Arsenal won’t have it easy, will they? After watching their quadruple dreams disappear before they could even come close to becoming a reality, the Gunners saw their own triple dreams meet the same fate, courtesy of Southampton, before nervously heading into their clash with the Sporting club.
In the end, Kai Havertz proved to be in the right position at the perfect time to score Arsenal’s late winner, but Mikel Arteta certainly has a number of issues to resolve before his team’s next match.
The Spaniard will also be the first to remind everyone that the injuries Arsenal suffered during the international break were not just convenient. Some of them discovered the new Rob Holding at the worst possible time.
Arsenal face Rob Holding rematch
Although some are hoping for a comeback in April, it seems that Arsenal’s season is often over. And it was Holding who inadvertently twisted the knife to end his team’s hopes of winning the Premier League title in 2022/23.
Similar to Arteta’s current problems, it was William Saliba who coincidentally suffered an ill-timed injury in the Europa League against Sporting at the end of the 2022/23 season. With five games remaining and a trip to the Etihad awaiting, the Frenchman was forced to sit out the games due to a back problem.
Arsenal 22/23 (PL) | With Saliba | No Saliba |
|---|---|---|
game | 27 | 11 |
victory | twenty one | 5 |
draw | 3 | 3 |
defeat | 3 | 3 |
In 2023, there was no Piero Hincapie or Cristian Mosquera to rely on. Instead, it was Holding who stepped up and it was Man City who beat their title rivals four times before taking the lead against Fulham in the next game.
At the time, Arsenal were without Saliba at the most important stage of the season and were without a win in four league games. If their centre-backs had been able to perform, a completely different story might have unfolded. A Premier League title might have been on the horizon.
Now, move things forward three years and Arsenal will once again lose the title, despite awaiting a trip to the Etihad in April and the new holders playing a worryingly important role.
Arsenal new signing Rob Holding
In 2023, it was Saliba’s holding. In 2026, it’s Ben White to Julian Timber and Arsenal could collapse again.
The former, like Holding, is simply not at the level of being Arteta’s first choice, making mistakes in the defeat against Southampton and failing to impress against Sporting, especially when he caught the ball and watched when full-back Maximiliano Araujo moved in behind.
The big concern is that Arsenal may have to rely on White for the all-important title-clincher against Man City. By the time this game begins, Josep Guardiola’s side could have the chance to reduce the gap to six points with one game remaining and increase the pressure on Arsenal.
History suggests that the Gunners cannot afford to lose, which could force Arteta to look to Timber’s replacement rather than the out-of-form Whyte.
Arsenal 25/26 (PL) | when ben white started |
|---|---|
game | 5 |
victory | 3 |
draw | 1 |
defeat | 1 |
With seven games left in the Premier League, the last thing Arsenal want to do is give their star player a key role in a bit-part role, and that’s exactly what White has been doing lately.
The £50 million man has started just five Premier League games this season due to a combination of injury and form. Timber, on the other hand, has started 27 of 31 games.
This mirrors the 22/23 season, when Holding started for the internationals against Man City, before Arsenal’s title hopes collapsed. Alarmingly, the defender only started eight games that season.
While there is still time for White to bounce back this season, it’s time for Berta to be relentless in the summer and overcome what is rapidly becoming Arsenal’s biggest weakness. But before that, Arteta must get him off.
Arteta must take off Arsenal star from 3/10 who was even worse than Ben White vs Sporting
Arsenal came late to beat Sporting CP 1-0 in the Champions League.
