Arsenal play host to bottom of the table Newcastle United for the lunchtime kickoff this Saturday.
The Gunners are fresh off a 4-0 footballing lesson from Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, having struggled to cope with the sheer intensity of Jurgen Klopp's side.
Arsenal hung in the game for the opening 40 minutes, showing glimpses of the team they are becoming, but after an incident between Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp on the sidelines, and Sadio Mane's opening goal, the Gunners crumbled and the flood gates opened.
It is a game Arsenal will want to put behind them as quickly as possible and a visit from bottom of the league Newcastle is a great opportunity to do so.
The Toons have had a rough start to the season, currently winless with the most goals conceded in the division after 12 games.
Their takeover situation has resulted in Eddie Howe taking charge with Saturday set to be his first game on the sidelines.
The worrying stat for Arsenal is that Newcastle have outscored them in the league so far.
The Gunner's attack has continued to be consistent over recent weeks, relying heavily on set pieces and luck to put the ball in the net.
The problem naturally lies somewhat with the forwards, particularly Bukayo Saka (890 minutes), Nicolas Pepe (484 minutes) and Alexandre Lacazette (333 minutes) who have 2 goals combined in the Premier League.
But the problem also lies with the midfield.
Arsenal have predominantly relied on 5 players for the midfield roles this season: Thomas Partey (626 minutes), Albert Sambi Lokonga (719 minutes), Granit Xhaka (295 minutes), Ainsley-Maitland Niles (268 minutes) and Martin Odegaard (570 minutes).
Between the 5 of them they have 2 goals and no assists so far. Partey scored one of the goals through a header from a corner whilst Odegaard scored the other from a free kick.
In open play Arsenal's midfield do not offer enough goal threat.
They also do not do enough to control the ball in the middle of the park. Whilst possession is not exclusively down to midfielders, they do have a big influence given how often they receive the ball. Arsenal average 46.5% of the ball each game, 13th in the Premier League.
Lack of control in midfield was an evident problem throughout the game against Liverpool, and the impending African Cup of Nations, as well as Xhaka's injury and contract situation put Arsenal in a difficult position.
The most obvious solution is to reintegrate Odegaard into the team. Having underwhelmed since his permanent move from Real Madrid in the summer, Odegaard has been replaced by Lacazette in the starting 11, reducing the Norwegian to cameo appearances. Although his end product has never been particularly high, his ball retention and ability to unlock a defence would surely benefit Arsenal's attacking play at the moment.
We also need to see more from Partey. His price tag and pedigree demand greater performances than what we have seen, and with the players around him gradually improving, it is his turn to up his game. Even if that does not result in more attacking threat from him directly, he needs to provide a platform for his partner and those in front to commit higher up the pitch in dangerous positions.
Maitland-Niles has impressed in the midfield role this season, albeit expectations were not sky high. What he does offer in that role is running and a willingness to run ahead of the ball. The injection of chaos from a deeper midfield position could offer a solution by overloading the box, as Aaron Ramsey and Joe Willock used to do.
In truth, the midfield's greatest improvement will likely come through the transfer window, whether that be in January or next summer, but Arteta has laid the foundations with a strong, ball-playing defence so focussing on the midfield is the next step.
An assured, controlling victory against Newcastle would be a nice way for Arsenal to bounce back.
Prediction:
Arsenal 2 - 0 Newcastle
Adam Perry - 26/11/2021