Arteta must bin Arsenal’s no-good guy who is as bad as Gokeres

What was Arsenal’s worst performance so far under Mikel Arteta? Quite possible.

It has been a great season for the Gunners so far, but when Wolves, the bottom of the Premier League side, came to town, Arteta’s side turned a blind eye to the task.

They failed to attract much attention and relied on two own goals to win 2-1. Their defense was also well below par. They haven’t been the same team since Gabriel Magalhães got injured.

But as luck would have it, Arsenal have found a hero in Bukayo Saka.

The winger gave his side a boost by swinging away a corner kick that led to Sam Johnstone’s own goal. Then, just as time was running out and Wolves looked like they had salvaged a point, Saka re-emerged.

This time it was open play. He won the ball on the right and fired a perfect shot just inches away, which Jelson Mosquera headed into his own net.

So what went wrong?

Why Arsenal struggled to beat Wolves

Despite Arsenal’s poor performance against the Emirates on Sunday, Wolves deserve credit for their performance.

Old Gold had a disastrous start to the season, but they headed to the capital and played with a renewed sense of organization, a renewed sense of grit and fighting spirit.

The fact that they scored what looked like a goal to win the points said it all. With just a little stoppage time left, Tru Allocadea headed home from out of nowhere.

This was a battle for Arsenal and that goal proved it. Against that attack, their defense was noticeably poor. Arteta acknowledged that.

Speaking on Full Time, he said his side had shown “terrible defensive habits” before the Wolves goal, suggesting it was “unacceptable”. very.

However, they suffered a crushing defeat in the final third as well. Arsenal created just two big chances, forced the goalkeeper to make a save just once and had just two shots on target.

In Arteta’s words, that is unacceptable against a side who have accumulated two points all season.

What again didn’t help was the performance of a certain Victor Gokeres. The Swede scored 54 goals in 2024/25, but has really struggled since returning to England. He seems to be suffering from a lack of confidence right now.

The three performances he has shown since coming back from injury are really worrying. He didn’t take a single shot in a 45-minute cameo against Aston Villa a week ago, but was given a starting spot in Europe’s game against Club Brugge, completing just four passes before leaving the pitch at the end. He also only had one notable shot.

It was just as bad against the Wolves. He struggled to convert chances and saw little action, completing just three passes. Arteta’s side will need much more from the summer’s high-profile signings if they are to win the league.

Arsenal star was just as bad as Gokeres vs Wolves

It has been a baffling season so far for Arsenal’s front line. During the early months of the season, the team was accused of relying on set pieces. However, in the past month, they have not scored a single goal from a set piece in a league match.

Their open play threat has improved significantly. That was until Wolf came to town.

The threat of attack at this time was virtually non-existent, apart from Saka. The fact that Gokeres, Ebelesi Eze and Gabriel Martinelli all didn’t last 90 minutes said it all.

Gokeres will take most of the blame for the lackluster attack, but Martinelli will have to take some criticism as well.

He curled the ball on target for a great goal in midweek, but by Saturday he was back to his usual erratic form.

It was his header from Declan Rice’s corner kick in the first half that summed up the Brazilian’s performance. Martinelli found a deep ball to the back post and was standing just a few yards from goal, but somehow his header went wide.

Truth be told, the winger struggled to beat the aging Matt Doherty on Wolves’ right flank. Martinelli only completed one dribble and completed 67% of his passes.

The 24-year-old took four shots, but none of them went on target. I can’t say it’s great at all.

In the words of GOAL’s Charles Watts, he was largely “disappointing.” His performance was well below what we expected from him this season.

The Brazilian has scored in five consecutive Champions League games, but domestically he leaves much to be desired.

When Arsenal play Everton next week, Arteta will need Martinelli to return to the bench and select Leandro Trossard, arguably the club’s best forward this season, first.