Mikel Arteta’s team selection was called into question. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Positive #2: Avoided capitulation
I’ll admit that I was a little concerned that after Forest scored the first goal, the players’ heads were going to drop and the result was going to become embarrassing. A defeat in a game of this magnitude is never acceptable, but, at the very least, the team pushed until the very end.
They lacked guile, and perhaps some belief, but at no point during the game did they simply give up. That was a minor positive, but a positive nonetheless.
Negative #2: Lack of imagination
In recent weeks, a lack of creativity in the final third has been a consistent issue, and as I mentioned, that was the case again in this match too.
Despite recording 82% possession in the game, our expect goals figure, according to The xG Philosophy, was just 0.66. For a team that for a large portion of the game needed to score at least two goals, that is not good enough.
The system is an easy target for blame, and I do believe that it was part of the problem, but this has been an ongoing issue for some weeks now and needs resolving.
Continued on the next slide…
pic.twitter.com/MZk9YbRGK7
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/2/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1659990193141678087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 20, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>Positive #1: Travelling fans</h2>
<p>Despite the disappointing result against Brighton last weekend, our away support still travelled well for this game and supported the team throughout the game.</p>
<p>The last few weeks have been tough on both the players and the fanbase, but it was good to see that the connection between the two had not been lost. If we are to build upon our relative success this season, support from the fans is going to be critical.</p>
<h2>Negative #1: Team selection</h2>
<p>I think we were all confused when we realised that Mikel Arteta had chosen to start the game with Jakub Kiwior and Thomas Partey at left-back and right-back respectively. Granted, his vision was to maintain a three-man defence when in attack, allowing Partey to operate in an inverted role, but the plan simply didn’t work.</p>
<p>The team was imbalanced, with far too much reliance on our right-hand side which made us predictable and easy to defend against. The fact that Kieran Tierney was on the bench only made the decision all the more confusing.</p>
<p>Continued on the next slide…</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/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_134637" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-134637" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/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%2F1256563650-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1256563650-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1256563650-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1256563650-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1256563650-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Mikel Arteta’s team selection was called into question. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>Positive #2: Avoided capitulation</h2>
<p>I’ll admit that I was a little concerned that after Forest scored the first goal, the players’ heads were going to drop and the result was going to become embarrassing. A defeat in a game of this magnitude is never acceptable, but, at the very least, the team pushed until the very end.</p>
<p>They lacked guile, and perhaps some belief, but at no point during the game did they simply give up. That was a minor positive, but a positive nonetheless.</p>
<h2>Negative #2: Lack of imagination</h2>
<p>In recent weeks, a lack of creativity in the final third has been a consistent issue, and as I mentioned, that was the case again in this match too.</p>
<p>Despite recording 82% possession in the game, our expect goals figure, according to <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/2/"https://twitter.com/xGPhilosophy/status/1659990306303930368">The xG Philosophy</a>, was just 0.66. For a team that for a large portion of the game needed to score at least two goals, that is not good enough.</p>
<p>The system is an easy target for blame, and I do believe that it was part of the problem, but this has been an ongoing issue for some weeks now and needs resolving.</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/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_134638" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-134638" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/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%2F1256504586-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1256504586-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1256504586-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1256504586-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1256504586-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Bukayo Saka was a bright spark. (Photo by Will Palmer/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>Positive #3: Bukayo Saka</h2>
<p><a title="Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal – Player Ratings as sorry Gunners lose again" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/20/nottingham-forest-arsenal-player-ratings-premier-league/" rel="">Saka was by no means at his brilliant best</a>, but he at least looked like he could make something happen when he was on the ball – which was more than could be said for the vast majority of the players on the pitch.</p>
<p>The 21-year-old has struggled for form of late but looked brighter in this game. Forest, however, did an excellent job at limiting his impact – effectively double and sometimes even triple marking him wherever possible.</p>
<h2>Negative #3: Title race is over</h2>
<p>By far the biggest talking point of the match, particularly from an Arsenal perspective is the fact that the title race is now officially over – we can longer mathematically win the Premier League. At one point, it felt as though we were destined, especially after our comebacks against Bournemouth and Aston Villa, but that dream is no more.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="kiGFUl8JH1"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/20/nottingham-forest-arsenal-player-ratings-premier-league/">Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal – Player Ratings as sorry Gunners lose again</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal – Player Ratings as sorry Gunners lose again” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/20/nottingham-forest-arsenal-player-ratings-premier-league/embed/#?secret=8Hzj7Z03KG#?secret=kiGFUl8JH1" data-secret="kiGFUl8JH1" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>In truth, most of us had accepted that fate already after the Brighton defeat, but this was the result that confirmed it: <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/21/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-crash-out-of-title-race/2/"https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12883565/manchester-city-win-premier-league-title-for-fifth-time-in-six-seasons">Manchester City are the 2022/23 Premier League champions.</a></p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
