Winners and Losers: Burnley (h)

On Sunday, Arsenal hosted last-place Burnley at the Emirates. With Spurs and Chelsea playing later in the day, the fixture presented an excellent opportunity to snatch back fourth place and chalk up another three points on the board. However, Mikel Arteta’s men could not score against Burnley, who sported the 8th best defense in the league. The match finished goalless, rounding off a miserable January for the Gunners. It was also a stark illustration of how desperately Arsenal need a reliable striker. Below are two Winners and three Losers from a frustrating outing.

Winners

Emile Smith Rowe

In his second match back from injury, Smith Rowe looked much livelier than he had against Liverpool. The young Englishman drove at Burnley’s defense with enthusiasm, and created easily the best chance of the afternoon. He also was incredibly unlucky not to have scored himself after he volleyed a brilliant Martin Odegaard corner through a sea of Burnley bodies and on target. His display was a timely reminder that Smith Rowe just as much of a boost to the side as Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka do. Hopefully, his departure in the 75th minute was purely precautionary.

Martin Odegaard

Odegaard was likely Arsenal’s best player on the day. The Norwegian, once again playing from deeper in midfield than he usually does, always looked the most likely to make something happen. He finished with two shots on goal and four key passes. His best moment was probably the low, driven corner he played that Smith Rowe latched onto and almost scored from. Even when not operating as a ten, Odegaard is pulling the strings for Arsenal. He has come into his own, and hopefully can continue on in this form.

Losers

Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal have spent the entire month linked to the likes of Dusan Vlahovic, Jonathan David, Alexander Isak, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Lacazette’s inadequacy in front of goal on Sunday highlights the necessity of those links. The Frenchman was useful in buildup as he typically is, but offered little else. Lacazette missed perhaps the best chance on the day when Smith Rowe cut the ball back from the byline and he could do nothing more than knock the ball past the far post. Arsenal created plenty of opportunities on Sunday, and many of them went begging because their best available striker is not clinical enough. The club need to bring in an upgrade if they are to become more competitive.

Aaron Ramsdale

After a phenomenal start to life in north London, Ramsdale has appeared a little shaky in recent weeks. Early on in the match, he flapped at a cross and almost knocked the ball into his own net. At another point, the English keeper narrowly escaped being caught on the ball. He also went long a little often, even when Burnley began sitting deep to protect the draw. Ramsdale’s performance wasn’t highly concerning, but the 18-day break may have come just in time for him.

Mikel Arteta

Arteta has taken some risks this month. For instance, his sanctioning of Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ loan move to Roma has proven costly, as he could have filled in at right-back or central midfield in place of Takehiro Tomiyasu or Thomas Partey respectively. As a result of Arteta’s decision, Tomiyasu played injured and will miss at least a few weeks. Partey was forced to come on a day after featuring for his national team at AFCON, and a lack of readiness likely contributed to the Ghanaian getting sent off. Against Burnley, he deployed Ben White at right-back in place of Tomiyasu despite having Nuno Tavares, who has played that position before, available. White’s feature on the right flank and resulting start for Rob Holding negatively impacted Arsenal’s distribution from the back line on a day when they needed all the offensive help they could get. It’s harsh, but Arteta was tasked with some tough calls in January. And unfortunately, he got them wrong.

Edu Gaspar

It’s tough to put too much blame on Edu for this month’s results. COVID and injuries hit the squad at pretty much the worst time this season. The Arsenal technical director seemingly went big on going for Vlahovic in the transfer market to the point where he was willing to play chicken with the Fiorentina man’s agents until the final days of the window., which is admirable. You want your club going for the best players on the market. However, that move looks unlikely to materialize now, and Arsenal have yet to sign a player at any position. The midfield will be back to full strength the next time the Gunners play. But they need to bring in a proper goalscorer if they are to have a decent chance of finishing in the top four. If Arsenal can’t bring in even a forward who can serve as a backup to a bigger signing in the summer, that will be on Edu. Time is running out for him.

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