Mikel Arteta hasn’t faced many troubles during his time as manager of Arsenal but the last five days have been tough.
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.
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.
He is in the worst percentile of forwards in Europe for non-penalty goals over the last year, which is hardly surprising when his only strike this season came from the spot against Bournemouth.
It has been a sorry start to the season for the 24-year-old whose expensive price tag is doing him no favours.
The Germany international looks forlorn and is lacking confidence. He is frustrated and can’t seem to nail down a position. It’s a problem of Arteta’s doing, but Xhaka’s own Arsenal experience is a cautionary tale to write someone off before they’ve reached their peak.
Kai Havertz stats vs Newcastle
Truth be told Havertz wasn’t awful against the Toon on Saturday evening. In fact, with Martin Odegaard injured it gave him more freedom to roam in behind Eddie Nketiah. Did it work? Arguably not, but there were some promising signs.
According to Sofascore, the attacking midfielder drew two fouls with his clever forward play and won eight duels. Once more, that physical nature to his play caught the eye again.
However, on another day Arsenal may well have been down to ten men after a “stupid” moment – as Gary Neville criticised him – in the first half nearly let Arteta down.
Havertz, clearly frustrated by the lack of openings in the first 45 lunged in on Sean Longstaff. His right boot was inches away from making contact with the Newcastle midfielder’s shin. Had that happened, it was a straight red. Thank you and good night.
Fortunately, his trailing leg, albeit still in an aggressive manner caught the Toon player and a yellow card was brandished.
What followed was a scuffle on the touchline. Understandably so on the part of the Newcastle team but it led to three of Eddie Howe’s men being booked for their reactions. Well done Havertz, it must be said.
Touches
48
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.
Unfortunately, that ability to rile the opposition was about as good as it got for the former Leverkusen man.
During the course of the game, the young German lost possession of the ball 15 times, the third-highest number on the pitch behind Joelinton and Gabriel Martinelli. His pass success rate of 70% meanwhile, was only worse than two starters in red and white; Nketiah and Raya.
This was another poor night for the £280k-per-week earner and one that has only upped the pressure on his performance levels. For now, Arteta must take him out of the firing line and rely on alternative options.