Declan Rice was forced off at half-time. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
2. Declan Rice may already be Arsenal’s most important player
It’s very unlikely that Declan Rice loses the ball that led to the goal as Jorginho did. It’s also unlikely that Martin Odegaard is overrun in the midfield if he has Rice behind him in the second half.
Rice was subbed off at half-time with back discomfort. The result was James Maddison terrorizing the Arsenal midfield and Jorginho making a critical mistake after Arsenal took the lead a minute before. There were so many disappointing factors from a match that Arsenal usually win at home. But this injury, and its result, may have been the most disappointing of them all.
If Arsenal are to succeed at all this year, Declan Rice can not miss significant time.
Continued on the next slide…
September 24, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>1. The Gunners may win a trophy this season, but title unlikely</h2>
<p>Arsenal are yet to put in a complete performance this season in the Premier League which leaves them off the pace at the summit. Sure, it’s a long season and many things can happen, but at the moment, Arsenal do not look like the team that will challenge Man City. They aren’t creating enough chances and haven’t exactly been efficient in the final third. Something’s off.</p>
<p>While I love Gabriel Jesus’ work rate and press on the wing, he had two magnificent chances in the match that he did not convert. In big matches those are critical. Meanwhile, Spurs’ Son converted twice when he got a sight of David Raya’s goal.</p>
<p>City are a well-oiled machine with maybe the greatest manager of all time. They are cruising even without the services of Kevin de Bruyne. That is scary for the rest of the league.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/3-takeaways-2-2-draw-with-tottenham/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 takeaway from NLD draw </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136563" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136563" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/3-takeaways-2-2-draw-with-tottenham/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1698742872-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698742872-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698742872-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698742872-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698742872-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Declan Rice was forced off at half-time. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>2. Declan Rice may already be Arsenal’s most important player</h2>
<p>It’s very unlikely that Declan Rice loses the ball that led to the goal as Jorginho did. It’s also unlikely that Martin Odegaard is overrun in the midfield if he has Rice behind him in the second half.</p>
<p>Rice was subbed off at half-time with back discomfort. The result was James Maddison terrorizing the Arsenal midfield and Jorginho making a critical mistake after Arsenal took the lead a minute before. There were so many disappointing factors from a match that Arsenal usually win at home. But this injury, and its result, may have been the most disappointing of them all.</p>
<p>If Arsenal are to succeed at all this year, <a title="Positive injury updates after North London Derby draw" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/3-takeaways-2-2-draw-with-tottenham/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/arsenal-positive-injury-updates-north-london-derby/" rel="">Declan Rice can not miss significant time</a>.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/3-takeaways-2-2-draw-with-tottenham/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 takeaway from NLD draw </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136599" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136599" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/3-takeaways-2-2-draw-with-tottenham/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1698775366-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698775366-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698775366-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698775366-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698775366-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus both missed big chances on Sunday. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>3. Arsenal need to sign a clinical striker</h2>
<p>Arteta has been firm on bringing in the best talent and having two potentially elite performers at each position. If that is indeed the case, Arsenal need to sign a striker that can reliably score. Right now they do not have that.</p>
<div class="embed ">
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<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“Arsenal 2-2 Tottenham: 3 talking points as Gunners share derby spoils” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/3-takeaways-2-2-draw-with-tottenham/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/arsenal-2-2-tottenham-3-talking-points-gunners-share-derby-spoils/embed/#?secret=dVtlqrzCOo#?secret=wKomyYRtfg" data-secret="wKomyYRtfg" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p><a title="Arsenal 2-2 Tottenham: Player ratings as spoils shared in North London Derby" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/25/3-takeaways-2-2-draw-with-tottenham/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/arsenal-2-2-tottenham-player-ratings/" rel="">Eddie Nketiah’s performance was not his best on Sunday, </a>while Gabriel Jesus maybe should have netted one if not two goals. If Arteta is ruthless in taking away the job of Aaron Ramsdale for someone he deems better, then signing a centre forward who can finish more of the chances that are created is essential.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
