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Arsenal’s Carabao Cup capitulation was priceless entertainment for rival fans; the script could not have been written any better for them.
‘Fourth-tier Fleetwood humble last season’s UEFA Champions League finalists’ — a headline that defies all football logic. The English Premier League champions lacked clinical execution against the low block of a League Two side. Fleetwood Town currently sit in 18th place in the EFL, which highlights the absolute absurdity of what they just pulled off. They entered the midweek tie in a pitiful state, having lost six of their previous seven matches in all competitions.
Arsenal, on the other hand, sit joint-second in the top tier of British football with 21 points after 8 matches (7 wins, 1 loss). While their defensive metrics remain league-leading, The Gunners are visibly blunt in attack. Despite Viktor Gyökeres scoring in the embarrassing Carabao Cup exit, the 6-feet-2 Swede struggled to find his rhythm against a stubborn low block. He registered 0 key passes, 0 dribbles, 5 unsuccessful touches, and lost possession 8 times.
His striking partner, Kai Havertz also had an evening to forget. The German international registered a match-high 7 shots throughout the 90 minutes. Only 1 of his 7 attempts found the target, translating to a dismal 14.3% shot accuracy. He squandered 2 massive, clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities that could have put the game to bed for the Gunners.
Despite both strikers converting their spot-kicks during the shootout, Mikel Arteta’s experiment to start both Gyökeres and Havertz ultimately failed – the duo looked completely out of sync.
Before Gyökeres bundled in a scrappy equaliser against Fleetwood, Arsenal had gone nine consecutive games without a single goal from either of their primary centre-forwards.
Despite scoring 21 goals in Arsenal’s title winning campaign, Gyökeres seems unhappy and is yet to start a Premier League game this season. Havertz has scored crucial goals—including big-game strikes in the Champions League and Carabao Cup semi-finals—but his output fails to match his massive wages.
Moving on from Gyökeres and Havertz sooner than later will allow the Champions a chance to sign lethal strikers in the mould of club legends like Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robin Van Persie.
But for now, Arsenal fans will try to heal from the midweek disgrace as they look forward to the Liverpool showdown – hoping Havertz & Gyökeres bring the right football boots to iconic fields of Anfield.
