Arsenal’s season promised so much but the current collapse of the side now looks set to deliver comparatively little. There is even growing concern that Europa League qualification could be in doubt.
Many factors have contributed to Arsenal’s descent into a frustrating end to their campaign. However, three stand out amongst the rest. Mikel Arteta has made decisions these past three fixtures that have confused and angered supporters. Injuries to key players at the worst time have combined to hit the squad hard. The missed opportunity to strengthen in the January transfer window was a gamble that could see Arsenal fold their hopes of Champions League qualification.
However, which is the crucial blow that can be pinpointed as the primary cause. They all have weight, but football.london’s Arsenal writers have come together to put forward their case for the leading candidate.
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Chris Davison - The Arsenal Way Writer/Presenter
I genuinely think a combination of all three factors has played a part in the team's recent struggles but failing to sign anyone in January remains a very poor decision, and we are really starting to see the consequences of that now. To get rid of the club's top scorer in recent seasons and rely on Alexandre Lacazette who has failed to bag more than 14 league goals since joining is, in my opinion, terribly naive.
On top of that, there's Eddie Nketiah who has really struggled in the Premier League, scoring just five times across 52 appearances. When you consider both players are also out of contract in the summer, it just becomes even more bizarre. Are their head and hearts really in the right place to secure us Champions League football? Their performances suggest they aren't.
The midfield also should have been strengthened, and again we are now getting punished for not doing anything. As soon as Thomas Partey or Granit Xhaka are out of action, the lack of quality and experience is clear for all to see. As we now know, Bruno Guimaraes was there for the taking but for some reason, we just stood still.
I appreciate it's really easy to sit here and say all of this in hindsight, but I was very concerned at the time that a lack of activity would come back to haunt us and unfortunately it's done just that. Ensuring the right characters enter through the door is of course very important, as is avoiding any panic buys. But when you look at where we were in the league and what's up for grabs, the decisions taken were just asking for trouble.
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne - Arsenal Writer
Looking at Arsenal's recent collapse and it's hard to not think we would be in a better position right now had the plan for the January transfer window been to bolster the first-team squad instead of solely just trimming it and leaving us vulnerable to injuries that have derailed the season.
Whilst I agree that Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac, Folarin Balogun and Pablo Mari all needed to leave as they weren't playing regularly, not replacing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ainsley Maitland-Niles is a decision that was always going to backfire on Mikel Arteta.
One look at where Arsenal are struggling at the moment and it's in attack and in midfield. I find it bizarre that Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah - with a grand total of three Premier League goals between them at the end of January - were entrusted with firing us to the Champions League.
Meanwhile, given Thomas Partey's rather wretched injury record since he joined, why another central midfielder wasn't recruited - especially after letting Maitland-Niles leave so early in the window - will forever remain a mystery.
If Arsenal do end up missing out on the top four, my gut feeling is that not strengthening in January will be the reason. Signing a midfielder would have meant Partey didn't have to play after leading Ghana to the World Cup and finding an upgrade on Lacazette likely solves the goalscoring issue.
Tom Canton - The Arsenal Way Writer/Presenter
It is difficult for me to understand how and why Arsenal decided not to strengthen in January. What was clear from the season up until that point was how successful Arsenal’s first team had become.
Mikel Arteta had found the right balance. Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka were forming a solid foundation for the team and the Swiss midfielder’s absence brought with it concern.
Takehiro Tomiyasu’s impact and revolution to the right full-back position after the opening three defeats of the season was huge for the team. Kieran Tierney’s role changed with the Japanese international’s integration to the betterment of the side’s defensive capabilities.
However, goals continued to be a problem. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette were simply not scoring enough. Before the Gabonese forward’s departure, Arsenal needed something new and tried for Dusan Vlahovic in January.
However, after missing out on the Serb to Juventus, deciding there was nothing out there that could benefit the side, even just for six months gambled the season. In midfield also, not adding someone to support Partey and Xhaka should one get injured was a risk
The gamble has not paid off. Partey, Tierney and Tomiyasu are gone. Lacazette has not scored in 19-plus hours of football from open play. The depth in the side has been exposed and as a result, top-four looks to be very difficult to achieve. Mikel Arteta’s decisions and these injuries are frustrating, but Arsenal missed the boat on a solution to both.
Kaya Kaynak - Arsenal Writer
For me, while injuries and a lack of transfers have played their part, if Mikel Arteta is looking for reasons why the wheels have fallen off Arsenal's top-four push, the best place for him to start would be the mirror.
The most obvious one that comes to mind is the decision to play Granit Xhaka at left-back against Brighton. That choice not only robbed the Gunners of an attacking thrust down the left, but it also left Albert Sambi Lokonga completely on his own to man the midfield. Perhaps that could have been put down as a one-off mistake, but the failure to correct it at halftime is a real sticking point, particularly when you consider how well Nuno Tavares played against Southampton.
Vital points have been lost by Arteta's failure to adapt his tactics and focus on results instead of performances at this stage of the season. When the pressure is on the Spaniard has been caught like a deer in the headlights, and it seems that yet again the business end of Arsenal's season looks set to suffer as a result.
Bailey Keogh - The Arsenal Way Writer/Presenter
The biggest reason for Arsenal’s decline in recent weeks is down to injury issues rather than anything else. We were doing just fine before the injuries suffered to Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey.
Despite not signing anyone in the January transfer window, when Partey had returned from the Africa Cup of Nations in February, Arsenal were in the best form that they have been in all season, and a finish in the top four was starting to look like a guarantee. However, this all took a turn for the worse as soon as he and Tierney picked up an injury.
Mikel Arteta and Edu were being praised for not panic buying in the January window, and putting faith in Alexandre Lacazette as Arsenal kept winning games. But three defeats in a row after Partey and Tierney’s absence has created the issues of other matters, showing that the injuries suffered is the biggest reason for the decline.
Arteta’s system was tailored for Partey, and when his absent the drop-off in quality is clear with Albert Sambi Lokonga, and the same for Tierney and Nuno Tavares. If Partey and Tierney were still fit, the Gunners would be sitting comfortably in a top-four position currently.
What is the main reason behind Arsenal's plight? Please tell us what you think in the comments below to get involved in the debate!
