Arteta must axe big-money Arsenal flop who took just 12 touches vs Lille

The scoreline doesn’t always tell the story. That’s the line Mikel Arteta will be remembering after Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over LOSC Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Just days after Bruno Guimaraes’ 70th-minute winner against Leeds United, the Gunners were forced into another second-half show after a fairly subdued opening period.

In many ways, it summed things up that – for the fifth-straight game excluding the Carabao Cup – Arsenal failed to find a goal in the first-half. Against Brighton, it proved costly. Against Leeds, they were forced to wake up. Against Lille, the floodgates were swung open by Jurrien Timber’s moment of quality.

The Dutchman’s touch was that of a forward rather than a right-back, but those at the Emirates have come to expect such quality. His finish was of the same quality, chipping into the far corner to open the scoring.

Then it was all about the Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka show. The former received the chance to put the opening act together – after all, he had a point to prove.

Many have questioned where the former Crystal Palace man could fit into this current Arsenal side with Max Dowman coming through and Martin Odegaard thriving. Arteta may have been asking himself the same question, having failed to start Eze in a single Premier League game so far this season.

However, that may now change after his display against Lille. The England international completed the most dribbles (4), took the most touches in Lille’s box (12), and took the joint-most shots (5). It was an all round display from Eze to send a timely reminder of his quality.

Whilst he thrived, though, another Arsenal attacker once again struggled when handed an opportunity.

Arteta must now axe big-money Arsenal flop

REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

There were a lot of questions about Arsenal’s business in the summer.

The Premier League champions certainly didn’t lack any intent. It’s no secret that they targeted Morgan Rogers, who ended the window as a Chelsea player, Julian Alvarez, who stayed put at Atletico Madrid, and of course, Vinicius Junior, who also stayed put in the Spanish capital.

What they dreamt of signing vs what they did is very different, however, and there have been signs that Arteta still needs more in his frontline if Arsenal are to go back-to-back in the Premier League.

One of the biggest problems is once again the form of Viktor Gyokeres. The Swede faced plenty of criticism last season, when he scored just twice against top six sides in the Premier League, and has since lost his place to Kai Havertz.

A start against Lille in the Champions League was supposed to be the start of a turnaround for Gyokeres’ campaign, having so far played just 56 minutes in the Premier League. Alas, it proved to be nothing more than confirmation for Arteta that Havertz should be his starting forward.

Gyokeres ended his evening with just 12 touches to his name and took just one touch inside Lille’s area. To put into context just how disappointing those numbers are, Havertz emerged in the 65th minute before taking 14 touches with one of those coming inside the area.

With so many competitions to manage, Gyokeres’ form is a major issue for Arteta. He simply needs more from the player who arrived for as much as £63.5m last season.

With a trip to Nottingham Forest awaiting this weekend and to Bayern Munich next Wednesday, Arteta should turn to Havertz and drop Gyokeres once again. The Swede is yet to prove his worth in the current campaign, with his Lille display summing things up.