Arteta criticizes Arsenal's lack of sharpness

"Welcome to the Premier League," Arteta said after the victory at Emirates Stadium on August 12. "Arsenal completely dominated and deserved to win. There is no doubt about that."

According to the Spanish coach, Arsenal squandered many opportunities to finish the game after leading 2-0 and then conceding a sloppy goal from the corner. Arteta thinks that Nottingham's scoring from a counter-attack with two passes shows the class and danger of Premier League teams. "Not being able to solve the game early is very dangerous in the Premier League, but overall I am satisfied with the victory," he said.

At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal controlled the ball 79%, shot 15 times with seven shots on target - compared to 6 and 2 for the visitors. In the 26th minute, Gabriel Martinelli jerked his heel to give Eddie Nketiah a shot and hit defender Nottingham Forest to open the scoring. Six minutes later, Bukayo Saka slashed his left foot from outside the box, beyond the reach of his former teammate Matt Turner, doubling the lead.

The "Gunners" failed to maintain their dominance in the second half and conceded a goal in the 82nd minute. Taking the ball from the corner, substitute Anthony Elanga sped up on the wing and stretched for Taiwo Awoniyi to cushion the empty net. The away team then substituted good players in the air battle, causing Arsenal to experience a tough last minute.

"Especially in the second half, especially when we are leading 2-0, Arsenal need to maintain the rhythm of the game," added Arteta. "We wanted a high-paced game, but knew the ground was going to be dry, it was very hot, which slowed things down. We let Nottingham score and keep our hopes up. They are a very well organized club, very very good. competitive, strong and don't need many chances to score. Overall Arsenal play well, but have to be more ruthless and sharper to finish the game."

Arteta surprised by leaving Gabriel Magalhaes on the bench, pushing Thomas Partey to play at left-back, while Ben White played at center back with William Saliba. Gabriel was not included in Arsenal's starting line-up in the Premier League for the first time since the 0-5 loss to Man City in August 2021, ending a streak of 73 starting matches.

Arteta explained pulling Partey at back and putting Kai Havertz in midfield to have more flexibility and occupy certain spaces with Nottingham's defense. This arrangement is relatively effective, he said.

When asked to change tactics to fix the problems from last season, Arteta replied: "It's my job to create bigger problems for the opponent and the problems they cause for us. , and at the same time play in the best possible way to have the highest probability of winning.To do that, we have to choose the right players to play every week, not only the 11 starting players but also the players who come into the field. at the end to help the team win three points".

Arsenal lost the rhythm of the game partly because Timber had problems from a collision with Johnson at the end of the first half. He was still able to play early in the second half, but sat down on the field holding his legs and showing pain despite not being in contact with anyone, then made way for Tomiyasu Takehiro. Arteta said the medical team examined Timber at halftime and determined he could continue playing. Today, Timber will undergo several tests to determine the extent of the injury.