Mikel Arteta must fix key problem if Arsenal FC are to realise Premier League title ambitions

Sport | Football

Mikel Arteta must fix key problem if Arsenal are to realise Premier League title ambitions

Gunners dropped points again in midweek as title race intensifies

Concern: Mikel Arteta

AFP via Getty Images

Matt Verri

1 minute ago

COMMENTS

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Matt Verri

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

It was a very familiar feeling for Arsenal when the half-time whistle went at the Gtech Community Stadium.

After a fairly uneventful 45 minutes, in which the Gunners had just one shot and did not trouble Caoimhin Kelleher at all, there was nothing to split Mikel Arteta's side and Brentford.

This was the sixth time in the last eight Premier League matches that Arsenal have gone in level at half-time. Four of those have been goalless.

In the Premier League so far this season, Arsenal's matches have had a total of 24 goals across 26 games in the first 45 minutes. That is the fewest of any side in the league.

Part of that is down to how the opposition set up against them. Very few take the game to Arsenal early on, preferring to keep it tight and try and frustrate them.

However, there is also the sense that Arsenal are playing the first half of matches with too much caution.

Read More

Arsenal XI vs Wigan: Confirmed team news and predicted lineup

Slot reveals key reason for 'impossible' Liverpool title defence

Arsenal get 'definite' Gabriel red card verdict after Brentford draw

Sponsored

Rediscover your adventurous side on an exotic getaway

This is the fourth title race that Arsenal have got themselves into in as many years and the way they have approached it has changed over the years.

Arteta is a manager who craves control but there was far less of it in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns, when there was a chaotic, almost basketball-like feel, to many of their games.

A key characteristic was fast starts. Arsenal regularly flew out of the blocks and got themselves in front.

Struggle: Viktor Gyokeres

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

In the 2022-23 season, the Gunners scored an average of 1.03 goals in the first half in the league. That rose to 1.11 the following year.

This season, that figure is down to 0.69 goals in the first 45 minutes of matches. Only four times in 26 games have Arsenal scored more than once in the first 45 minutes - against Leeds twice, Burnley, and Tottenham.

As the pressure of the title race increases by the week, it is important that Arsenal do not retreat further into their shell.

It is easy to be patient early in the season, knowing you have a strong bench to lean on in the second half if matches are still in the balance.

Now, the longer games remain level, the more fans and players think of how costly dropped points could be. Arsenal need to do all they can to remove tension.

That means being braver early in matches and more dominant in asserting their authority over inferior opposition.

The Gunners have shown themselves capable of starting a half well, but that has normally been the second. They have scored 12 goals in the 15-minute period after half-time, compared to 18 in the entirety of the first half.

Asked last month about his side's strong record after half-time, Arteta said: "I think it's a really important moment.

"You gather a lot of information, you have a moment to breathe, to reflect and to make decisions and try to pass the messages that we believe are important and relevant to help us to win the game."

Arsenal have worked hard to learn the lessons of previous failed title bids. That has meant leaving behind weaker traits, but rediscovering a former strength would be just as welcome.

MORE ABOUT

Click here to read article