Arsenal boss Arteta admits ‘something is missing’ with the Gunners

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has admitted that “something is missing” with his side, who have gone five straight Premier League games without a goal from open play.

The Gunners have only scored once in those five matches – a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty against Manchester United on November 1 in a 1-0 win for the Gunners. 

It has been a struggle offensively for the Gunners, who enter Sunday’s match against Wolves in 14th place in the league table.

Arteta believes that his side aren’t too far off what he would have expected, but said the Gunners’ failure to make up small margins is proving costly.

“The position probably that I believe we should have been in and where we are at the moment, it’s two games [difference],” Arteta said.

“That’s four to six points and it makes the whole difference and the small margins where we lose the game or win the game, it’s incredibly narrow.

“But this is the reality of this league and where we are at the moment. We don’t have big margins at the moment so we have to be really good at everything we do because at the moment, something is missing.

“We are on the edge of winning or losing a football match and we again are humble and conscious of that and at the moment we don’t have to steal those margins and any game is going to be really difficult.”

The Gunners have not won a Premier League title since 2003-04 and appear no closer to ending that drought this season. Arteta has admitted that it will take some time – and some successful transfer dealings – before Arsenal can challenge again. 

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” he replied when asked how long it would take for Arsenal to challenge for the title. 

“If you’re asking, ‘How do you rebuild the squad?’ It takes a few windows at least to do that and to establish yourself to compete at the level of certain clubs in this league, which is near 100 points, again it takes time.

“In football time is very precious and people are very impatient but if you don’t respect the processes and you ask certain people to do certain things when the foundations are not there, it’s a really dangerous thing to do as well.

“Again I know that we all want to see that and I am the first one who wants to see Arsenal at the top of the league.

“There are still a lot of things that are going to happen and we have to prepare for difficult moments and we knew that right from the start.

“We are ready and we know that the challenge and the responsibility is to turn it around as quick as possible and get the club fighting where it belongs.”