EXCL: Arsenal star's exit is "inevitable", concerns over Jesus & Martinelli, poor Arteta decision against Fulham, & more
Reaction to Arsenal's missed opportunity against Fulham, plus Fabio Vieira's future...
Opportunity missed for Arsenal as one player’s form is a real concern
Sunday’s draw at Fulham felt like a massive opportunity missed for Arsenal after Liverpool’s game at Everton had been postponed earlier in the weekend.
It was a real chance for Mikel Arteta’s side to close the gap on the league leaders and they couldn’t take full advantage, which was a real blow. You could sense the disappointment afterwards.
I didn’t actually think they played too badly. Fulham are a decent side who have had a good season so far and Arsenal completely dominated them in terms of territory and possession, but again the issue was they just didn’t do enough with the ball in and around the final third.
It’s an ongoing issue with this Arsenal side, especially when they come up against teams who set up in a low block. They just find it difficult to break teams down.
It was no surprise that the goal they scored came from a set piece, we know all about how dangerous they are from dead ball situations. But given how much of the ball they enjoyed in the Fulham half, they really should have done more with it.
On the whole, Arsenal don’t struggle to score goals. They score plenty. They did last season and only Chelsea and Brentford have scored more than them in the current campaign.
The problem is in these really tight games, when teams are sitting deep against them, they can struggle to unlock them. They really do lack that mercurial X-Factor type player who can do something out of nothing and win a game on his own.
That’s why I really wanted them to go for Michael Olise in the summer. I think he would have been perfect for this Arsenal team and was the exact type of player that they were missing. Nothing that he has done since moving to Germany has changed my mind.
Gabriel Jesus’ form is a real concern as well. His cameo in the second half at Craven Cottage summed up where he is right now as a player.
He looks shot of any sort of confidence. When you throw a striker on at 1-1 midway through a second half you really want to see him influence a game. To get on the pitch and show why he should be starting.
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