Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal’s goalscoring problems have become a psychological problem for his players after his team were again punished for failing to convert their chances.
Arsenal’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat at home to Liverpool, who struck twice late in the second half, means Arteta’s side have now lost three games in a row since Christmas.
Their inability to convert numerous goal chances was a common problem in those matches, with the strikers squandering another series of big chances against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Asked whether those missed opportunities have become a mental issue, Arteta agreed and said his team needs the “reset” that the upcoming winter break provides.
“Probably [become psychological]”, said Arteta. “Especially after today, more than against Fulham or West Ham [Arsenal’s previous two losses] before that. That’s why I think we need to reset. This break is good. It comes at a good time.”
‘I have to stay there and support them’
Arsenal fans could demand the club sign a new striker during Sunday’s match, but Arteta warned it is “unrealistic” to expect another striker to be signed this month.
“I haven’t seen a team in the last six months that has generated what we did against them [Liverpool] in the last two games,” Arteta said. “We have not capitalized. Not only today, but also in the past matches. That’s why we don’t win games.
“In terms of merit, there is no doubt that we deserve to win the games, but the results are very different. But if my team plays with that courage and attitude against probably the best team in Europe at the moment, in terms of momentum, what can I do except stay with them and support them?”
Arsenal’s attacking problems have been exacerbated by a fresh knee injury suffered by Gabriel Jesus, their star striker. Jesus has undergone two knee surgeries since December 2022 and has felt pain in that same knee in recent days.
“We have made a scan that shows something,” said Arteta. “Hopefully it’s not something big. It’s the same knee he had [previously]so we couldn’t take any risks.”
On the prospect of signing a new striker in the January transfer window, Arteta added: “At the moment it doesn’t look realistic. What my job is, and what we have to do, is to improve our players and try to get better results with the players we have.”
Gunners fire blanks
3rd min: Nelson through on goal after ball over the top
Two players got an early introduction to a new-look Arsenal team as Aaron Ramsdale picked up Reiss Nelson’s run between wing-back and centre-back with a lovely long pass. Controlling a ball out of the air is not easy and Nelson did well to get a hold of it, but the angle narrowed and he could only find the side netting. Could he have postponed it and looked for a cut? It was probably never fully up and running.
8th min: Nelson shot from top of box / Havertz curler
None of these attempts were blatant chances, but both Nelson and Kai Havertz produced fairly tame hits from distance when they could have been looking for a runner. Havertz’s was the better attempt. He tried to open his body and curl a left-foot shot into the far corner, but it was comfortable for Alisson.
11th min: Nelson shot blocked/Odegaard hits crossbar/Chance from Saka
Three chances within thirty seconds and a game that will remain in the memories of Arsenal fans. Saka and his teammates did well to force a high turnover from Joe Gomez, sending Havertz clear into the penalty area.
Could he have run around the ball and tried to beat Alisson with his left foot? Playing the cutback was probably a wise decision, but Ibrahima Konaté produced a goal-saving block to deny Nelson.
Martin Odegaard then hit the crossbar after threading his shot between four Liverpool defenders (watch the video below) before Saka saw a right-footed shot blocked. Could he have shifted the ball to the left and gone hard and low across the goal?
30th min: Havertz shot blocked
Another promising position in the penalty area for Havertz, but he took too long to assess the situation after a forward pass from Odegaard. Liverpool’s defenders recovered and the ball ended up in Alisson’s arms.
38th min: White shot saved by Alisson
Perhaps inspired by Pedro Porro’s off-the-foot screamer through north London on Friday evening, Ben White tried the spectacular with a first-time shot that knocked Alisson over. If anything, Arsenal’s right-back struck the ball with more venom than most of their forwards.
39th min: Havertz heads wide
Set-pieces have been a fruitful route to goal for Arsenal this season, and that could have been proven again if Havertz had received more purchase from a back-post header than was looked wide.
45th min: Havertz delays
A moment that colored the perception of Havertz’s first-half performance as he took forever to work the ball into a shooting position while in space on the edge of the penalty area. By the time he pulled the trigger, the angle had narrowed and he shot straight at Alisson.
50th min: Saka behind Gomez
A sharp run behind Liverpool’s defense saw Saka get away from Gomez, but once again a promising position failed to create a goal for Arsenal. Would a sharper Saka have crossed Gomez and committed a foul or forced the Liverpool defender to let him go? He tried to turn and shoot with his left, but Gomez blocked. The defense deserves praise in this case.
58th min: Gabriel missed header/Saka shoots over
A well-worked set piece sent Havertz clear past Liverpool’s defense, and his chipped ball into the penalty area was a good one. Should central defender Gabriel have put his head against it or did he get a shout? Saka couldn’t get his foot around the shot and shot over clumsily.
61st min: Saka fails to find Odegaard
Almost the luck Arsenal were looking for when Havertz’s deflected cross almost went over Alisson, who got his fingertips on it. Saka only had to direct the ball back across the goal for Odegaard with his right foot, but he made a terrible skew (watch the video below).
68th min: Martinelli beats Alexander-Arnold but no tap
A move that was symptomatic of Arsenal’s season, as Martinelli got the better of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the one-on-one duel, but could not find an Arsenal player in the six-yard box. Konate moved well across to block, but this was one of Arsenal’s better openings of the second half.
91st min: Nunez almost scores own goal
It would have been fitting if a match with so many missed chances had produced two own goals, and Darwin Nunez was not far from equalizing for Arsenal with a defensive header that flew just wide.
It’s a bit funny to think of this as a missed Arsenal opportunity, but it illustrates that the story of missed chances was very much a matter of the first half.
Liverpool improved after the break thanks to Klopp’s substitutions, slaughtering a number of promising counter-attacks of their own. Diogo Jota hit the crossbar and Ramsdale was forced into a world-class save just before Liverpool took the lead.
Klopp’s side could have been dead and buried at half-time but had strong claims that they had been the better side in terms of chances in the second 45 minutes. All of this made this cup tie difficult to parse, even if the cause of Arsenal’s demise was easy to pinpoint.