The Gunners were dumped out of the Carabao Cup in humiliating circumstances as they tasted a 3-1 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium before losing back-to-back games on Saturday inside the cauldron of St James’ Park.
Truth be told, Arsenal were not awful against Newcastle but the manner of their 1-0 loss will be a concern.
Yes, the officials played their part with Anthony Gordon’s strike going through four minutes worth of VAR checks before being given, but Arteta’s men never looked like scoring.
Wave after wave of attack came late on and after several corners, of which Leandro Trossard failed to beat the first man, they left the north east with no points.
It is only the first time the north Londoners have lost in the Premier League this term yet they now find themselves three points off Manchester City having both played 11 matches. Arsenal have even beaten City this term. Oh how ruthless the English top-flight can be.Beyond their position in the table now, Arteta should also be worried about the performance of some of his summer signings. Knowing the Spaniard, he will back his players but he has created a problem in David Raya and Kai Havertz.
Kai-Havertz-Jorginho-Arsenal
The former didn’t cover himself in glory for the goal and in the words of Jamie Carragher, looks “absolutely all over the place” at the moment.
Kai Havertz’s stats this season
The German arrived at the Emirates Stadium a few months ago for a whopping fee of £65m. This wasn’t the way supporters imagined Granit Xhaka’s replacement arriving.
It must be stated that Havertz isn’t like Xhaka. You only need to watch a few minutes of the the former Chelsea star in action to realise that.
His slender and tall frame is something that immediately catches the eye, which when paired with Declan Rice in midfield makes for a powerful midfield. Havertz’s ability to ride a challenge and win earlier battles, therefore, are among his best strengths.
Versus fellow midfield players in Europe’s top five leagues over the last year, he ranks within the top 4% of players for aerials won. Xhaka, by comparison, is in the best 33%. The difference is evidently night and day.
That said, the Swiss leads the way for goal involvement. Had you thought of that possibility when Havertz first arrived in England, you’d have been laughed out of the Emirates. The latter was a fine player in the Bundesliga, creating and scoring goals with regularity. In the Premier League, that has been far from the case.Accurate Passes
23/33 (70%)
Key Passes
0
Expected Goals (xG)
0.08
Dribble Attempts
0
Duels Won
8/16 (50%)
Possession Lost
15x
Fouls Committed
2
Stats via Sofascore.
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