Arteta must immediately drop Arsenal star 5/10 who was very 'poor' against Brentford

The year 2024 did not bring Premier League address for Arsenal But they were the best team in the country during that calendar year. Data doesn't lie.

So, what will 2025 hold? boom? Calm down? drama? First Premier League title in more than 20 years? Yes, it's been a long time indeed.

Bukayo Saka will be out for a few months yet due to a hamstring problem, but no Saka and no problem for Arsenal, who have a 100% record since the Hill End talent was ruled out.

While they only managed a 1-0 win over Ipswich at home to round off 2024, they started the new year in style with a 3-1 win. However, it was not without fear.

Although Brentford did not take a kick in the opening 13 minutes of the encounter, it was the Bees who took the lead through Brian Mbeumo.

Arsenal have now not kept a clean sheet in the league on the road in eight attempts, but they have managed to close the gap between them and Liverpool at the top of the table to six points.

Gabriel Jesus The team responded in the first half before Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli scored twice in the second half to secure the points.

Arsenal's best players against Brentford

With Kai Havertz out due to illness on Wednesday evening, an interesting Arsenal line-up was chosen by the manager. Mikel Arteta.

Jesus excelled in leading the goal line again, heading in from close range to score his sixth goal in his last four matches in all competitions.

However, it was not the scorers who caught the most attention in west London. It was Ethan Nwaneri who got his first Premier League start on the ground as it all started for him as a 15-year-old.

The Gtech Stadium was where he became the youngest ever Premier League player, and he once again starred at the same stadium.

Usually used as an attacking midfielder by Arteta, it was on the right side of the attack where Nwaniri shone on this occasion.

He immediately looked at home and already looks like the closest thing Arsenal have to Saka while he remains off the field.

Naturally using his left foot, Nwaniri drifted inside and used his quick feet to dazzle the Brentford defense on several occasions. There was no goal contribution to show for his efforts but as soccer. Tom Canton from London He was a “bright spark in the side”, he said in his post-match player evaluations.

Arteta has sometimes been accused of not trusting the stars of tomorrow, but in Nwaneri and Miles Lewis Skelly, he has shown great faith.

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Football FanCast's Chalkboard series provides tactical discussion from across the global game.

Speaking of which, they should both start after the performance of one away player this evening…

Riccardo Calafiore's performance by the numbers

Lewis Skelly's emergence as a left-back in recent weeks has been very impressive. He is 18 years old and plays in a similar style to Jorien Tempere, able to shift into midfield, contribute in the final third and add security in possession. The very fact is that Average completion rate of 97% In the league, this term is evidence of that.

So, surely he has to start, right? Well, after the performance Riccardo Calafiore On Wednesday you can certainly argue the issue.

The Italian has caught the eye significantly since his signing over the summer from Bologna, and has scored remarkably well Which Great goal against Manchester City a few months ago.

However, he has a moment of insecurity and was arguably at fault for Mbeumo's first goal.

Everyone knows what the winger wants to do – cut with his left foot – and Calafiore let him do it. Easily too. In the words of one Arsenal content creator, It was a “poor” moment. It duly earned him a 5/10 rating as a player from the aforementioned Canton which noted that “some poor passing showed that this was indeed a player fresh from injury”.

So, it's difficult to judge too harshly, but the fact that he lost the ball 13 times, the most of any Arsenal player apart from Jesus, was far from positive. So it was no surprise to see him finish with 77% passing accuracy, a far cry from Lewis Skelly's average this season.

There is no doubt that Calafiore will improve the more he settles into this Arsenal team, but he is overshadowed by the teenager's raw potential at the moment.

His time will come but for now, Arteta needs to hand over the left-back position to Lewis Skelly on a regular basis.

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