Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest became the ninth team to keep Arsenal from scoring this season on Wednesday night.
After the Gunners fell to a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United on Saturday, they failed to find the back of the net once again at the City Ground. The stalemate at Forest meant their slim hopes of winning the Premier League faded further with Liverpool stretching their lead.
Mikel Arteta’s men are 13 points behind the Reds and the last week has all-but been a sliding-doors moment in Arsenal’s title race. Thirteen shots – just one on target – were registered by the North Londoners with Riccardo Calafiori coming the closest with a curling effort.
The frustrating night in the Midlands is the latest example of what looks set to be Arsenal’s Achilles heel this term hurting them. Injuries to Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli mean Arteta is incredibly short in attack and as a result, the goals have dried up.
Mikel Merino’s super-sub cameo against Leicester City – which came after 80 minutes of the Gunners struggling to break down one of the worst defences in the league – was the last time they have scored. And while they have been suffering from the lack of firepower in attack, it seems like other teams are looking to capitalise on that.
(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
After the draw with Arsenal, Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo pinpointed the lack of presence in the final third offered as a key factor in his decision to name four defenders, rather than five like he did in the 7-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
“As Arsenal doesn’t have a striker, there’s no need for an extra body. So the overload will be in the midfield so it’s about containing the midfield.”
The blunt statement from the Portuguese is the perfect one to fit the problem at Arsenal. Two results in the space of five days have put Liverpool in pole position to become champions of England, barring a huge turn of results.
Much has been made of the club’s need for a striker in the summer and Wednesday night’s game will only add more pressure to give Arteta what he needs to end the wait for success.
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