Arsenal news: The Gunners had to come from behind in Premier League action against Fulham last weekend before a late Joao Palhinha goal saw the points shared
Ian Wright and Paul Merson have both agreed on a clear Arsenal problem Mikel Arteta must solve if the Gunners are to be successful in the Premier League this season. After three games played, Arsenal are unbeaten but dropped points over the weekend against ten-man Fulham with the two victories against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace not exactly secured comfortably.
Nonetheless, two wins from a possible three is a good start but Arsenal will not want to peak too early as they found out last season with their eight-point lead over Manchester City cut down in just over a month. Tactical changes, in order to accommodate both Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, have also been implemented by Arteta which may explain the slightly stalled start.
The duo signed in the summer are now playing alongside Martin Odegaard in midfield with Thomas Partey at right-back, Ben White in the centre of defence and Gabriel Magalhaes dropped to the bench. The latter part of that domino effect has resulted in links emerging for the Brazil international's potential exit from Emirates Stadium.
While the tactical decisions are not necessarily a problem, with Arsenal obtaining seven points from a possible nine, both Merson and Wright have highlighted what Arsenal's biggest problem may actually be. “I think they need to tighten up at the start of games," Wright told Premier League Productions.
"There were times when I was watching the game and I felt nervous for us. We don’t seem to be as confident as I thought we could have been in managing the game once we got back into it when we were 2-1 up."
Merson then added: “They've let in three goals in the first minute of football matches in nine games. That's not a coincidence. I do worry for Arsenal, Arteta is changing things around, I just find it complicated." While that statistic may not appear to be true, across all competitions both home and away, at Emirates Stadium Arsenal have indeed conceded a goal in the opening minute on three separate occasions in their last nine fixtures.
Last season, both Bournemouth and Southampton struck in the opening minute with Andreas Pereira this time being the one to capitalise on a defensive miscue which immediately meant Arteta's side had their backs against the wall.
The Gunners are more than capable of dominating games but early mishaps could prove costly especially against teams where they may not control proceedings. For example, this weekend when Arsenal welcome Manchester United, a slow start must be avoided if maximum points are to be taken by the hosts.