“They are not far off,” replied Mikel Arteta when asked what he feels when critics say Arsenal are their own worst enemy.
Unforced errors are becoming customary from the Gunners in 2021 and they have now conceded 14 goals in this year, seven of the goals coming from their own mistakes.
It was no different on Thursday night in Piraeus as David Luiz almost played the perfect assist for Olympiacos midfielder Giorgos Masouras, but the Greek couldn’t find the required finish to equalise for the hosts.
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The Gunners had made seven errors leading to opposition shots in the Europa League this season, at least two more than any team. However, there is also the obvious signs that they are the competition’s top goalscorers and have won eight of their nine games this campaign.
But it’s not just a Europa League problem for Arteta’s side.
We’ve seen the mix-up between Cedric and Gabriel at Aston Villa, Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari’s misunderstanding vs Leicester and a similar horror story with the Swiss midfielder and Bernd Leno at Burnley.
“The goals that we have conceded or the chances that we have conceded they are coming from ourselves,” Arteta said after the win over Olympiacos.
“That’s really positive because the moment we stop it we’re going to be a lot stronger. But the reality is that we have to stop immediately because if not the games are all the time there to drop points.
“It’s my responsibility, I make them play the way we want to play. It’s just understanding risks and rewards, where they are and as I said before, when.
“We have to get better at that because if not it creates tension and insecurity and it creates belief in the opponent and that’s unnecessary.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s reaction to Luiz’s mistake was clear for all to see. He made a beeline for the former Chelsea defender and made a point of gesturing towards him, assertively demanding Luiz to concentrate.
Aubameyang’s gesture clearly worked as Luiz went on to record an 89% pass accuracy where he looked comfortable throughout the rest of the game. It was his centre back partner Gabriel Magalhaes however, who finishes the game with one goal, one assist, three clearances and 91% pass accuracy.
8 – Arsenal have won eight of their nine UEFA Europa League games this season (D1), and are the highest scorers in the competition so far this term (27 goals). Control.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2021
It was a similar story for Martin Odegaard who scores his first goal for Arsenal as the Gunners won 3-1 at the Karaiskakis Stadium. 90 per cent pass accuracy, four chances create, two out of two dribbles completed and eight out of his nine duels won.
“I am happy with the result but I’m not satisfied with how we controlled the game through 95 minutes and that’s something that we have to improve,” said Arteta.
In the previous tie against Benfica it was Emile Smith Rowe who gave away a penalty for handball but there were no issues from set pieces in Greece this time round.
Arsenal’s biggest threat right now is themselves. They have a fully fit squad of players who on paper should be higher up in the Premier League table when you consider the fees banded about in previous transfer windows.
Whilst the process that Arteta has spoken about in the past is still a work in progress, it’s those underlying errors which will be their downfall as we approach the crunch stage of the season.
They got away with it against an Olympiacos side who rarely offered any threat throughout the 90 minutes and opted to sit back for most of the game.
Against a better opponent such as Tottenham, who they face in the north London derby this Sunday, the circumstances could be a whole lot different.
It’s now time to regroup, focus and ensure that those unforced errors are taken out of Arsenal’s game immediately.
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