Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle United in the Premier League in the early kick off on Saturday.
It was another damaging result for Mikel Arteta’s team, who have now been beaten by Bournemouth and Newcastle in the league, while they also lost points against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are going through a mini crisis at the moment and they are seven points behind Liverpool in the league now.
They are missing some key players with fitness issues, including captain Martin Odegaard and defender Riccardo Calafiori but their troubles this season are not only because of those missing players but also because they have struggled to create enough chances.
They over rely on Bukayo Saka and his creativity and when the opponents manage to nullify the threat from the Arsenal right-wing, the Gunners look completely out of ideas, which was the case against the Magpies at St James’ Park.
Saka has a message for his Arsenal teammates and he posted that on his Instagram account.
He shared the score line of the defeat against Newcastle and posted the message:
“We stick together.”
Picture via: Instagram
The Gunners know that they are currently suffering and the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City have both managed to open up a lead on Mikel Arteta’s side.
With tough fixtures coming up in the Champions League and the Premier League, trips away to Inter Milan and Chelsea to be precise, Arteta would need his team to be at their best and grind results in the tough matches. The Arsenal manager showed support for his players in the post match interview, backing his attacking options.
Arsenal need positive results to stay in the title race
Newcastle, on the other hand, were five games without a win before facing the Gunners but a first half goal from Alexander Isak gave Eddie Howe a much needed win and relieved some pressure on him.
The next few weeks could decide the course of the season for Arsenal and whether they will challenge for the league title for a third straight season.
They need improvements in all the positions but most importantly, they need creativity from the middle of the park and that is something only Odegaard could provide in their team.