Gabriel Jesus concern, Fulham response

Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus, and Thomas Partey (Picture by Orlando Ramirez, Justin Setterfield, Mike Hewitt/Getty Photos)

Sunday’s draw at Fulham felt like a large alternative missed for Arsenal after Liverpool’s recreation at Everton had been postponed earlier within the weekend.

It was an actual likelihood for Mikel Arteta’s facet to shut the hole on the league leaders they usually couldn’t take full benefit, which was an actual blow. You would sense the frustration afterwards.

I didn’t truly assume they performed too badly. Fulham are a good facet who’ve had a superb season thus far and Arsenal fully dominated them by way of territory and possession, however once more the problem was they only didn’t do sufficient with the ball in and across the ultimate third.

It’s an ongoing subject with this Arsenal facet, particularly after they come up in opposition to groups who arrange in a low block. They only discover it tough to interrupt groups down.

It was no shock that the aim they scored got here from a set piece, we all know all about how harmful they’re from lifeless ball conditions. However given how a lot of the ball they loved within the Fulham half, they actually ought to have carried out extra with it.

On the entire, Arsenal don’t wrestle to attain objectives. They rating a lot. They did final season and solely Chelsea and Brentford have scored greater than them within the present marketing campaign.

The issue is in these actually tight video games, when groups are sitting deep in opposition to them, they’ll wrestle to unlock them. They actually do lack that mercurial X-Issue kind participant who can do one thing out of nothing and win a recreation on his personal.

That’s why I actually wished them to go for Michael Olise in the summertime. I believe he would have been good for this Arsenal workforce and was the precise kind of participant that they have been lacking. Nothing that he has carried out since transferring to Germany has modified my thoughts.

Gabriel Jesus’ type is an actual concern as properly. His cameo within the second half at Craven Cottage summed up the place he’s proper now as a participant.

He appears to be like shot of any kind of confidence. While you throw a striker on at 1-1 halfway by way of a second half you actually need to see him affect a recreation. To get on the pitch and present why he ought to be beginning.

Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal (Picture by Alex Pantling/Getty Photos)

However Jesus did the other. He might barely discover his man when he was on the ball and when a half likelihood got here his manner from Declan Rice’s intelligent go, he didn’t even swing his foot at it.

He was actually poor and his ongoing wrestle for type and confidence implies that Mikel Arteta has little choice however to proceed taking part in Kai Havertz week in, week out and he’s unsurprisingly now beginning to seem like he wants a relaxation because of the sheer quantity of minutes he’s being requested to play.

So there are clearly attacking considerations at Arsenal for the time being which can as soon as once more increase the query about why nothing was carried out to actually bolster the ahead choices in the summertime, except for the late name to signal Raheem Sterling on mortgage.

They’re justifiable questions as properly and also you do really feel one thing must be carried out to strengthen Arteta’s choices within the ultimate third in January if they’re to have an opportunity of preserving tempo with Chelsea and looking down Liverpool.

I’m not as involved as others appear to be about Gabriel Martinelli for the time being.

Sure, it was a mistake for him to get caught offside within the construct as much as the late disallowed aim. He ought to have carried out extra to carry his line given he was trying throughout the pitch.

However the Fulham defenders deserve credit score as properly. They stepped up simply on the proper time and that additionally led to Martinelli being caught offside.

I truly thought he was shiny when he got here on and Arsenal regarded far more of a menace. That they had a stability to their assault which was lacking earlier than he was launched.

I really feel Martinelli simply appears to be getting some unfair criticism for the time being. Might he supply extra at instances? Sure, undoubtedly. Might his finish product be higher? Once more, sure. However he’s not the largest downside at Arsenal proper now.

Having stated that, I do really feel the left wing is an space the place Arsenal might enhance and the truth that the membership have chased Nico Williams and Mykhailo Mudryk in latest switch home windows recommend they agree.

I’m not saying that Arsenal want to maneuver Martinelli on. I nonetheless assume he has an enormous half to play on this squad going ahead, nevertheless it’s fairly clear that an alternative choice on that facet can be actually useful by way of the assault.

I used to be watching Arsenal’s gamers get off the coach at Craven Cottage on Sunday and as quickly as I noticed that Oleksandr Zinchenko was not part of the squad I used to be nervous that we have been going to see Jurrien Timber shifted to left-back once more.

That’s what occurred clearly, with Timber being requested to cowl for the injured Ukrainian and Thomas Partey as soon as once more filling in on the best facet of the again 4.

Don’t get me incorrect, I assumed Timber and Social gathering each performed completely high quality in these positions, however I nonetheless don’t assume it was the best name by Arteta to play them there.

The large subject is how a lot it impacts the workforce in an attacking sense. Timber can do a job at left-back, however he’s not taking part in on his pure facet and he’s no manner as threatening when over on the left.

When he performs on the best he will get ahead on a regular basis, helps Bukayo Saka and will get on the overlap, which frequently offers Saka extra space to work as a result of defenders are compelled to trace Timber’s runs.

That simply doesn’t occur when Partey performs at right-back. He hardly ever will get on the overlap and operates far more as an inverted full-back, which results in him going into what’s already a congested central space.

I simply don’t actually assume it really works and so will not be what the disruption that comes with transferring Timber to the other flank and taking Partey out of midfield, particularly when you will have Kieran Tierney and Myles Lewis-Skelly sitting on the bench.

Now, Lewis-Skelly was solely simply again from damage on Sunday so perhaps he wasn’t match sufficient to start out, however Tierney has been coaching for a number of weeks now and has been on the bench for the final 4 video games.

I do know he has his damage points and might be being rigorously managed. However why is he on the bench if he’s not going for use when you will have a number of different left-backs unavailable? What’s the purpose?

Once more, I don’t assume because of this Arsenal dropped factors at Fulham. With the gamers they used and the system they performed, so nonetheless did sufficient to win. They only didn’t take the possibilities that got here their manner.

However I nonetheless felt there have been issues that might have been carried out in a different way to cowl for the absence of all of the injured defenders.

It’s good to see Fabio Vieira began to get extra recreation time at Porto after the early damage he picked up there following his mortgage transfer.

He’s clearly a proficient participant and I hope he has a powerful second half to the season and exhibits everybody why Arsenal invested a lot cash to carry him to England within the first place.

I don’t assume it’s an absolute certainty that his Arsenal profession is completed. The truth that the membership didn’t insert any kind of purchase choice in his mortgage transfer means that they haven’t completely washed their arms of him.

However I might be shocked at this level if he comes again and makes the grade in north London. I nonetheless assume the most probably choice is that he strikes on completely come the top of the season.

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Mikel Arteta admitted that Vieira was allowed to go away in order that Ethan Nwaneri might get extra minutes this season and Nwaneri has already proven how good he might be, regardless of nonetheless solely being 17.

So Vieira would discover himself being Nwaneri within the pecking order subsequent season ought to he nonetheless be round and I can’t think about he can be too pleased with that given his want for recreation time.

It simply seems like an exit is inevitable and that Arsenal should take a fairly large monetary hit on a participant they spent £34 million on again in 2022.