What Mikel Arteta must do as Arsenal aim to avoid catastrophic Premier League collapse

Arsenal looked terrified, passive, and totally lost despite holding a 2-0 lead against a side that had accumulated only nine points this season. It was a torrid display from the league leaders, which allowed Wolves to come back and snatch a point in the dying embers of the game.

The nerves have seeped in amongst the players, and it is evident on the pitch. Arsenal's best and most reliable players are no longer making the right decisions, as evidenced by David Raya and Gabriel's shocking mix-up for the equaliser.

With two wins in their last seven games, Arsenal could have had a double-digit lead at the summit by now, and with Manchester City far from a vintage version of themselves, that would likely have been enough.

However, heading into this weekend, the Gunners' lead has been whittled down to five points, with City having a game in hand.

The pressure is mounting, and fans have grown understandably pessimistic. Mikel Arteta must come up with solutions to get Arsenal firing again and help the players feel more comfortable late in games.

But what should he do?

Bank on Kai Havertz

For two years, Kai Havertz was Arsenal's starting centre forward, and while he offered a lot to the team with his work rate, general play, and ability to bring the best out of his teammates, fans had been crying out for a more classic and clinical number nine to take them over the line, something Havertz is not.

So they spent around £60 million on Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, but that transfer has not worked. The Swede certainly puts in effort, but he has proven that he is simply not at the required level for a team with lofty aspirations across multiple fronts.

From his poor technical ability, to his non-existent hold-up play and physicality, to his inability to be in the right place at the right time, there isn't a lot to be positive about.

Incredibly, he has failed to have a shot on target in 60% of the Premier League games he has played in. His eight league goals have also come against newly-promoted teams Sunderland, Leeds and Burnley, as well as Nottingham Forest and Everton.

Gabriel Jesus is also nowhere near the same player he once was after his numerous injury problems, and Mikel Merino is out for the season.

So Arteta needs to go back to Havertz and make sure he is ready for the run-in. The German has suffered his fair share of injuries this season and has to be managed.

Yet, despite his own deficiencies and the fact that he isn't the long-term answer, he is by far and away their best current option and will give Arsenal a better chance of going the distance.

Platform his attackers better

Arsenal don't have many attackers in good form at the moment, with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, Jesus and Gyokeres all struggling this season. Even Bukayo Saka has been well off his best, while Leandro Trossard has been inconsistent.

While there are question marks over several of those players' quality, Arteta's system and style of football certainly aren't doing much to bring out the best in them.

The wingers often stay very wide and are not given much freedom to get into central areas close to goal. Considering Saka is their best attacking player, is this a wise move?

Especially since the players that get into the attacking positions aren't often even the midfielders - it's the full backs! Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie and Jurrien Timber are the players who find themselves in and around the penalty area a lot of the time, underlapping and popping up in the box.

Perhaps Arteta could look to give his wingers just a little bit more freedom, or use his full-backs as more conventional overlapping players to give the wide players support.

Be braver

It is pretty obvious that Arteta is a pragmatic manager, more interested in being defensively solid and having control over games rather than being a free-flowing attacking force. And that is fine.

He has put together one of the most powerful defensive units in Europe, conceding just 20 goals in the league with 13 clean sheets. They also shipped just four goals in the Champions League group phase, with two of those coming in a dead rubber clash with a rotated team against Kairat Almaty.

The issue, though, is that he is often too negative and conservative in moments when they should be more on the front foot, and that has been a common theme during the last couple of years of his tenure.

Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi don't both need to be starting every game. Take their recent match against Wolves. The pair were in the starting XI, when he could have just had Rice as the sole sitting midfielder, and utilised two 10s in front of him against a side that are going to sit deep and not offer much offensively.

Eberechi Eze has looked lost in an Arsenal shirt since making a big-money move from Crystal Palace in the summer. Why not use him more in one of the more advanced midfield roles alongside Martin Odegaard to try and unlock something in him, and have Rice do the dirty work behind them?

A bolder approach could help Arsenal dominate games and put them to bed much earlier, preventing nerves from setting in towards the end of tight games.

Use White and Norgaard more

Christian Norgaard has played 32 minutes for Arsenal in the Premier League this season. Signed to bring some squad depth and experience, the former Brentford captain has barely been on the pitch for the Gunners, and instead Rice and Zubimendi have been used so much that clearly fatigue is beginning to set in.

No outfield player has played more minutes for Arsenal than Zubimendi (2993), while Rice has played the third-most (2846). The former, in particular, has been miles off his best in the last few weeks.

Norgaard isn't a world-beater, but he is a solid player with Premier League experience. What is the harm in giving one of those two a rest against a team towards the bottom of the table, and using the Dane instead?

Even towards the end of games, he should be trusted more. There have been a number of times where Rice and Zubimendi have looked legless in the last 10 minutes of vital matches, which has cost Arsenal. Norgaard would be a good option to see those moments out.

Similarly with Ben White, the Englishman has played just 411 minutes this season, which is the equivalent of around four and a half games. Behind Zubimendi, Timber has played the most minutes (2916) and has also looked well out of sorts.

White should be used far more to give Timber a break, and it would also help get the best out of Saka, too, who enjoyed his best football with him at right back. White is a more naturally overlapping full-back with the athleticism to support Saka around the outside, solving two problems at once.

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