Arsenal Amnesia Drug in Eindhoven

EINDHOVEN, MONDAY -- The basic concept of football is very simple: victory is achieved by the team with the most goals. However, for Arsenal, that concept feels exceedingly complicated at the moment. They visited PSV Eindhoven's home ground in a state of having forgotten how to score goals.

In September 2023, PSV coach Peter Bosz confidently described Arsenal as one of the best teams in the world. Bosz was amazed by the striking power of "The Gunners" after his team was defeated four goals to nil in a Champions League group stage match.

PSV will face Arsenal again in the round of 16 of this season's Champions League. They will host the first leg at Phillips Stadium, Eindhoven, on Wednesday (5/3/2025) early morning Western Indonesian Time. The upcoming duel could present something very different compared to previous encounters.

Bosz's praise seems no longer applicable. Arsenal visits as guests in the midst of the worst attacking crisis under manager Mikel Arteta's regime. Let alone winning, they are even struggling to score goals. Arsenal has failed to find the back of the net in three of their last four matches.

The only match marked by goals was against Leicester City. Midfielder Mikel Merino became an unexpected hero from the bench by contributing two goals, after stepping in as an emergency forward. The problem is, Merino's sensation was merely a "mirage."

Merino was trusted to start from the beginning in two consecutive matches, playing the full 90 minutes, but was unable to make a significant impact. Due to Arsenal's lackluster attacking power, Nottingham Forest Coach Nuno Espirito Santo even dared to change the formation from the usual five defenders to four defenders last Thursday.

In order to break the goal-scoring drought, Arteta has the opportunity to conduct more extreme experiments in Eindhoven. "We still have many options to explore, but (beyond that) we must improve further in the consistency of the final product, such as the quality of the final pass," he stated.

Arteta has several contingency options, including trusting academy forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji or restoring Sterling to the starting line-up. Both players are more used to playing in the centre-forward position than Merino.

The biggest problem for the Gunners is a lack of talent and confidence. They lack a pure striker after Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz were confirmed injured until the end of the season. Wingers who are the lifeblood of the front line, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, are also yet to return from injury.

Only Leandro Trossard and Sterling, the senior strikers, were available. 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri had to shoulder more responsibility than he should have. The crisis made Arsenal's attacking potential not come out optimally.

We need immediate solutions to score goals, create more chances in the box and have more shots. Everyone in the team has to step up and take on more roles.

In the last two games, for example, against West Ham United and Forest. Arsenal only recorded three shots on target from a total of 33 attempts. Many of the attempts were speculative because the players were frustrated. Arsenal's average shots on target in the Premier League is 4.8 times per game.

"We need immediate solutions to score goals, create more chances in the box and have more shots. Everyone in the team has to step up and take on more," said Arsenal veteran midfielder Jorginho.

Sometimes the solution doesn't just come from within, it can also come from outside. That's what Arsenal are hoping for. When the visitors have problems with attack, PSV are confused about patching up the defense. Bosz's team is so easy to break through, like when they lost to mediocre Go Ahead Eagles 2-3 last weekend.

PSV lost after leading 2-1. They even conceded three goals from just seven attempts by the opponent. Almost half of the opponent's shots resulted in goals. Meanwhile, PSV only managed to record one clean sheet in the last 13 matches in all competitions.

Due to the defensive problems, Bosz is worried about waking up the sleeping “lion” in Arsenal. “We play with strong determination, not lazy. We also always appear aggressive and press very high, but our defense is bad,” he said.

PSV's aggressiveness was evident when they turned things around against Juventus in the previous round. They won 3-1 at home with a very open game. The runs from wingers Johan Bakayoko and Noa Lang almost always caused problems for the opposing defense.

The problem is, that aggressive style could also backfire on the home team. Arsenal, who are toothless, could bite with a counterattack. Especially if Arteta experiments with playing Sterling who is good at transition as a "false striker". (AP/REUTERS)