SM
Watford vs. Leeds: 4 hrs 52 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

A closer look at Arsenal's woeful spell of form

:Headline: A closer look at Arsenal's woeful spell of form: ID:426467: from db_amp
The Gunners have gone five Premier League games without victory.

Arsenal sit just five points above the relegation zone after their poor Premier League form continued with Sunday's home defeat to lowly Burnley.

Mikel Arteta's struggling side are winless in five top-flight matches and have lost four successive league fixtures at Emirates Stadium.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at some of the key issues affecting the Gunners.

Lack of attacking threat

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, right, has only scored two Premier League goals this season (Catherine Ivill/PA)

Only the Clarets, West Brom and Sheffield United have scored fewer league goals than Arsenal this term. The Gunners have mustered just 10 in 12 fixtures, including only one in their last five winless games. Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been in fine form ever since he moved to the club in January 2018 but he has only scored one penalty in his last 11 league outings, with Arsenal having 124 shots across their matches so far – the fifth lowest in the division.

Indiscipline

Granit Xhaka was sent off against Burnley (Laurence Griffiths/PA)

Arsenal manager Arteta suggested Granit Xhaka's red card in the 1-0 defeat to Sean Dyche's side showed how committed his players are to addressing their slump. Switzerland midfielder Xhaka was dismissed for grabbing Ashley Westwood around the throat. While on-field passion can be a positive, it was the seventh time Arsenal have had a player sent off in the Premier League since Arteta was appointed almost a year ago and raises serious questions about the discipline among his underperforming squad.

Positional sense

Arteta is less than a week away from the first anniversary of his appointment. At the moment, there seems little reason to celebrate the occasion. When his predecessor Unai Emery was sacked, Arsenal were eighth in the table – the same position they ended the season under Arteta. The club are currently languishing in 15th place and require a swift upturn in results to ease pressure on their manager and ensure realistic hopes of European qualification are not extinguished prematurely.

Uncontrollable issues

Thomas Partey, left, is currently injured (Paul Childs/PA)

Arteta has had to contend with plenty of challenges in the opening year of his managerial career, including the coronavirus pandemic which kept fans away from Emirates Stadium until 2,000 were allowed to return last week. A number of injuries have also played their part of late, with the case of summer signing Thomas Partey highlighting their bad luck. The midfielder had missed just six matches throughout his entire career before joining Arsenal but has now sat out three of the last four games with a thigh injury.

Jury out on defence

Gabriel Magalhaes has impressed for Arsenal this season (Catherine Ivill/PA)

One of the priorities for Arteta when he replaced compatriot Emery was to address defensive frailties. With the savvy signing of Gabriel Magalhaes and a more structured approach to defending improving the likes of Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz, the former Gunners midfielder has – by and large – shored things up at the back. However, his team remain far from solid and have kept only three clean sheets this term, conceding eight times in their last five games.

amp_article__426467 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-12-14 12:29:59:
html db last update - 2021-03-11 06:50:06 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .