Why can't Arsenal create?

AFC BournemouthArsenalAston VillaBrentfordBrighton & Hove AlbionBurnleyChelseaCrystal PalaceEvertonFulhamLeeds UnitedLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedNottingham ForestSunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Ham UnitedWolverhampton WanderersScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyThe Athletic FC NewsletterPodcastsPremier Martin Zubimendi was often compelled to demand an option on Saturday Justin Setterfield/Getty Images Share full articleComposure and availability were the first words that came to Mikel Arteta when asked about the difference between being a winner and a runner-up. The question came after defeat to Bournemouth and, thinking back to his time as Manchester City’s assistant manager, Arteta pointed to Vincent Kompany finding the top corner from outside the box against Leicester City in 2019. “A lot of things have to go your way,” he said. “But you have to push that element of luck. That’s something that I believe has to come from us as well.” Throughout this season, and especially in recent weeks, Arsenal have not pushed their luck enough. This is a team who have increasingly banked on their solid foundations rather than injecting risk that could make them luckier going forward. When a team’s shortcomings on the ball halt attacks before they start and become a source of chance creation for the opposition, the focus has to fall back on simply winning games. Arsenal rank 16th this gameweek for passing accuracy in their own half (88.8 per cent). Unable to gather momentum, it is no wonder they managed only 0.18 expected goals from open play. These came from Declan Rice’s two long-range efforts and Viktor Gyokeres’ two chances late on. Their performance against Bournemouth was a culmination of the previous three against Sporting, Southampton and Manchester City. Their play was slow in Lisbon, error-laden on the English south coast and easy to contain at Wembley — all of which could be said for their return to the Emirates last weekend. Arteta said calls from the stands for his team to attack were based on emotion and came from the right place. Now should be the time when players lean into that emotion to take them forward, but too often they can be seen standing facing their own goal and not in motion heading towards the opposition one. The exchange of passes between Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard below received a lot of attention in the aftermath of the Sporting win, but the reluctance to turn and face the opposition does not only come from Arsenal’s captain. It may not always be visible on broadcast cameras, but Arsenal’s forwards rarely burst in behind when their team-mates are on the ball. Even if they do not receive a pass, those runs drag defenders with them to create more space elsewhere. Without that off-ball movement, attacks become predictable. This happened again against Bournemouth. Martin Zubimendi had a poor outing overall, but could have been helped more by his team-mates in the example below. Upon receiving the ball from Rice, he looks forward and demands a passing option. Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz make hardly any movements, Bournemouth’s defence remains settled. Zubimendi is compelled to turn on himself and demand an option again before laying the ball off to Myles Lewis-Skelly by his side. These moments can be infuriating considering how vertical Arsenal’s play was in 2022-23. Arteta has recently spoken about how much football has evolved in the short time since. He highlighted the emphasis on man-to-man marking. Even with those developments, Arsenal matches following the same patterns is not encouraging. They had a few opportunities to hurt Bournemouth before their defence could reorganise, but their failure to do so was typical of their work in counter-attacking situations all season. Arteta’s side rank ninth in the Premier League for total fast breaks (32) and joint-sixth for goals from said fast breaks (four). Their title rivals, Manchester City, rank fourth for fast breaks (41) and first for goals from said situations (nine) despite being the slowest team in the league during build-up. As we can see from the visualisation below, Arsenal are one of the more patient teams in the division on the ball. Many sides have erred towards direct football with few passes this season, while teams like Manchester City and Chelsea have continued to put together pass-heavy moves. A total stylistic shift is unlikely to come this late in the season, but playing fast does not always mean going direct. Arsenal, at their most entertaining under Arteta, played short, snappy passes. Players in all positions would be involved, with goalkeepers and defenders quickly moving the ball into midfield, but Arsenal’s passing from the back is less penetrative this year. The bar chart below illustrates how few line-breaking passes Arsenal have played from inside their own half this season, with only West Ham and Bournemouth executing fewer. While there are caveats to this statistic — teams may not always press Arsenal with the same intensity as other sides, giving their players less opportunity to find line-breaking passes — it does suggest that they have struggled to find incisive passes from out of defence. The days of one-touch passing through the thirds feel an age away. Clustered injuries to key players across positions need to be factored in, but sometimes the onus has to be on those who are available to find a way to make a difference. Odegaard has only been available for 37.4 per cent of Arsenal’s Premier League minutes this season, but still ranks fourth in the squad for chances created from open play (28). For context, the top three are Saka (44), Rice (35), Leandro Trossard (30) and Jurrien Timber (26). Odegaard (1.34) ranks second behind only City’s Rayan Cherki (1.43) for through balls per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. Mikel Merino is fourth on 0.99 and Eberechi Eze ninth with 0.76. Being without all three of these midfielders has been costly since the New Year, especially when passing a glance at Cherki’s exploits for City. It is not hindsight to say Cherki feels like an Arsenal playmaker from the Arsene Wenger era and is a free-spirited maverick that this team would benefit from having. That willingness to push his luck when others may not has not only seen him become the first player to register 10 or more assists in their debut Premier League season since Dimitri Payet for West Ham in 2015-16. It also sees him rank first for through balls per 90 minutes in the Premier League since the start of the 2021-22 season. Gabriel Martinelli pushed his luck throughout his Champions League quarter-final cameo against Sporting. His outside-the-boot pass in behind and long-range shot within minutes of coming on injected energy into Arsenal’s performance, and gave him the confidence to drive infield before finding Kai Havertz for the winner. More moments like that, or Eze’s willingness to shoot on sight, are needed from Arsenal. Not just in the coming weeks, but this week. This squad has the quality; it is time they proved it at the business end of a season. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Art de Roché began covering Arsenal for football.london in 2019 as a trainee club writer. Beforehand, he covered the Under-23s and Women's team on a freelance basis for the Islington Gazette, having gained experience with Sky Sports News and The Independent. Follow Art on Twitter @ArtdeRoche