Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Fulham on Sunday left Mikel Arteta with a familiar sense of frustration. It was the seventh time they have dropped points in fifteen Premier League games this season. They are six points worse off than at the same stage last season.
It was particularly difficult to accept this, given the dominance of his party. “We deserved to win from start to finish,” said Arteta. Fulham scored from one of just two shots. Their total of three touches in the opponent's penalty area was the lowest in the Premier League all season.
Arsenal, meanwhile, had 66 percent of the ball and created chances worth more than two expected goals, but failed to add to William Saliba's close-range equalizer, with Bukayo Saka's late header ruled out by VAR for offside against Gabriel Martinelli.
Ultimately, a second's delay meant Arsenal missed the chance to get within four points of Liverpool. The result also highlighted some of their problems this season.
Defensive injuries and instability
Solid defense was the basis of Arsenal's title challenge last season. William Saliba played every minute. There was some disruption at left-back, but Saliba's centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes missed just two games. Right-back Ben White missed just one.
This season was different. The draw at Craven Cottage was the third Premier League match in the last seven in which Arsenal have not had their first-choice centre-back, with Saliba having previously served a ban and Gabriel nursing injuries.
At fullback the problems were even more apparent. Oleksandr Zinchenko's latest injury saw him rejoin Riccardo Calafiori, White and Takehiro Tomiyasu on the sidelines against Fulham. Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also missed matches.
Zinchenko's absence meant a reshuffle on Sunday, with Thomas Partey moving to right-back and Timber to left-back. Together with central defenders Saliba and Jakub Kiwior, they formed Arsenal's ninth back four in fifteen Premier League games this season.
That's more than they played in 38 games last season.
Arsenal's makeshift backline was largely untroubled by Fulham. But the impact of their defensive injuries was on display in the opening goal, when Kiwior, likely to be Arteta's seventh-choice centre-back when everyone is fit, was easily outwitted by Raul Jimenez.
Arteta probably had the moment in mind when he referred to the Premier League's “small margins” after the match.
The unrest at fullback was also offensively damaging.
Against Fulham, for example, with a right-footer at left-back and a natural central midfielder at right-back, Arsenal were never likely to execute their usual threat out wide, and so it proved.
Bukayo Saka was relatively quiet, but that was largely due to a lack of support. Second Spectrum's tracking data showed that Partey made just one overlapping run the entire game. The same was true at the other end, where Timber offered his winger just one overlapping run.
Those outside runs are invaluable in drawing defenders away from wingers, but they are not part of Partey's game and they are also difficult for the right-footed Timber when he plays on the left. That ultimately hampered Arsenal's attacking threat and made it easier for Fulham to defend their flanks effectively.
Is creativity lacking in open play?
Sunday's match was just the latest in which Arsenal have shown their immense threat from set pieces. Saliba's equalizer was their 23rd goal from a corner since the start of last season and the Gunners missed several other scoring chances from dead-ball situations.
But Arteta outlined in his pre-match press conference his determination to be “king of everything”, not just corners, and the numbers suggest they are lacking in other areas.
Arsenal scored a modest 0.47 in non-corner expected goals against Fulham and their numbers were only marginally higher in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Manchester United.
It made no difference against Ruben Amorim's side, with Arsenal able to score twice from corners without reply. Arteta would also argue that the two aspects are linked, as the corners and free kicks required for set-piece opportunities come from dominance in open play.
Still, the numbers have caused some concern among fans. Arsenal are the most effective team in the Premier League when it comes to generating scoring chances from set pieces, but they are in the bottom half in terms of expected goals from open play this season.
It's not where they want to be, but context is important. In addition to the defensive injuries that have affected their rhythm, Arsenal have been without their main creator, Martin Odegaard, for around half of their Premier League games due to injury.
Their fluency has suffered without him and their overall numbers have also been skewed by long spells of playing with 10 men against Brighton, Manchester City and Bournemouth earlier this season.
Arsenal's squad looks attackingly light, especially as Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling struggle to make a positive impact. But Arsenal scored a club record number of goals last season and Arteta will hope a clearer injury list will allow them to get back to that level.
The worry is that with Liverpool and Chelsea collecting points at their current levels, any further mistakes in the meantime will leave them with too much ground to make up.
No delays in planning
Relief from Arsenal's injury problems is also not guaranteed. In fact, their fixture list increases the risk of further setbacks with the Gunners set to embark on a run of four games in eleven days, starting with Wednesday's Champions League match against Monaco.
An inevitable knock-on effect of injuries is that others have to play more minutes than planned. Timber, for example, has started ten consecutive matches and the lack of available alternatives means his streak is likely to continue. It's a heavy workload for a player who only returned from a serious knee injury in the summer.
Rotation will be necessary where possible as Arsenal combine Champions League and Premier League hopes, plus a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace next week. But the need for silverware is such that no competition can be taken lightly.
If there is one positive, it is that their upcoming fixture list looks friendlier, in terms of opponents, if not number of matches, than in the early months of the campaign. Arsenal have blown away many of their toughest games in that period.
They will not face any player from the current top six in their next five Premier League matches. Their trips to Brentford and Brighton in January won't be easy, but their next away match against a top six side won't come until they travel to fifth-placed Nottingham Forest on February 25.
Arteta hopes Arsenal will be closer to the Premier League summit by then, rather than further away. But a lot will depend on the players they have available. Sunday's draw against Fulham was a reminder that there is little room for error.
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