This time last season, Arsenal were dropping points away at West Ham United in their quest to win the Premier League title.
Fast forward to the present and another team in Claret & Blue – Aston Villa – dented Arsenal’s title chances again.
Unai Emery’s side, who beat the London club 1-0 in the reverse fixture, rocked up to the Emirates on Sunday, got on the ball, played their game and secured a 2-0 win.
There can’t be any complaints here because Arsenal deserved to lose this game, especially going on the back of the second-half performance.
It was a strong IX from Mikel Arteta, even though he made tactical tweaks such as playing Kai Havertz in midfield, with Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice starting alongside him.
In the 79th minute, Arteta opted to sub off his captain, and less than ten minutes later, Villa were 2-0 up and taking away the points, thanks to goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins.
It seems as though Odegaard getting hooked off wasn’t tactical, but more to do with the player feeling something. Something they can’t risk given the huge games coming up.
When the 25-year-old was on the pitch, Ian Wright felt that he was ‘magnificent’ and he showcased his ability to pick pockets and play those forward passes, as he told Premier League Productions (14/04/24 at 5:25 pm).
Martin Odegaard against Aston Villa
“Martin Odegaard has been magnificent,” said Wright.
“When you press, you have got to beat the press and you have someone like Kai (Havertz) who is ready to go. Unfortunately, he didn’t get his touch right. They have shown they can do it in the right areas. He can do it in tight areas.
“If they are going to drop off someone like Odegaard with that time and high line, then he will be able to get it over the top to Havertz.”
Pressure on Arsenal
This next week could be further damaging for the team if they don’t react because the morale is on the floor.
Manchester City are two points ahead of the chasing pack – with Liverpool and Arsenal losing on the same day.
And it can get worse if there isn’t a reaction against Wolves at the weekend.
But before any of that can happen, it’s the small matter of travelling to the Allianz Arena and facing Bayern Munich in the second leg of their quarter-final Champions League clash.