‘Lucky’ Arsenal must switch on to make top four – Keown
Martin Keown thinks Arsenal have a lot of work still to do on the training ground if they want to finish in the Premier League’s top four positions despite beating Bournemouth 1-0 on Sunday.
The shut-out was only the second time in 13 league games that Unai Emery’s side have stopped the opposition from scoring as Bournemouth lacked a cutting edge at the Emirates Stadium.
David Luiz’s glancing header from Nicolas Pepe’s ninth-minute corner ended up settling the contest in Arsenal‘s favour.
“It’s been a difficult week for Arsenal and I thought they pressed really well [against Bournemouth],” Keown said on Match of the Day 2.
“The intensity in their play, that is what every good team is looking for. It’s not just playing with the ball, it’s what you do without it.
“I thought they started the game very well. Everyone was engaging, they forced Bournemouth back and they were struggling a bit.
“[Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang is trying to fix the play and everyone else is engaged, so they play it long, and Arsenal win it back. Then they can be creative and this is what Arsenal are good at.
“They’ve got that creativity, they’re well probed. They’re all on the front foot, ready to break. But in the second half they seemed to switch off.
“Aubameyang, you are scoring the goals but you need to work harder. I know it’s tough but you can’t allow space, [Bukayo] Saka as well. [Dani] Ceballos is late, they don’t engage properly and the back four is far too deep. Maybe [Granit] Xhaka should push in a bit closer. That left space behind the full-backs, so Bournemouth were running wild into those spaces.
“It’s a problem for Arsenal when it goes into the front players, they need to be better at that. David Luiz scored the winner but he must get back, help the team. Arsenal were lucky on a number of occasions.
“Ceballos, the poor guy is there on his own. The two other midfielders need to get up the field. These are things you definitely need to work on in training because better teams will punish you. That has to improve if they are to finish in the top four.”
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