arsenal entered their FA Cup In the third round clash with old rival Manchester United, they knew that not everything was going to be in their favour.

This word has always been a word of doom. From red cards against Brighton, Bournemouth and Manchester City Martin OdegaardAn ankle injury in September and a heartbreaking hamstring injury for Bukayo Saka.

Mikel Arteta He has coached some great games this season but failed to push the boundaries on several occasions due to circumstances.

Well, in football you can also make your own luck, something the Gunners have failed to achieve in either of their two cup games in recent days. The Londoners created a flurry of chances against Newcastle United Kai Havertz The most notable was a missed header from a few yards out.

The Red Devils beat Manchester United on penalties on Sunday and it was the same story. Arsenal were denied some great chances.

Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring but Gabriel equalized for the home side after Diogo Dalot was sent off. From that moment on, Arteta’s side were unable to score and paid the price for their wasted shots, losing 5-3 on penalties.

The aforementioned Havertz is perhaps the biggest culprit at the Emirates Stadium.

Kai Havertz’s stats against Manchester United

Arsenal have been in need of a striker since January last year. Havertz eventually went on Scored 8 goals and provided 7 assists Play as center forward at the end of the 2023/24 season.

However, the Gunners enter the summer window once again in need of a centre-forward. They didn’t get one and once again had faith in the Germans.

Scored four goals in the first seven games In the league, the decision looks like the right one.

However, a year on and while their woes in front of goal are looking dire, things are not much better for Arsenal. In fact, this time, they looked worse.

There is no doubt that the board must strengthen the squad this month, otherwise this group of players may experience a particularly bumpy end to the season.

That’s because Havertz is starting to show once again why so many are questioning his £65m summer acquisition 2023. For the most part, the former Chelsea man has ignored his critics, but in the past two games he has shown why he can’t be trusted to lead the team long-term.

If his defeat against Thun a few days ago was bad, his performance against Ruben Amorim’s side was even worse.

In fact, his shot was only a few yards away but things got even worse towards the end of the game when the ball unexpectedly fell into the Germany international’s hands from close range. Did he score? Of course not. Remarkably, his shot went over the crossbar.

Going into the shootout lacking confidence, it was perhaps no surprise to see him miss the penalty. He was the only player to miss out. This is decisive.

As it happened, another player missed a penalty in normal time. That’s the captain.

Martin Odegaard’s stats against Manchester United

Last season, Odegaard was an outstanding member of the Arsenal team. He is a key component, Contributed 11 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. Along with Saka, they caused havoc on the right, stranding teams and ensuring opposition defenders begged them for mercy.

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Well, this time it’s a little different. In fact, the situation is very different. Odegaard is yet to score in an open game in 2024/25, with his best form still some way off since returning from a 12-game layoff due to an ankle injury.

His poor form showed no signs of abating against Manchester United on Sunday, and it was his missed penalty that prevented Arsenal from progressing in normal time.

After Harry Maguire was adjudged to have tripped Havertz, the Norwegian stepped up but was denied by a powerful tackle from substitute goalkeeper Altay Baindil. This is the first penalty Odegaard has missed in his career so far.

These things may happen, but he as Aaron Catson-Reid of The Athletic noted on the gamehis set pieces were “bad” for the most part. Now, it takes some effort to meet Saka’s corner kick from the right, but judging from the few passes he made into the box, not many were successful.

Although the skipper completed ten key passes, eight more than any other player on the pitch, there wasn’t much real significance to those passes apart from Declan Rice’s header in the second half, which he Should have scored from it.

To make matters worse, Odegaard conceded the ball 27 times, more than any outfield player, and was unable to shoot, much to the dismay of the Emirates Stadium crowd.

He took three shots in the game and only one was on target, but the 26-year-old repeatedly received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, choosing to pass the ball to his teammates rather than shoot. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him give lower player ratings after games. Give a goal of 5/10 Former Madridista.

It was clear that the Norway international, like many of his team-mates, lacked confidence.

Two cup defeats in as many days won’t help, but some new signings will certainly help. If Arsenal are to salvage anything from this season, the team needs to strengthen, and it needs to strengthen quickly. Stan Kroenke leaves it to you.

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