Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round when they faced defending champions Man United. In fact, the "Gunners" are rated much higher as they are both the team competing for the Premier League title and playing at home in the context of their opponent struggling in the bottom half of the rankings.
However, failing to play with one more player was a huge disappointment for Mikel Arteta and his students. They had a great chance to knock the opponent down but missed big chances one after another, 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 right at Emirates Stadium. The return match 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 are among the top candidates for the Champions League title, it will be difficult to convince them. In the Premier League, after 2 years of fierce competition but a complete defeat to Man City, Arsenal this time met Liverpool, even stronger than The Citizens. A chance to turn Arteta's team is currently very difficult as The Kop have shown incredible stability and are not affected by injury.
Arteta's last and only official title to date when he took charge of Arsenal was the 2020 FA Cup. In recent years, Kroenke's investment in the team has begun to increase as the Emirates construction debt has been fully resolved. Arsenal changed their goal from qualifying for the Champions League to winning the Premier League. A series of stars were brought in at huge prices, but in the end, everything was still broken when the season started to enter the most severe stage.
Back to the match against Man United in the third round of the FA Cup, there are many warning signs that a season without finishing will repeat. When Bukayo Saka was injured, Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Jesus were not healthy either. Putting Raheem Sterling in for a left wing advantage has become useless.
On the opposite wing, from Gabriel Martinelli to Leandro Trossard could not penetrate a very poorly rated defense of Man United. Meanwhile, in the center forward position, Arsenal increasingly felt the need for a scary "number 9". They could not take advantage of good opportunities when the ball was brought to Kai Havertz's feet. Pep Guardiola was once confident when he did not need a "number 9" but in the end still had to bring it to Erling Haaland and immediately won the treble. In the context of Jesus being constantly injured, Arteta has to find a new main striker more than ever in this winter market.
With both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka absent, Arsenal's fearsome weapon is their ineffective corners. By Rice's time on the pitch, everything seemed too late. Arteta has calculated very carefully about personnel because this week the Premier League will play 2 rounds, in which The Gunners will have the North London Derby with Tottenham in midweek and the match against Aston Villa at the weekend. It was all a nail dance and forced the "Gunners" to win.
If Liverpool are showing immunity to injuries, Arsenal have had 3 injured players and had to replace them in the recent exhausting match against Man United: Jorginho, Gabriel Jesus and Jurrien Timber. In addition to Bukayo Saka's injury, it is unclear what other bad things Mikel Arteta will face in the near future?
