Arsenal: £110k-p/w dud with fewer touches than Raya had a ‘disaster’ vs Spurs

Arsenal: £110k-p/w dud with fewer touches than Raya had a ‘disaster’ vs Spurs

Arsenal continued their unbeaten start to the season on Sunday afternoon but once the full time whistle blew in the north London derby, it didn’t feel like that. In fact, it felt like a defeat.

Fans, players and coaching staff alike were left dejected having only taken one point from their game with Spurs.

The Gunners were electrifying in the opening half an hour of the game but would only come away from proceedings with a 2-2 draw.

Bukayo Saka’s deflected effort, later adjudged to have been an own goal by Cristian Romero opened proceedings before Heung-min Son steered home from close range as the break was approaching.

Saka was again at the heart of proceedings in the second half, firing home a penalty after the aforementioned Romero was involved again, this time being penalised for a handball.

ARSENAL TAKE THE LEAD IN THE NORTH LONDON DERBY 🔴 🎙️ “It’s been coming and it’s been coming down this side with Saka!” pic.twitter.com/HLOhJetcEA — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 24, 2023
However, Son once again stepped up when it mattered as just moments later Ange Postecoglou’s rejuvenated outfit equalised for a second time.

For Mikel Arteta, it was a hugely costly error from Jorginho, a substitute for the injured Declan Rice, that was the deciding moment.

What happened to Declan Rice against Spurs?
The £105m summer signing has been nothing short of phenomenal this term, proving himself to be a real ball-winning monster in the middle of the park.

His ability to make a recovery is second to very few, so when he didn’t appear for the second half, alarm bells rang.

Surely Arteta wasn’t bringing off the club’s record signing at half time in their most important game of the season? It turns out there was a reason.

Rice was restricted to the bench due to a calf problem that had to be strapped up. The hope is that he won’t be on the sidelines for an extended period.

Indeed, the club’s injury troubles are beginning to mount now. Rice’s midfield colleague in Thomas Partey has been out for a few weeks, while Gabriel Martinelli hobbled off a week ago against Everton and Leandro Trossard sustained an injury in training.

What did Jorginho do wrong against Spurs?
The injury blow to Rice was alarming but had he stayed on the pitch, it’s likely Arsenal would be walking away from the contest with all three points.

Saka had only just put Arteta’s side in front for a second time before straight from kick-off, Jorginho lost the ball to James Maddison.

The Italian got the ball caught under his feet and as he tried to play out, was robbed of possession.

Only William Saliba was left behind the former Chelsea star, but not even a man of his defensive quality could stop the Spurs attack.

Maddison raced through the centre and then played in Son who cooly slotted past David Raya in the Arsenal goal.

The result was perhaps cruel on the Spaniard who had made a remarkable save, straight from the David Seaman textbook in the first half, to deny Brennan Johnson.

Arteta was quick to rush to the defence of his January signing after the game, suggesting he still loved Jorginho, but there will be few fans feeling the same affection.

Filling in for Rice is never going to be an easy task. As soon as he went off the lack of physicality and indeed the alarming space in the middle of the pitch was laid bare.

The £110k-per-week midfielder tried his best to get on the ball, making 38 touches, just four fewer than the ball-playing Raya despite 45 fewer minutes on the pitch.

That said, he could only win 50% of his defensive duels. Rice, by comparison, didn’t have his best game in that regard with a 60% win rate, but his mere presence did enough to provoke Maddison into playing a deeper role. He had no such difficulty against Jorginho, as he pushed forward more often, notably for the second equaliser.

One Arsenal journalist, Connor Humm, even went as far as to describe his performance as a “disaster”.

That was rather apt for a shoddy performance in which Jorginho truly struggled with the pace of the game. Against a side who enjoy less possession, the Italy international will be no problem at all. However, in this type of match, his lack of energy was and will be a huge concern.

Matt is the senior editor of one of Snack Media’s flagship websites, Football FanCast.

Having graduated from the University of Huddersfield in 2018 following a course in Sports Journalism, he began at Snack eight months or so later as part of the writing team. Although a huge Arsenal fan, he has covered a wealth of clubs from Leeds United to Celtic and Sunderland, with his footballing knowledge covering vast reaches. After a spell as assistant editor to FFC, Matt then became chief editor of the site in late 2021.

His experience counts work at the Press Association, where he was featured on Sky Sports & The Daily Mail. Before arriving at Snack, he was first the Arsenal editor at VAVEL, before becoming the site’s Premier League editor. Matt has added experience in club media too, having worked with Chesterfield FC during the 2017/18 season.

Also boasting a love for broadcast media, his voice has been heard across Love Sport Radio, Arsenal Fan TV and various football podcasts.