To be honest we have 18 goals and 11 big chances, it means that we have scored goals off penalties and deflections and have been significantly luckier. This is not sustainable…. If I was Arteta I would be worried that we are lacking firepower in the striker department and our reliable creative players aren’t delivering as they used to. Odegaard and Saka haven’t been the force they were last season. In fact our players aren’t in top 10 in goals scored and assists.
Defensively we are solid now… but come January transfer season, he needs to add some power to the frontline.
This may sound unpopular and I am no way shitting on the manager or the team, just a stat that I am trying to wrap my head around…. Happy to be change my mind.
My hot take is that this is intentional based on how things went last season. The offense got going early last season and then got figured out halfway through.
This season we are playing our unique offensive capabilities close to the chest, trying to beat teams while playing extremely low-risk football. When it seems like this style gets “figured out” both in-game and across the season, you see Arteta dial up the risky offense accordingly.
I really hope this is what’s happening right now…also to preserve our stamina throughout the season to avoid late season burnouts.