Despite a promising start on the attacking front and two victories in two, the Arsenal manager has acknowledged that his team has struggled to score goals thus far this season.
Despite having won both of their first two games this season, Mikel Arteta has acknowledged that Arsenal are still far from performing at their peak.
The Gunners opened the season with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest, and after a tense road win at Crystal Palace on Monday night, they added a second victory to their record. However, it could be argued that Arsenal has traded swashbuckling attacking for a stronger defensive steel in both games despite not producing a ton of chances.
Even with a numerical advantage thanks to Takehiro Tomiyasu’s two yellow cards, Palace found it difficult to defeat their opponents at Selhurst Park. Arsenal must find a better balance between the two and get back to the daring forward play that got them to second place last season.
Arteta is not fooling himself; he is aware that his team has struggled to score goals over the past two games. After the victory over Palace, he stated as much, making remarks that his attackers might interpret as a warning.
When asked if his team has reached the level he expects from them this year, Arteta responded, “No, because we have to put the ball in the net more frequently, especially with the dominance we are having in games. But since that is the most challenging aspect of football, if you don’t do that, you must do the other part, which is to be very solid.
“With the chances we gave up, we were last week against Forest and we are again today against Palace. Continue to improve and develop your game.”.
Even though Eddie Nketiah scored the game-winning penalty, first-choice forward Gabriel Jesus is still out with a knee injury, and the Gunners are feeling his absence. Nketiah missed two opportunities in the first half.
After Eddie Nketiah missed two opportunities against Crystal Palace, Mikel Arteta acknowledged that Arsenal hadn’t scored as many goals as he’d have liked.
Last season, Arsenal scored six goals after two games; this year, that total has been cut in half. They have nevertheless given up two fewer goals. That is all the more impressive when you consider that Arteta decided not to start Gabriel Magalhaes for either game.
Next up for the runners-up from last season is a home match against Fulham, where the Gunners have a chance to gain significant momentum. Three victories in a row would send a strong message to anyone trying to stop Arsenal from pursuing the title.
The first of two back-to-back home games, the second against big-six rival Manchester United, is this matchup against the Cottagers.
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