Arsenal drew with Liverpool on Sunday in what, in another world, could’ve been a title decider.
Ultimately, this game was meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but it still made for a very entertaining watch.
Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, but this was a strange performance from the Gunners.
Arne Slot praised Arsenal after the game, but this wasn’t an incredible showing.
Indeed, Arsenal put in a solid display, but, once again, their timidness in front of goal showed.
Speaking on the Official Liverpool Podcast, John Barnes has been discussing Arsenal’s performance against the Reds, and he’s noticed a problem with the Gunners’ attack.
John Barnes notices Arsenal problem
Barnes spoke about how Arsenal attacked vs Liverpool
The pundit says that Arsenal are always trying to score the perfect goal and that their balance isn’t right in terms of players who are willing to take a risk and have a go.
“Even when we press and you see them playing it to Odegaard and playing it through to Lewis-Skelly and they’re playing in little pockets and little triangles and getting through. But when they actually get probably 30 yards from goal, that is when all of a sudden they haven’t got that presence to say either get the ball in the box or to go and score. They’re looking to score perfect goal,” Barnes said.
“You know, because of course they have so many, and we’re talking about a tiki-taka of Barcelona football where they’re trying to score a perfect goal in the six out box rather than just shooting from 25 yards. Not to say if they had somebody they would do that because I know Arteta likes to play that way, but I think modern football is a lot of that is lost in modern football. People don’t want to put crosses in and people don’t want to shoot, but every time they put a cross in or shoot, they score.”
“So I think that the balance for me is not quite right with Arsenal.”
Arsenal goals breakdown this season
Barnes says that Arsenal are always trying to score the perfect goal, and he’s not too far wrong.
Indeed, while Arsenal are a potent attacking force – scoring 66 league goals this season, they don’t often score from outside the area.
Of course, Declan Rice earned huge praise for his two free-kicks against Real Madrid recently, but, in the league, Arsenal don’t often score from range.
| Arsenal goal types this season | Goals scored |
| Inside the box | 60 |
| Outside the box | 6 |
| Set-pieces | 14 |
Arsenal have only scored six goals from outside the box this season, that’s a lower tally than the likes of Ipswich and Wolves.
Arsenal struggle against teams who sit deep, and having that ability to strike from range would really help the Gunners overcome this problem.
Declan Rice’s shooting has been praised a lot as of late, while Martin Odegaard has worked hard to improve his shooting in recent times as well.
Mikel Arteta may want to consider giving his players a bit more freedom to shoot from range.
