The Gunners seem to be running out of ideas when it comes to scoring goals, criticism growing over set pieces

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

The accidental rollout of X's AI image generator was quickly seized upon by football fans towards the back end of last week. There was one notable picture which did the rounds even after Elon Musk and Co. managed to shut their beta test down again.

There, at a sunny Emirates Stadium, stood Arsenal's three best players; Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and captain Martin Odegaard front and centre. Except they were not dressed in their usual Gunners shirts, rather those of a crude resemblance to Stoke City.

Arsenal's penchant for set-piece goals, particularly the two which saw them beat Manchester United to nil a fortnight ago, has seen them derogatorily labelled as the second coming of Tony Pulis' Potters. Indeed, further AI images portraying Mikel Arteta shaking hands with Stoke's favourite cap-donning son, with Arsene Wenger watching on in horror, have also done the rounds.

That's a tad disingenuous to a team who have finished second in the Premier League for two seasons running and remain in this year's title fight. But after Saturday's dismal 0-0 draw at home to Everton, valid concerns have been raised over how Arsenal plan to score goals from open play.

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱AFPArteta on the defensive

Prior to last Wednesday's 3-0 win at home to Monaco in the Champions League, Arteta was asked whether too much of Arsenal's style was dictated around their advantages on set plays. To disarm the press, he explained, using two small water bottles, how those from the outside like to view open play and set piece goals as two separate entities, whereas he sees the situation as one larger water bottle which contains both. You can't have one without the other was essentially his message.

To their credit, Arsenal looked at their scintillating best to see off Monaco, with Saka particularly shining. It's why it was so strange this game was sandwiched between two Premier League outings in which the north Londoners showed very little bite in the final third.

Saturday's stalemate with Everton was the third Premier League match in succession in which Arsenal failed to score from open play. This stat was put to Arteta post-match, and he did not take kindly to it. "We score three from open play three days ago, so?" was his response.

If you were to give Arteta the benefit of the doubt, you would say he's protecting his players amid this relative slump. Those with more cynicism, and perhaps more reality when it comes to talking about a title challenger, would see it as ignorance.

AdvertisementAFPWhat the numbers say

No Premier League side has created more expected goals (xG) from set pieces than Arsenal through 16 rounds of fixtures, yet they rank in the bottom half for that stat when only accounting for open play. Arsenal also lag way behind their rivals when it comes to live passes leading to goals, with their total of 34 way down from stat-leaders Chelsea (49), as well as six other sides, including relegation-battling Wolves.

It's not as if their total goal numbers are particularly impressive either. With 29 goals so far, they are on course to score roughly 69 across the 38-game campaign, which would be a marked decrease on their totals from the last two seasons – 88 in 2022-23 and 91 in 2023-24.

The added threat of set-piece dominance is a useful weapon in Arsenal's, well, arsenal. It shouldn't be their go-to strategy regardless of that proficiency.

AFPEye test is also damning

What weakens Arteta's argument against Arsenal's detractors of late are that his side simply don't look the same as their previous iterations. The Gunners of the last two seasons could rip through deep blocks and were demons in transition, but those strengths have faded as time has gone on.

Part of that is perhaps related to their natural progression. When Arteta's Arsenal first announced themselves as genuine title challengers, it was a fun and exciting story of a sleeping giant waking. That novelty is gone both inside and outside the club.

Teams don't afford them the same freedom. Opponents show them far more respect, which is precisely why Everton sought to take the sting out of Saturday's affair from minute one. It couldn't be a back-and-forth contest otherwise they would lose. In contrast, the new threats of Arne Slot's Liverpool and Enzo Maresca's Chelsea have not yet been fully figured out by the rest of the Premier League, making Arsenal look outdated even by their young standards.

AFPSummer of missed opportunity

Fine, hindsight is 20/20, but Arsenal's summer transfer window is starting to look ominously like a missed opportunity. Their new additions have added little to the squad from last season, with returning 2023 signing Jurrien Timber following an ACL injury their most notable upgrade across the squad.

Bringing in Euro 2024 star and versatile defender Riccardo Calafiori made sense from a quality standpoint, though what Arsenal didn't need was another unreliable fitness bet at the back. Ability isn't quite the best availability (don't let recent social media trends fool you, it just isn't) but you need some level of reliance to actually play for extended stretches, which the Italian didn't at all prior to his one-year stint at Bologna.

In midfield, Arsenal thought they were bringing in the perfect partner for Declan Rice in Mikel Merino. He boasted previous Premier League experience and played a key role for Spain at the Euros, yet he has proven underwhelming when whoever taking on this role really needed to hit the ground running.

Gabriel Jesus' inability to rediscover the form of his debut season in north London led many to believe Arsenal would go big for a striker heading into 2024-25. Instead, they chose to keep their powder dry. Previously linked targets Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen headed elsewhere. Alexander Isak remained at Newcastle, his compatriot Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting CP. Arteta hedged his bets on Kai Havertz to continue his hot-streak from the end of the previous season and Jesus to improve again, only for neither to live up to the required billing for a team in with a chance of the title.

The regression of Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal's quickest and most-lively forward, has added to their woes. The Brazilian is lacking that wicked ingenuity he boasted when he broke out, that ruthless streak which saw him score 15 goals in a single Premier League season before. Now, he quickly draws the ire of an unforgiving Emirates Stadium crowd and has lost so much confidence he looks unrecognisable to the prospect who once terrorised defences.