Arsenal missed the opportunity to appear in the final again with Mikel Arteta. But moments of failure like this have the potential to happen in a squad as young as Arsenal.
A 0-2 defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, Friday (21/1/2022) early morning WIB ensured Arsenal ran aground in the semifinals of the English League Cup. The two teams previously drew 0-0 in the first leg at Anfield.
This result practically makes Arsenal have lost the chance to lift the trophy at the end of the season. They have run aground in the third round of the FA Cup and are far behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson saw Mikel Arteta’s men still not used to the atmosphere of big and decisive matches, so it was easy to get nervous. Bukayo Saka et al have also not been able to be consistent in terms of level of play.
Arsenal’s squad itself is dominated by young players. This season they have an average age of 24.9 years, the third youngest in the Premier League and only younger to Brentford and Leeds United.
Having a lot of young players on the one hand is a positive thing, but you have to be patient with inconsistencies and a fragile mentality.
“They didn’t live up to their potential (against Liverpool). And this is a problem that Arteta has, a young team and within minutes they can be up and then below, and that’s the problem,” said Paul Merson. Sky Sports.
“When you’re a little bit older you’re going to be 7 or 7.5 a week instead of 9 at one game and then 4 the next. That’s what Arteta has at the moment. Arsenal fans have to be patient with that.”
“They bring in young players and you want that. But this is what will happen. You only expect that decline to occur in the semifinals of a big competition. This is very unfortunate,” added the owner of two Premier League titles.
(raw/krs)
