Another fright before Christmas. Arsenal never seem to do it the easy way.Brian Brobbey at Sunderland. Emiliano Buendia at Aston Villa. Toru Arokodare against Wolves and now Marc Guehi versus Crystal Palace. “It’s something we have to improve, we’re conceding in the last minute,” said goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga after the latest one.
Four goals conceded in the dying minutes of matches should concern Mikel Arteta. Except they are not, at least according to what the Arsenal boss says.
Normally such a trend would cause angst and doubt about a team’s credentials – especially a side like the Gunners who have struggled to make that final step in recent years.That doubt would even hark back to the days when Arsenal were frail at the back under multiple managers – Arsene Wenger’s late years, Unai Emery’s entire tenure and even the early era of Arteta.
But the reason Arteta is not concerned is because Arsenal’s troubles late on in games are not defensive issues – they are attacking ones.
“The margin should have been much bigger,” said Arteta after the Carabao Cup win over Palace on penalties, referring to the 1-0 lead Arsenal took into stoppage time – something they also did at Sunderland and Wolves.
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Watch highlights of Arsenal’s clash with Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, where the Gunners went through after an incredible penalty shoot-out.
“That should have been three or four, and then we’re not worried about what happens in the last minutes.”That was certainly the case against Crystal Palace – and once again Arsenal’s attack seems to be drying up in December.In incredible numbers, it has been over 300 minutes since an Arsenal player scored a non-penalty goal. Since the hour mark in the 3-0 win over Club Brugge, the Gunners have relied on three own goals – two from Wolves and one from Palace – and a Viktor Gyokeres penalty at Everton.Own goals and penalties are not something to be ashamed of – they are the sign of creating chaos among the opposition defence that force mistakes. But the data shows Arsenal’s players should have scored at least six times in their last three games – yet couldn’t…
2025-12-24 10:25:00
