Wednesday evening, Arsenal revived their title hopes. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, this season hasn’t been very enjoyable to watch.
Alas, they were back in the title race, closing the gap on Liverpool to four points.
Well, they could well be out of action again after a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.
Mikel ArtetaThe team created numerous chances – as they did against Manchester United a week ago and against Spurs in midweek – but were ultimately undone by poor defending.
Given the Gunners struggled in attack, it was refreshing to see them lead 2-0, but Villa rallied well and escaped north London with a point thanks to Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins .
It was not at all a good day for Premier Leaguebut there were some notable artists in red and white.
Arsenal’s best players against Aston Villa
After much criticism for his performances since Bukayo Saka’s injury, Leandro Trossard has now found the goods in back-to-back matches.
The Belgian scored the winner against Tottenham a few days ago and was perhaps Arsenal’s biggest threat on Saturday night.
Trossard created both of the home side’s goals, handling the ball well on the left before crossing for Gabriel Martinelli to push home in the second half.
He was also the passer in the second half, crossing for Kai Havertz whose powerful effort could not be stopped by former Gunner Emi Martinez.
As the attack seemed to start to click, Arsenal nearly ran away with all three points, save for VAR ruling out a late goal. A long-range shot was fired off Havertz’s arm and found the net.
The big positive point of this evening was that the German found himself among the goals. Beyond him and Trossard, teenager Myles Lewis Skelly also played once again and almost grabbed the assist, sliding the ball behind for Trossard deep into injury time, only for the former Brighton leaves the opportunity wide.
On the other hand, it was a shame that Arsenal’s creator-in-chief, their captain, was not present at the races.
Martin Odegaard’s performance in figures
It hasn’t been the best season since. Martin Odegaard.
Performance in figures
Performance in figures
Do you want data and statistics? Football FanCast’s Performance in Numbers series brings you the latest match analysis from across Europe.
The Norwegian injured his ankle while on international duty with Norway in September, a spell that led to a 12-match absence. Since his return, he has not performed very well.
Notably missing a penalty last Sunday in the FA Cup, the skipper appears to be suffering from a lack of confidence, which is not helped by Saka’s injury.
Yet with the Englishman missing, someone has to step up and it should be Odegaard. He is Arteta’s leader on the pitch but does not show the qualities required in both a leadership department and on the ball.
Her performance against Emery’s men was so poor that she described as a ‘stinker’ by Arsenal journalist Con Harrisonwhile GOAL handed him a low match rating of 5/10.
The stats tell of a very bad night for Odegaard who only provided one key pass. Usually a chance driver at Arsenal, he really struggled to find space between Villa’s lines.
|
Odegaard v Aston Villa |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Keys |
61 |
|
Precise passes |
36/39 (92%) |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
Precise crossings |
2/11 |
|
Shots on target |
0 |
|
Shots off target |
0 |
|
Dribbling success |
0/1 |
|
Ground duels won |
0/5 |
|
Aerial duels won |
0/1 |
|
Lost possession |
18x |
|
Statistics via Couch Score. |
|
What summed things up was his late free kick, a moment which proved to be the final kick of the match. Odegaard swung the ball deep and straight into Martinez’s arms.
It was one of 18 times he gave the ball away and to make matters worse, he hasn’t won a single duel, a fact which will no doubt worry Arteta.
He also only made one shot and failed on his only dribble attempt. It was easily one of his worst performances in an Arsenal shirt.
If the Gunners are to have any chance of winning the championship, they need their captain to improve quickly.
