Misfiring Arsenal are a team without a plan B when Bukayo Saka is foiled | Arsenal

With 79 minutes gone at Craven Cottage Leandro Trossard produced a piece of ability that was balletic, high-craft and in addition – this is key – utterly pointless, feinting to his left, sniping contained in the Fulham cowl after which sending a great left-foot cross snaking proper via the scoring zone, watched with various ranges of curiosity by three inexperienced shirts.

The apparent query, watching this, was: why? Why trouble? What is the plan right here? Arsenal tried a whole of 20 crosses in the midst of this 2-1 defeat by a strong and fashionable Fulham team. Only one or two of these crosses truly discovered an Arsenal participant. Across the Premier League season solely Luton and Everton have tried extra crosses than Arsenal. But then, Luton and Everton have a sport geared for that type of attacking power.

Arsenal, alternatively, have spent the season residing out a type of dramatic irony, a case of nominative non-determinism. Here we now have a team that is actually named after the place the place you retain your loaded weapons, your scimitars, your shells and bullets. And but what they actually lack, the important thing omission skewing and stretching the remainder of the team, is bullets, sharp edge, weaponry in entrance of aim. The one factor these Gunners don’t have is a gunner.

This isn’t a tough commentary to make. Just take a look down the squad listing and there it is. The key level on the finish of a second defeat in 4 days is that the dearth of a leading edge has begun to skew and bend and muddle the remainder of this team, which is higher than it seemed right here, which has so many wonderful qualities, however which is presently itemizing, drained by the one-dimensional nature of its personal attacking patterns.

Against Fulham Mikel Arteta fielded a cell, super-talented entrance three, however a entrance three nonetheless with two targets mixed in 9 league video games because the begin of November.

Gabriel Jesus got here on for the ultimate quarter, similtaneously Gabriel Martinelli left the pitch. It nonetheless isn’t clear why Jesus spends a lot time lurking in unusual areas, in a team that already has so many different gamers drifting between the strains. Then once more, Jesus is a minimum of versatile, retaining the flexibility to be largely invisible in not only one however a number of positions.

Asked on the finish what went unsuitable, Arteta mentioned: “We weren’t good enough,” which is correct. Fourth within the league, one level forward of Spurs is not the brand new yr break Arteta would have imagined even a week in the past when the questions appeared be what sort of cushion on the high Arsenal may take into 2024. Instead the report because the 4-3 victory at Luton reads one league win in 5, 4 targets scored, the identical sport rolled out every time, and a sense that opponents have labored Arsenal out, have discovered find out how to maintain them at bay a little too simply.

The concern right here is a sense of drained patterns in addition to drained gamers. The plan stays the identical. Bukayo Saka will repeatedly attempt to trick his well past two designated defenders, whereas everybody else watches, then will get cross when he’s fouled.

There is a truism about all the time having “space elsewhere” when a participant is double marked like this. But that area has little worth when the gamers in it appear preoccupied with merely funnelling the ball again out to Saka once more. Here we now have soccer reimagined because the Penrose stairs, a team within the means of folding again on itself.

Craven Cottage at the moment of yr is all the time a Christmassy event, a floor that also appears like a gingerbread grotto even with its new stand. Arsenal made the proper begin with 4 minutes gone. The opening aim was made by a contact from the palm of each goalkeepers, first David Raya’s crown-green-bowls-style rolled go to Kai Havertz, adopted by a surge from Martinelli and a shot saved by Bernd Leno, however solely deflected so far as Saka six yards out.

Fulham didn’t sit back. Willian looked like the kind of player Arsenal could use right now, finding space on the left, forcing Martin Ødegaard and Saka to track back, and helping to make the equalising goal with 29 minutes gone, feeding Tom Cairney, whose cross fizzed unimpeded across the Arsenal six-yard box for Raúl Jiménez to score.

From there Arsenal never changed gears. João Palhinha was a smothering presence in midfield. Alex Iwobi hustled to good effect, looking as ever like a man who has wandered on to the pitch in a pair of sliders and just stayed out there, to sensational effect.

Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored the winner from a corner. All Arsenal really had to offer after this was mannered noodling, familiar patterns, crosses launched in search of some shadow No 9, the absence at the heart of this team.

There is at least a break now before their next league game on 20 January. There was a rumour on social media before this game that Brentford had let slip they want £80m for Ivan Toney. This will sound like a lot. But it won’t feel like a lot if he scores goals that win games. The more pressing concern is that Arsenal don’t have the money sitting in their current account. But this team is in danger of becoming a waste of all that time, care and effort, without someone to turn its craft and play into hard numbers.