Arsenal expert Charles Watts has revealed to Sports Mole the Gunners’ new “biggest” injury concern after Mikel Arteta suffered four fresh blows against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to four points with a 1-0 London derby win over the Eagles, but the victory came at a major cost, as four first-team regulars ended up worse for wear.
William Saliba was withdrawn at half time for Cristhian Mosquera, before Declan Rice also had to be taken off alongside a physio in the 82nd minute, at the same time Riccardo Calafiori was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Gabriel Martinelli had taken Bukayo Saka’s spot on the right wing earlier in the second half, but Arteta also revealed at full time that the Brazilian had picked up a problem, and he is currently giving Arsenal the most amount of worry, according to Watts.
“The biggest concern at the moment might be Martinelli,” he said. “It feels like that could be a bit of a muscular issue. I haven’t had it confirmed but I know that was the one they were focussing in on in the immediate aftermath.
“That’s a bit of a worry and would be a real shame if he is sidelined for a bit, because he had such a strong start to the season. It’d be doubly frustrating as he didn’t even start that game – he came on as a substitute at the end and he still managed to do something.
“Declan Rice, I think he picked up a bit of a knock to his ankle in the first half, tried to play through it. Eventually got the better of him, but he didn’t go down the tunnel straight away which is always a fairly good sign.
Arsenal assessing Gabriel Martinelli injury with “trepidation”
“He sat in the tunnel, watched the second half then bounded down looking very happy in the celebrations, so I feel like he should be all right.
“Bukayo Saka was ill so they withdrew him as a precaution, we’ll wait and see on Calafiori and Saliba but Martinelli’s the one that they’re looking at with a bit of trepidation.”
Prior to Arsenal’s four new fitness blows, the Gunners broke down a stubborn Palace defence thanks to a fine strike from former Eagle Eberechi Eze, who scored his first Premier League goal for his new club in North London.
Rice’s free kick was nodded back down into open space in the penalty area, and Eze arrived with a Paolo Di Canio-style volley from 12 yards, leaving old teammate Dean Henderson rooted to the spot.
Arsenal’s winner against the FA Cup winners was heralded as another example of their set-piece prowess, but Watts was hesitant to label Eze’s “fabulous” goal a dead-ball strike.
“I don’t even know if I class it as a set-piece goal,” he added. “I know everyone else has, but it wasn’t even Gabriel – anyone who’s got him in their FPL team will tell you that he didn’t get an assist for that! I know it counts as a set-piece goal, but that was a goal just purely down to individual brilliance.
‘Eberechi Eze goal individual brilliance, not a set-piece’
“It wasn’t down to the work done on the training ground, a routine drawn up with Nicolas Jover – it was just individual brilliance. Because there’s so much focus on the set-pieces, no-one has talked about just how good a goal that was. The technique to get up the way he did, to keep it down, to find the corner through that crowd of players, it was a fabulous goal that I just don’t think has been spoken about enough.
“He didn’t have the best of games up to that point – I thought he’d been pretty awful in the first half an hour. But that’s exactly what he was signed to do – something like that in a game where Arsenal were struggling to break a team down.
“They signed Eze to bring those moments of magic in tight games that can just make the difference, and he did that. A lovely moment for him, although he definitely did do his best not to celebrate it.”
While Arsenal once again struggled to generate many opportunities from open play against Palace, Arteta’s unwavering defence came to the fore again, as the Gunners kept their fifth consecutive clean sheet across all competitions.
The Premier League leaders have gone through the entirety of October without shipping a single goal, and they have still conceded just three in the Premier League all season, putting them on course to equal Chelsea’s all-time low of 15 from 2004-05.
In addition, Arteta’s side have now gone 100 games without conceding three goals or more in a match, becoming only the second English team to achieve that feat after Manchester United, who let in two goals or fewer in 107 successive matches from October 2016 to August 2018.
Is Arsenal’s defence the Premier League’s best ever?
Asked if the current Arsenal back five could be considered the best the Premier League has ever seen, Watts reflected on the Gunners’ 2-2 draw with Watford in 2019 – where they gave up an astounding 31 shots – and affirmed that the current Gunners side does have shades of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.
“There’s definitely an argument for that,” Watts replied. “They have to win a trophy to really challenge that Chelsea team, which was absolutely incredible, but this team does remind me of that side.
“The way Arsenal feel like a bit of a machine is a bit of a throwback to that 2005 team. I remember it so well -when Chelsea rocked up and played Arsenal that season, I just looked at them and thought ‘this is a proper team’. They’re so hard to beat, got such a solid defence and players that can make the difference at the other end, and Arsenal do remind me of that.
“A game that still gives me absolute nightmares and sends shivers down my spine: Watford vs. Arsenal in 2019. Arsenal were 2-0 up, drew 2-2 and conceded 31 shots in that game, 22 of those or 23 of those were in the second half! The first four games of that season, Arsenal conceded 92 shots. I bet you they’ll struggle to concede 92 shots in the whole season this season, and that was only six years ago!
“It’s remarkable how things have changed and how this team that was always considered to have that soft underbelly and be pushovers, they’ve got now it’s just this watertight defence who are so determined not to concede a goal.
“It must be horrible to play against but as an Arsenal fan it’s absolutely brilliant to watch.”
Arsenal’s defence will be put to the test against Brighton and Hove Albion in Wednesday’s EFL Cup fourth-round clash, where the evergreen Danny Welbeck will endeavour to haunt his old employers at the Emirates.