Arsenal’s first league defeat exposes Havertz, attacking depth

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, England — As Arsenal tried to guard their unbeaten Premier League doc throughout the remaining phases of their 1-0 defeat at Newcastle, Mikel Arteta modified back-up striker Eddie Nketiah with winger Leandro Trossard. If ever a substitution emphasised a bunch’s predicament, that was it.

The £65 million summer season signing of Kai Havertz from Chelsea now seems like a conceit purchase by Arteta who ignored the precise downside in his squad — the dearth of a reliable goalscorer — in favour of a participant who is certainly proficient, nevertheless one who’s additional of an opulent in a bunch that already has all the attributes of a title-winning facet. Whereas that money might have been increased spent on a confirmed centre-forward to provide opponents for Gabriel Jesus and Nketiah, Arteta as a substitute chosen to sign Havertz as a participant who “sees all the pitch.” What Arsenal really needed was a participant who might even see the aim and put the ball into it.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, extra (U.S.)

So with Jesus absent attributable to hurt at St James’ Park and Nketiah struggling to make headway in direction of Newcastle’s centre-half pairing of Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schär, Arteta turned to former Brighton winger Trossard to keep away from losing the game as an eightieth minute substitute. Havertz, within the meantime, remained on the pitch in his operate of neither forward nor midfielder, nonetheless backed by Arteta to be the game-changer that he had anticipated him to be when he lured him to the Emirates.

Nonetheless he didn’t change the game. Havertz now has one objective in 11 league appearances for Arsenal this season and his presence throughout the group is inflicting angst among the many many supporters. He proved himself to be a big-game participant at Chelsea, scoring the targets which gained the Champions League and FIFA Membership World Cup, nevertheless he has up to now been a fish out of water at Arsenal and Arteta’s decision to sign him already deserves scrutiny.

Arsenal are nonetheless firmly throughout the title race no matter this loss at St James’, with the Gunners merely three elements behind leaders Manchester Metropolis, nevertheless closing season’s runners-up have been worryingly toothless in direction of Eddie Howe’s group.

They’ve been consistenly linked with a January switch for Brentford forward Ivan Toney, whose eight-month suspension for breaching betting pointers will end on Jan. 16, nevertheless having invested a number of the membership’s change funds on Havertz via the summer season, Arsenal ought to improve funds sooner than even contemplating a switch for Toney, who will also be fascinating Chelsea and Manchester United.

With out money coming in, Arsenal received’t be capable of sign Toney attributable to Financial Sincere Play restrictions, so Arteta’s decision to sign Havertz might however deny the Gunners the possibility to strengthen the realm that’s in such dire need of reinforcement. Arsenal nonetheless have targets throughout the group with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all hitting double figures closing season. All three of them outscored Jesus, who netted 11 league targets.

Nonetheless none of them scored 20 league targets and that’s normally the bare minimal for required for the very best scorer of a title-winning membership. Merely check out what variety of targets Erling Haaland scored for Metropolis closing season — 36 — and the best way Mohamed Salah has broken the 20-goal barrier for Liverpool in 4 of his six seasons at Anfield.

With Jesus injured, Arteta is having to rely upon Nketiah as his centre-forward, nevertheless the 24-year-old simply isn’t okay to be a title-challenger’s basic striker. He’s an efficient option to have throughout the squad, nevertheless nowhere the extent required. If Arsenal had arrived at Newcastle with a striker much like Toney of their ranks, or Newcastle’s Callum Wilson, his presence would have enabled Saka and Martinelli additional freedom and home to set off points out intensive.

Nonetheless as a substitute, that that they had Havertz whose solely contribution was to spark the Newcastle crowd with a wild first-half downside on Sean Longstaff which resulted in a yellow card nevertheless might have merited a purple. Arsenal managed just one shot heading in the right direction and that statistic underlined their lack of punch up entrance.

Nonetheless whereas that’s one area that Arteta has ignored, his decision to change goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale with David Raya, on a season-long mortgage from Brentford, moreover threatens to hamper Arsenal’s title downside. Raya’s functionality as a sweeper-keeper is regarded by Arteta as so superior to that of Ramsdale that he has made the change, nevertheless Raya has however to settle into his new operate as a result of the Gunners’ major and his failure to make a larger attempt to maintain the cross that led to Gordon’s objective was a failing that the supervisor didn’t sort out whereas criticising the VAR decisions.

So whereas Arteta raged in direction of the officers, calling the selection “embarrassing” and an “absolute disgrace,” he deflected consideration from his private shortcomings. And by failing to sign a striker via the summer season, Arteta has arguably damaged his group’s prospects larger than any controversial VAR decision.