Arsenal attackers Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Eddie Nketiah have all been criticised for their performances against Newcastle United.
Newcastle United defended diligently to grind out a 1-0 win at St James’ Park on Saturday, but in truth, Arsenal were far from their best in the final third.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Eddie Nketiah are all capable of providing a serious goal threat. The Arsenal trio were deemed “toothless” by The Standard, though.
For his part, Saka only managed one shot in the match, the same was true of Nketiah. Martinelli was able to muster three efforts, but none especially troubled Nick Pope in the Newcastle goal.
Mikel Arteta will have hoped for, and expected, far more from all three of these players. Saka is a talismanic figure for the Gunners, Martinelli should always be a threat with his pace and directness, and Nketiah ought to be full of confidence off the back of his maiden Premier League hat trick last time out.
Arsenal must find fresh attacking solutions
Two things prevented the north London club’s attacking front line from clicking into gear on Tyneside.
First, the hosts deserve credit for their defensive work . Newcastle were able to effectively isolate Nketiah, whilst doubling up on and shepherding Saka and Martinelli into areas where they struggled make an impact. None of the Arsenal players were ever given any time or space around the Newcastle box to allow their quality to shine through.
On top of that, there was not enough creativity in the middle of the park for Arsenal. The midfield unit made up of Jorginho, Declan Rice, and Kai Havertz was physical and solid, but struggled to unpick the Newcastle lock. With club captain Martin Odegaard missing due to injury, Arteta’s side lacked craft and guile.
It is vital that Arsenal find a way to make their attacking play click on a regular basis sooner rather than later.
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