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This is an extract of The Score. Click the sign-up box below to receive the newsletter every Monday morning this season for Daniel Storey’s verdict on all 20 Premier League clubs
All Arsenal can do is put the last week behind them. They cannot change their own reality on their own, now out of the Champions League and second favourites in the Premier League – they need a slip up from the most ruthlessly efficient table-toppers in the history of the league. The only option is to rediscover their rhythm, slowly if necessary.
This was not quite the controlled Arsenal of January, February and March. Their attacking efficiency had fallen off a small cliff and we saw signs of the same at Molineux. Before Leandro Trossard’s sliced opening goal, Arsenal had gone 33 shots over almost two and a half matches without scoring. They have scored with 12 per cent of their shots in the league this season – only Newcastle United and Aston Villa can beat that for efficiency.
For much of the first half, a new familiar problem. Against Bayern Munich and Aston Villa, Arsenal had enjoyed possession without hurting their opponents enough. They had scored one open-play goal in Gabriel Jesus’ previous three starts with him on the pitch.
With Kai Havertz and Jesus as the most attacking players, there’s a too-many-cooks danger with their creativity and not enough players to finish the chances.
Trossard is the potential antidote to this. Of Arsenal’s attackers, Trossard – sometimes the forgotten member of the group – boasts the most efficient finishing and the best minutes-to-goal ratio.
For much of this season he’s been the super sub, but Trossard has scored some seriously important goals: equalisers vs Bayern, Chelsea, winner vs Everton, opening goal vs Wolves and clinching goal vs Liverpool.
It reflects a sea change in his role at Arsenal and offers proof of his tactical flexibility. Last season, after joining from Brighton in January, Trossard assisted 10 league goals and scored just one, usually used as a left winger.
This season, with Mikel Arteta asking him to get into the box more, Trossard has eight league goals and one assist. He averaged 4.2 touches in the penalty area per 90 minutes played last season. In 2023-24, that has leapt up to 6.7.
Finally, Molineux saw a return to the defensive parsimony that has fuelled Arsenal’s title challenge. Jakub Kiwior remains prone to concentration lapses (and it was his mistake that allowed Wolves’ only real chance on Saturday, expertly saved by David Raya), but Arsenal only allowed Wolves to take five shots.
In the nine games directly before the trip to Manchester City, Arsenal hadn’t allowed any opponent more than 10 shots in a game. That had happened in four of their last six before Saturday.
This is an extract of The Score. Sign up here to receive the newsletter every Monday morning this season for Daniel Storey’s verdict on all 20 Premier League clubs
