardless of what the situation had been, you always felt something can fail. What’s stressing for Arsenal is that it’s happening again in Emery’s second season.”
The mistakes have been a consistent theme of the Spaniard’s tenure. Emery was charged with enhancing Arsenal’s defence when he had been appointed but since then they have made 14 errors leading to resistance goals and surrendered 10 penalties, placing them high one of Premier League sides in both groups.
Relegated Fulham are the only side who even come close to Arsenal’s complete for mistakes resulting in goals – they left 12 final year – . The statistics point to frailties.
When playing out from the trunk, the problems have been exacerbated recently by Arsenal’s battles. Emery’s side were not able to play Watford’s press on Sunday, their decision to play with goal kicks costing them a target, and it wasn’t the time.
According Opta metrics, Arsenal have conceded this year to 34 large turnovers. Surprisingly, that than another Premier League side. They are inviting resistance pressure and sometimes paying the price by losing possession near their own goal.
In part, the issues come down to employees. “Emery inherited poor defenders,” adds Carragher. “He has attempted to move on Shkodran Mustafi, who produced a great deal of errors, but at David Luiz they’ve signed another defender who makes mistakes and at Sokratis, the team have brought in somebody else who is perhaps not at the level where they want him.
“I could comprehend the registering of David Luiz as he was economical and they needed someone, but I am not his biggest fan and also to give away two penalties in four matches is not a excellent start in any way. The issue is, which will not change, regardless of who the manager is. David Luiz has had plenty of supervisors and he has always had exactly the very exact problems.”
However, Sunday’s game has placed the guy . Emery is not aided by the error-prone defenders of Arsenal, however their weaknesses are being vulnerable instead of protected.
On Sunday, Arsenal fans were not able to wonder if they should have been safeguarding their direct why Emery turned into Reiss Nelson, 19, 20, and Joe Willock. A midfield which struggled suddenly became more extended and Watford took benefit, exposing the visitors to a barrage of 23 shots in the second half.
Not having organisation and discipline in midfield has been summed up. Arsenal have been 10 minutes away from victory, and Lucas Torreira their holding midfielder, was among five players stationed inside the Watford box the hosts sprang along with once an attack broke down.
David Luiz chose the blame for his filthy on Pereyra, but it should be pointed out that he only conceded three penalties although it’s a fact that the Brazilian has been more prone to lapses of concentration. At Arsenal, he is not being given anything like the same level of protection.
“Sunday was unbelievable in how receptive it was,” says Carragher. “You don’t see many games like this. It was embarrassing for Arsenal it had been for Watford to perform through them. They seemed like they couldn’t run. You only have to check out that second half and also you may observe that the equilibrium of that team is not perfect.”
Those issues that are structural do not reflect nicely on Emery and the travelling fans at Vicarage Road made their frustrations clear if they booed the choice.
“It wasn’t a fantastic afternoon for Emery in terms of how he is seen by the Arsenal fans,” adds Carragher. “I feel this can be a big season for him. In the season you get a bit of leeway, and I say they had a good season, but I believe the players would soon probably not look more at the coach than people.
“People asked him at the conclusion of last season when they missed on the top , and they are questioning him now. Can he change matters? Can the machine to improve them change? These players he’s working with today are largely players he has earned, so it is down to him to begin getting results together.”
Arsenal is going to have more choices in defence when Rob Holding Hector Bellerin and new signing Kieran Tierney return from injury. They will be further bolstered by the arrival of William Saliba from Saint Etienne, next summer. However, their problems run deeper than humans. Evidence indicates they’re no closer to learning the lessons of yesteryear.
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