Arsenal crashed out of the FA Cup in the third round against defending champions Man United. In fact, the Gunners were rated much higher as they were both in the Premier League title race and playing at home, with their opponents languishing in the bottom half of the table.
However, the failure in the game of having more players was a huge disappointment for Mikel Arteta and his students. They had great opportunities to defeat their opponents but they missed many great opportunities, even captain Martin Odegaard could not beat the opponent's goalkeeper on the penalty spot.
Before the match, Arsenal were defeated 2-0 by Newcastle in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at home at the Emirates. The return leg at St. James' Park is predicted to be too difficult for The Gunners. If they reach the final, their opponents could be Liverpool or Tottenham.
Meanwhile, if Arsenal is placed in the top candidate group for the Champions League title, it will be very difficult to convince. In the Premier League, after 2 years of fierce competition but all defeats against Man City, Arsenal this time met Liverpool, which is stronger than The Citizens. A chance to overthrow Arteta and his team is very difficult when The Kop shows incredible stability and is not affected by injury storms.
Arteta's most recent and only official title to date while in charge of Arsenal is the 2020 FA Cup. In recent years, the Kroenke family's investment in the team has gradually increased as the debt to build the Emirates Stadium has been fully paid off. Arsenal changed their target from qualifying for the Champions League to winning the Premier League. A series of stars arrived at huge prices but in the end, everything was still broken at the time when the season began to enter its most intense phase.
Back in the FA Cup third round against Man United, there were plenty of warning signs of a repeat of a season that had failed to reach its destination. With Bukayo Saka injured, Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Jesus were also not fit. Raheem Sterling was brought in to fill in on the right wing, which proved useless.
On the opposite wing, from Gabriel Martinelli to Leandro Trossard, they could not penetrate a defense that was rated very poorly by Man United. Meanwhile, in the center forward position, Arsenal increasingly felt how terrible the lack of a "number 9" was. They could not take advantage of delicious opportunities when the ball was passed to Kai Havertz's feet. Pep Guardiola was confident when he did not need a "number 9" but in the end still had to bring in Erling Haaland and immediately won the treble. In the context of Jesus' continuous injury, more than ever, Arteta must find a new striker in this winter market.
Without Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka on the pitch, Arsenal's formidable weapon of corner kicks was no longer effective. When Rice came on, everything seemed too late. Arteta had calculated the personnel very carefully because this week the Premier League will play 2 rounds, in which The Gunners have the North London Derby with Tottenham in midweek and host Aston Villa at the weekend. All are key matches and the "Gunners" must win.
If Liverpool are showing immunity to injuries, Arsenal had 3 players injured and forced to replace in the recent exhausting match against Man United: Jorginho, Gabriel Jesus and Jurrien Timber. Combined with Bukayo Saka's injury, it is unclear what other bad things Mikel Arteta will face in the future?
