Well, if Arsenal’s title chances were not decimated before, they certainly are now. Truth be told, it was all wrapped up the moment the Gunners failed to recruit any new players in January.
They have struggled, laboured, and looked toothless in attack. Except, what happened in that PSV game? Well, the Dutch side were awful defensively but Mikel Arteta’s side still scored seven. The same ruthlessness was not shown on Sunday.
Not for the first time since Kai Havertz’s season-ending injury last month, Arsenal looked devoid of ideas in the final third and rode out a 1-1 draw against their old rivals Manchester United.
Remarkably, it was their tenth draw of the league campaign and it’s a result that’s now put them a whopping 15 points behind Liverpool. The less said about that the better.
So, their hopes now ride on the Champions League. Presuming they come through the second leg of PSV, they will likely face Real Madrid. Another trophyless campaign is probable.
Why Arsenal struggled at Old Trafford
It will come as no surprise to learn that the main problem facing Arteta’s side against Man United was their attack.
Gabriel Martinelli did return from injury, appearing as a late substitute but could not inspire a team missing Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka to all three points.
It’s safe to say not many in away colours were able to inspire their team on Sunday.
It wasn’t through a lack of trying either. Arsenal had 68% of the ball and made 585 passes to United’s 271 but were unable to do much. It was a total domination until Arteta’s men got near the opposition’s penalty box where everything became too slow and rather predictable.
Mikel Merino – the rescue act at the King Power Stadium a few weeks ago – perhaps delivered his most anonymous display yet as a centre forward and was fortunate to last the full 90 minutes such was his lack of impact.
He could only complete 71% of his passes and for a man usually such a duel monster, he only won four of 18 contests.
Then, there were the two men beside him. Flying teenager Ethan Nwaneri didn’t have much joy and was subbed for Martinelli in the 58th minute while Leandro Trossard endured a torrid time, missing two opportunities to score and giving away the free-kick that led to Bruno Fernandes’ opener.
That was the turning point in the game as far as the Red Devils were concerned and it came about in strange circumstances. The Arsenal wall appeared to be standing miles from the ball and then David Raya left far too much room to the left-hand side of his goal for Fernandes to score.
Arsenal did rally and through their man of the match, Declan Rice, rescued a point but it could have been far worse had the midfielder not made an unbelievable last-ditch challenge to deny Rasmus Hojlund scoring what looked like a certain goal late on.
Still, we’re yet to name probably Arsenal’s most problematic player right now.
Arsenal's most problematic player in 2025
After their 7-1 win over PSV last Tuesday it looked as though club captain Martin Odegaard was back to his best.
The £240k-per-week Norwegian found the net twice during that thrilling encounter but failed to showcase the same level of form this weekend.
He was outclassed by his opposite number Bruno Fernandes and looks like a shadow of the player we’ve seen over the last few years at the Emirates Stadium.
Odegaard certainly had a strong impact, amassing the second most touches of anyone on the field (96) but he did very little with it, failing to find a teammate with any of his six crosses. That’s become a worrying trend for the attacking midfielder who appears to be playing a lot of aimless balls into the box.
Despite scoring twice in midweek, his finishing has been shocking this term and that remained a fact against United on Sunday, notably sidefooting a really tame effort straight at Amadou Onana in the second half that he should have scored, before slamming a free-kick from an ideal position straight at the wall. It typified his weak finishing this campaign.
90
Minutes played
90
0.40
xG
0.32
0.47
xA
0.05
96
Touches
50
93%
Accurate passes
86%
3
Key passes
1
3
Shots on target
3
1/6
Ground duels won
3/9
1/1
Aerial duels won
0/0
19x
Possession lost
10x
0
Tackles
2
In all honesty, it wasn’t a terrible performance but like on so many occasions this term, Arsenal needed some extra oomph and Odegaard just seemed to slow things down.
As a result, it was perhaps a mistake to keep him on the field for the full 90 minutes. Supporters lust over seeing Nwaneri in the skipper’s role and that’s what should have happened in the latter stages of the game.
For Arteta, it’s back to the drawing board concerning his best attack. Does it include the captain? It’s probable but his position should be under threat after another average showing.
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