LENS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 03: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal Reiss Nelson the UEFA Champions League match between RC Lens and Arsenal FC at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on October 03, 2023 in Lens, France. (Photo by Franco Arland/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Lens 2-1 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners endure horror night
by Adam Schultz
LENS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 03: Reiss Nelson of Arsenal runs with the ball during the UEFA Champions League match between RC Lens and Arsenal FC at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on October 03, 2023 in Lens, France. (Photo by Franco Arland/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
3. Arteta’s team selection
With Manchester City up next in the league, many thought that if there were a game that Arteta would rotate his squad, an away trip to France midweek would be when.
But as it turns out, Arteta went basically full strength. The likes of Fabio Vieira, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, and Eddie Nketiah, all of whom could have started, began on the bench.
Giving Saka and co. a much-needed breather ahead of City on the weekend could have been just the tonic, but instead, it was another tough match that many hope won’t affect Arsenal physically against City.
pic.twitter.com/AViFZiCgiq
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1709312447851413551?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>October 3, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>As Lens made life difficult for Arsenal and didn’t allow them to find any rhythm, with 20 minutes remaining, Elye Wahi fired the home side in front, and they never relinquished that lead.</p>
<p>If the scoreline wasn’t bad enough, <a title="Mikel Arteta provides worrying Bukayo Saka injury update" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/03/mikel-arteta-provides-worrying-bukayo-saka-injury-update/" rel="">Arsenal lost Bukayo Saka to injury</a> before the half-time whistle, and with Manchester City up next in the league, it looks like the Gunners paid a heavy price for losing to Lens.</p>
<h2>Lens 2-1 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners endure horror night</h2>
<p>The game provided plenty of talking points; here they are.</p>
<h2>1. Bukayo Saka’s injury a huge concern</h2>
<p>Before the teamsheets dropped, many thought that Saka, given he was dealing with an injury throughout the week, would take no part in the game, given City is next on the league schedule.</p>
<p>But alas, the winger took his place in the side, and he didn’t last a half before being withdrawn.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1709320936170684893</p>
<p>Arteta was rather tight-lipped with what happened to his star player, but the fact that he was under an injury cloud before the game, playing him was a questionable decision for some.</p>
<p>Now, in what is Arsenal’s biggest game of the season so far, they could be without their most potent weapon.</p>
<p>Not ideal.</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/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking Point #2 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136789" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-136789 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"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%2F1715950854-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1715950854-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1715950854-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1715950854-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1715950854-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:2560px;">Havertz produced another unconvincing display. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>2. Kai Havertz couldn’t back up Bournemouth display</h2>
<p>Many thought that Havertz had <a title="Bournemouth 0-4 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners ease to three points" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/01/bournemouth-0-4-arsenal-talking-points-gunners-cruise/" rel="">turned a corner after his efforts against Bournemouth</a>, but the German reverted against Lens. Now, we don’t want to pick on him as he wasn’t alone in being poor on the night.</p>
<p>Aside from his volleyed effort, Havertz failed to have much impact on the game and looked unsure in possession. One positive was he did get into spaces that caused Lens problems but didn’t do it often enough.</p>
<p>It is still a learning curve in Arteta’s system, but we get the feeling that some sections of the Arsenal faithful are getting rather annoyed at the big-money recruit.</p>
<p>It will take time, but nights like this can’t happen too often.</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/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking Point #3 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136791" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-136791 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"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%2F1715648124-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1715648124-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1715648124-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1715648124-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1715648124-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:2560px;">LENS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 03: Reiss Nelson of Arsenal runs with the ball during the UEFA Champions League match between RC Lens and Arsenal FC at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on October 03, 2023 in Lens, France. (Photo by Franco Arland/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>3. Arteta’s team selection</h2>
<p>With Manchester City up next in the league, many thought that if there were a game that Arteta would rotate his squad, an away trip to France midweek would be when.</p>
<p>But as it turns out, Arteta went basically full strength. The likes of Fabio Vieira, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, and Eddie Nketiah, all of whom could have started, began on the bench.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="crHFo1RqcN"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/03/3-standouts-from-first-defeat-of-the-season/">3 standout players from Arsenal’s first defeat of the season at Lens</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“3 standout players from Arsenal’s first defeat of the season at Lens” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/04/lens-2-1-arsenal-3-talking-points-gunners-fail-france/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/03/3-standouts-from-first-defeat-of-the-season/embed/#?secret=1PdOQjUPCK#?secret=crHFo1RqcN" data-secret="crHFo1RqcN" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>Giving Saka and co. a much-needed breather ahead of City on the weekend could have been just the tonic, but instead, it was another tough match that many hope won’t affect Arsenal physically against City.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
