Why Can't We Win?

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

He's not alone in killing the momentum of our play, but he's one of the better practitioners. Mustafi too. And, I've noticed, Bellerin seems to have caught the infection. Torreira. Pepe almost 100% of the time. Sokratis. Most of them.

When we get some space and the opportunity to move the ball up the pitch is clear, many of our players will immediately shun the option (or not even see it) and instead look for the safe sideways or backwards pass. It's as if possession is a prize in itself. I know what we're trying to do. In theory. We're trying to shift the play left, then right, then left, probing for a mistake and a gap that gets too wide.

But we play at such a low tempo the mistake or the gap is highly unlikely to materialise. We make it so easy for the opposition, and Xhaka's one of the worst offenders. I could literally scream when I see him with the ball, Auba or Martinelli will be moving ahead, looking for the space and looking for the pass. And Xhaka... takes a touch. Takes another. Turns this way. Turns that way. Taps it five yards sideways. Or literally turns his back on goal and hits it back to the safest possible option.

Pepe is even worse.

This is why Saka and Martinelli are looking so exciting. But they're only doing what everyone should be doing, showing a bit of ambitions and a willingness to take a gamble in return for a pay-off.

We certainly don't have a Tomas Rosicky in the ranks, who's main skill was taking the ball on the half turn and just driving towards the oppositions goal.... though when he was here, plenty complained about him too. Same again with Santi at times because his stats weren't what fans wanted them to be.

Guendouzi was taking far too long to play simple passes (backwards like you say Xhaka is prone to) and Willock was taking far too long to release the ball when he came on (which is seeming like a habit of his). I'm not sure why there is any real clamour for Douzi or Willock to start. There is the athleticism, but we seem to scoff at this as a tangible attribute when we see Sissoko for Tottenham play for this very reason.

For me, the glaring omission is Ceballos. Someone will tell me he's been average but who hasn't really bar what's gone on the last month or so. He has real technical ability, an eye for a pass, likes a foot in, looks after the ball generally. Didn't we bring him here on loan for a reason and decide to continue with it despite murmurs he wanted to go back?

Real Madrid with never ask for Guendouzi or Willock on loan for us, but we have a young Spanish player who is fairly highly rated in Spain. Anyway several decisions Arteta made in this game was odd.

Martinelli looked as poor as he has all season but that was not his fault imo.