In a few days they have lost to Newcastle and Internazionale. They have lost Edu, too, and if the corridors of power are emptier, the numbers of reverses are growing.
And yet, while they repeated their result at Newcastle on Saturday, it was a defeat with a difference. Meek on Tyneside, Arsenal rediscovered their resolve. After their worst performance of the season came one of the better ones.
“The worst thing of the night is the result,” said Mikel Arteta. “The performance, attitude, the dominance against one of the best teams in Europe… of all the games we played away in Europe in the last few years, this is the best.” There are no prizes for winning the shot on target and corner counts, but Arsenal chalked up resounding triumphs, of 5-1 and 13-0. “We should have scored a couple, at least,” Arteta added. But goals are elusive now, genuine creativity too. Arsene Wenger coined the phrase “sterile domination”. Arteta’s Arsenal had the perspiration, but not the inspiration.
And Internazionale delivered the goal. Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty formed part of a trilogy of misfortune for Mikel Merino; denied a spot kick at one, blameless as he conceded one at the other, removed at half-time, feeling the worse for being whacked, it was not one Spaniard’s day. Nor another’s; Arteta has his own issues with referee Istvan Kovacs, getting first a yellow card and then a final warning for his appraisal of the Hungarian’s efforts. “A private, interesting conversation,” seethed the manager.
Denne historien er fra November 07, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 07, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
HOT AND BOTHERED
We’ve got through Halloween and bonfire night and it’s still too warm for a heavy coat. Helen Coffey asks the experts why the weather’s been so mild and if it will ever get cold again
I'm far happier now than I was being a 'smug married'
Stacey Duguid has embraced being a divorced single mum after leaving an unhappy relationship. She ponders her past obsession with getting hitched and questions a new survey that suggests marriage staves off low mood and depression
'People say we don't care what others think - we do'
South Africa are trying to change perceptions, charismatic director of rugby Rassie Erasmus tells Harry Latham-Coyle
OXFORD SCHOLAR
Des Buckingham is loving life in charge of his hometown club after a nomadic career. He speaks to Lawrence Ostlere
Unlucky Gunners can take hope from defeat to Inter
Arsenal have traded St James’ Park for San Siro but the scoreline has stayed the same.
Markets are re-energised but not everyone's a winner
The financial world has been electrified by Trump’s election victory. Once the new president is installed, though, writes Chris Blackhurst, the implications will become much clearer
McGregor accuser feared she would die, court hears
A woman broke down in tears yesterday as she accused MMA star Conor McGregor of raping her and told a court she was fearful she would never see her daughter again while he was choking her.
'It was so fast. The next day she was found dead inside'
The mangled car in which Jorge Tarazona’s three-year-old niece and sister-in-law died in last week’s flooding in Spain now hangs halfway off the ragged edge of a highway.
Kim expects leverage for lending Putin his troops
North Korea’s leader wants cash, missile technology and food for letting thousands of his soldiers fight against Ukraine
GP jailed over 'audacious' fake Covid jab murder plot
A GP who disguised himself as a nurse and poisoned his mother’s partner with a fake Covid jab in an audacious” plot to murder him has been jailed for 31 years.
