Mikel Arteta has still not learned important lesson from last year, three mistakes in Arsenal defeat prove it

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal fell to a dismal 1-0 defeat away at Newcastle United, which could prove incredibly damaging in the Premier League title race.

Mikel Arteta’s side were frustratingly flat, and only mustered one shot on target in the entire game.

Ian Wright has criticised Arsenal’s creativity, and rightly so, given that aside from one Declan Rice chance late on, the visitors did not appear even remotely close to scoring.

Arsenal lost the Premier League title race by just two points last season, and a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle in November last year was a game which showed a lot of their limitations.

Arteta’s side repeated this poor result, and also showed that the Spaniard has not addressed some of the same issues which plagued them last year.

• READ MORE: All Mikel Arteta signings at Arsenal ranked from worst to best

Arsenal suffer same creative issues against Newcastle

Arsenal’s defeat to Newcastle last year was marred by refereeing controversy, but even beyond the decisions on the day, Arteta’s side again failed to create enough chances.

Arsenal dominated possession in both games, with 59% last year and 64% this time, but in both games, they registered just one shot on target.

The absence of Martin Odegaard was apparent again, but even when he played in the same fixture last season, Arsenal could not create anything clear-cut, with 14 shots last year and just 10 this time.

Arteta has not addressed this problem within his team, which also plagued Arsenal in defeats to Porto and Bayern Munich last year.

Arsenal’s lack of pace exposed with Gabriel Martinelli substitution

Gabriel Martinelli was not at his best against Newcastle, but Arteta’s decision to bring him off was somewhat damaging.

Martinelli is one of Arsenal’s fastest players, and losing that outlet out wide stifles the team going forward.

Arteta had a speedy attacker in Raheem Sterling on the bench, but he was left unused with Martinelli also going off, and Arsenal’s slow-paced attack ground to a halt at St James’ Park.

Martinelli was brought off against Newcastle last year, with this problem highlighted by many at the time, and yet again Arsenal were harmed by this decision.

Arteta’s Leandro Trossard blind spot is stifling Arsenal’s creativity

Leandro Trossard was disappointing again as he lined up in midfield, and he failed to make any impact in attacking areas.

This came just days after Ethan Nwaneri delivered a masterclass performance in the EFL Cup, with it becoming clear that the youngster is ready for more first-team action.

Trossard has underwhelmed in midfield, and Arsenal’s lack of a creative midfielder in the absence of Odegaard becomes obvious when he is playing.

Nwaneri may have offered more from the start, but Arteta’s insistence on starting the more experienced Trossard has prevented Arsenal from potentially playing with a more balanced midfield, and this could become a concern as the season goes on.