Arsenal aren’t alone in the Premier League title race, with Manchester City and Aston Villa just over the Gunners’ shoulder.
Without a doubt, Man City will be more of a concern to Mikel Arteta, who has already lost two title races against Pep Guardiola since becoming Arsenal manager.
Interestingly, Guardiola’s influence on Arteta was a talking point after Arsenal’s lacklustre win over Wolves.
Some players were accused of being overcoached by Arteta, as Arsenal’s attacking play was incredibly stagnant, with just one player managing to create a spark.
Micah Richards thinks Arsenal are reliant on Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka was Arsenal’s shining light against Wolves, being the only player to cause the Old Gold problems going forward, which is a concern.
No other attacker was able to break down the low block of the team sitting at the bottom of the table, which became a talking point on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“Arsenal need to do a little bit more,” Micah Richards said, before sharing his opinion that the Gunners look to Saka far too often.
Fill the blanks: If Arsenal didn’t have Bukayo Saka, they’d finish __ in the Premier League this season.
“Saka, they’re too reliant on Saka all the time. A lot comes, and if you look at the goals that Trossard scores or Martinelli, they need to do what Saka’s doing from the right-hand side on the left-hand side.
“It feels as though all the dangerous play has to come from Saka, always down the right-hand side.”
Richards isn’t convinced that Arsenal’s other attacking players can match Saka, and after what was on show against Wolves, he’s right to think that way.
As the Premier League title race heats up, it’s a real concern; however, it has to be said that Man City have a reliance problem of their own.
Manchester City also have a reliance problem in the Premier League title race
It doesn’t take an expert to realise that Man City would be a lot worse off if it weren’t for Erling Haaland.
Even Guardiola is aware that City are reliant on Haaland, though, the issue for Arsenal is that the player their rivals are leaning on has an output like no one else.
Predict the season: Out of Arsenal and Man City, which team will have the bigger reliance issue and why?
Haaland already has 17 Premier League goals, a tally that no Arsenal player has hit since the 2019/20 season, which says a lot about his freakish scoring rate.
City’s reliance on Haaland isn’t exactly sustainable through a whole season, but it’s still a concern for Arsenal, as when comparing the Norwegian to the player they rely on, there’s a stark contrast in output.
It’s not a Saka problem, but a tactical one for Arteta, as clearly, his attacking players aren’t showing enough to suggest that they can break down teams without their star winger.
The good news is that both teams have flaws; City’s defence is shaky, and Arsenal’s attacking approach is lacklustre, but the topic of reliance remains the same.
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