What began as a season of great hope for Arsenal is in danger of becoming a crushing disappointment after they slipped to a second costly home defeat in less than a week.
Joshua Zirkzee’s act of redemption dumped the Gunners out of the FA Cup, they are hanging by a thread in the Carabao Cup and are six points adrift of Liverpool in the Premier League table having played a game more.
Arsenal are third in the Champions League mega-table, but knockout football against the cream of the European crop is laced with danger.
This is not yet a crisis; Mikel Arteta has faced far trickier and leaner spells at Arsenal before. However, pressure is inevitably starting to build. “Arteta out” posts on X/Twitter are starting to creep back into fashion.
We are just a Piers Morgan plea for Jose Mourinho to replace him away from being transported back to the bad old days of 2021.
Arsenal are, on paper, the second-best team in England. Things can obviously get much, much worse. The concerning thing for supporters is that the last two matches have exposed familiar shortcomings that have already held Arsenal back during their two nearly years.
This team will never bridge the gap from very good to exceptional unless they become more clinical in the opposition box.
In 210 minutes against Newcastle on Tuesday and Manchester United on Sunday, Arsenal had 49 shots on goal and faced 14. The aggregate scoreline across those matches was 1-3. Even the one they did score through Gabriel Magalhaes was deflected.
On both occasions, they were punished by individual attackers more ruthless than their own.
Alexander Isak, monitored by Arsenal for years, scored from one of his two shots – and the other led to Anthony Gordon tapping in from a David Raya save. Bruno Fernandes converted his only attempt with aplomb.
In contrast, Kai Havertz had nine efforts across both fixtures without scoring. Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard had six apiece. Martinelli did manage to fire the ball past Altay Bayindir but was a good five yards offside when he did so.
Sunday was a seminar in missed chances, led by Professor Havertz. The German missed two glorious opportunities to make himself the hero in normal time, but sliced and scooped them high and wide.
When he eventually hit the target in the shootout, Bayindir was equal to it and made the save. United supporters will feel as though Havertz’s misfortune was karmic retribution for conning the referee into awarding a penalty against Harry Maguire.
Odegaard saw that spot-kick denied by the brilliant Bayindir. As is always the way, he slotted his second of the day in the shootout, completing the Asamoah Gyan double of despair.
To compound matters, Arsenal lost their most in-form forward to what looks likely to be a serious knee injury. Gabriel Jesus has scored six goals in his last seven matches, as many as he managed in his previous 48, but could miss the rest of this season.
The Brazilian was taken off on a stretcher after appearing to catch his studs in the turf as he hurtled back to help defend a United counter-attack. His spell in north London has been defined by stop-starts and false dawns. He hoisted his white shirt over his eyes in distress as he was carried away.
Jesus’s absence will only make the clamour from supporters to sign a new forward this month louder. Arteta refused to say whether or not the Gunners will strengthen, but a failure to do so will place a ceiling on their immediate ambitions.
Bukayo Saka is not due back until March at the earliest, while the prodigious Ethan Nwaneri is also unavailable. Arteta’s forward options are increasingly depleted.
The away end took the opportunity to taunt their hosts by chanting “Oh Robin van Persie” throughout the game.
The Dutchman spent only three years at United, compared to eight at Arsenal, but is held in far greater reverence by followers of his second English club after his 20 goals propelled the Red Devils to their last Premier League trophy in 2013.
How Arsenal could do with a Van Persie equivalent to turbocharge their title charge this year.
