Arsenal managed by Mikel Arteta was defeated back to back by Manchester City and Brighton. Arsenal were tenth in the table before the matches were suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Fans were expecting the Gunners to improve on the results and challenge for the top four spots to qualify for Champions League next season. However, the top four looks unrealistic now due to the continuous defeats and fans are now hoping for the other teams to drop points in a way that Arsenal has better results in the remainder of the season and enter into the top four.
The defeat against Manchester City was an expected result considering the quality of the players Man City has under Pep Guardiola. Arsenal was defeated 3-0 with the first goal scored by Raheem Sterling at the expense of David Luiz's error. David Luiz was then issued a red card (49th minute) for his foul on Riyad Mahrez in the penalty box which Kevin De Bruyne converted to the second goal from the spot. The damage for Arsenal did not stop there as Phil Foden scored a rebound attempted by Sergio Aguero in the last minutes of the match.
Manchester City is a tough team to defeat and fans had reasons to accept the defeat. However, the 1-2 defeat against Brighton shows Arsenal lack the quality players, the top six teams have and a leader in the field to drive the youngsters to victory.
The first half ended 0-0 as both teams lacked rhythm and were looking rusty. Bernd Leno was injured and had to be replaced with Emiliano Martinez. This is another disappointment for the team and the fans as Leno was the only consistent player for Arsenal this season.
Arsenal took the lead in the second half through Nicolas Pepe's stunner in the 68th minute. Seven minutes later Lewis Dunk scored the equalizer for Brighton. Both teams were settling for a draw, but a brilliant set-piece from Brighton players and a wonderful chip pass from Aaron Connolly paved way for Neal Maupay to score the winner in the stoppage time (95th minute) of the game.
Mikel Arteta has a long list of problems to solve with the gunners. The first would be with David Luiz as his contract is set to expire in the next ten days. The next important one would be the role of Mesut Ozil in the team. He did not even make the bench against Manchester City and was not called up against Brighton even though he was one of the substitutes. Ozil played in every match ever since Mikel Arteta took over, but his absence in the last two matches has raised questions about Ozil's future with Arsenal.
Mesut Ozil could have not been important for Arsenal against Manchester City. However, some fans believe he would have made the difference against Brighton. Unai Emery made the mistake of dropping Ozil continuously to improve the results which majorly backfired and cost his job. Let's hope Arteta does not make this same mistake with Ozil.
Arsenal has been unlucky in the transfer market with top players hesitant to sign up as gunners have missed out on the Champions League for the past two seasons. If the current results do not improve, then the Europa League will also become doubtful for the gunners. Even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not looking to sign up for a new contract with the gunners. Rumors are that he is looking to join a Champions league competing team when his contract expires in 2021.
Arsenal has eight more remaining league matches and FA Cup competition in hand. Let's wish Arsenal get back to their winning ways when they visit Southampton on their next game.
Kommentare