Hits & misses: Wasteful Haaland, toothless Arsenal, advantage Liverpool

Toothless Arsenal crying out for Odegaard return

Mikel Arteta said before the game that his Arsenal team thrive when they “show their teeth”. Instead, this was a toothless display on the road.

One shot on target, none from open play and Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope was not required to make a save all game. Arsenal’s attack went completely missing.

The Gunners created 1.11 expected goals, so should have found the net at St James’ Park. But the vast majority of the total came from Mikel Merino’s blocked shot and Declan Rice’s late miss. For long periods of the game, Arsenal failed to break down Newcastle’s mid-block and they were missing something.

It appears that if Arsenal have any ambitions to win the Premier League title, or even challenge for it, then Martin Odegaard needs to return from injury quickly. Even after missing the last six weeks of the season, the Arsenal captain has more chances created from open play than any top-flight player.

Odegaard would have provided that killer touch Arsenal missed at Newcastle. He may return in midweek for Inter Milan, but has his reintroduction to the side come too late?
Sam Blitz

Another off-day for misfiring Haaland

Do not adjust your screens: Erling Haaland is officially the most wasteful Premier League striker right now.

It seems wild to be saying that about a striker who has scored 14 goals in 14 games in all competitions so far this season, but the stats do not lie.

Following Man City’s shock defeat to Bournemouth, the Norwegian striker has now missed six big chances in five matches since September 28. He has just one goal in that period.

Haaland is the most under-performing Premier League player in terms of Expected Goals since that date – by quite some distance. Team-mate Bernardo Silva is third on that list.

He had the chance to score a leveller as City applied intense pressure deep into stoppage time, but his header was saved by Cherries goalkeeper Mark Travers. To add insult to injury, he put his rebound onto the post from point-blank range. The first effort had an xG of 0.21, the second one had an xG of 0.35.

It was an off-day all round and a reminder that Haaland is, in fact, human. But City could do with him returning to his robotic best sharpish.
Dan Long

Pumped-up Newcastle bruise flat Arsenal again

Twice in the second half, Newcastle players celebrated successful defensive actions as if they had scored a goal. Bruno Guimaraes winning a throw-in – cue exuberant fist pumps. Joelinton outmuscling Gabriel at the far post – bring on the roar in front of thousands of baying home fans.

This was the kind of Newcastle performance that has made Eddie Howe’s side such a tough nut to crack during most of his time in charge – and also served to remind us what they had been missing during a five-game winless run.

The Magpies had been too easy to run through, too easy to score against and too easy to overpower for much of this campaign. But this all changed against Arsenal, who have now suffered defeat – and failed to score – on three of their last four visits to St James’ Park.

Newcastle seem to relish taking on Arteta’s side, embracing the opportunity to frustrate, battle and bruise their title-chasing opponents. Maintain this level, and Howe’s outfit will be back in the mix for the top four.
Joe Shread

Semenyo shows why he has top six suitors

On Saturday morning, we reported Liverpool were scouting Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, with the Ghana international seen as a potential replacement for Mohamed Salah, should he leave Anfield when his contract ends at the end of the season.

Many will have already been aware of what the forward is capable of producing on a regular basis, but against Man City, he put himself in the spotlight.

Semenyo was a constant thorn in City’s side, both defensively – he won eight of his nine ground duels and 100 per cent of his tackles – and in an attacking sense, with one goal from four shots, three chances created and numerous bursts forward on the counter.

Semenyo – who was playing for Bath in the National League South in 2017/18 – has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water over the past two seasons and, at 24, still has plenty of room to improve. Whether that is at Bournemouth remains to be seen.
Dan Long

Alexander-Arnold becoming the full package

The speed at which Arne Slot has got to work at Liverpool has been impressive – none more so than his work with Trent Alexander-Arnold. His defensive work, often criticised in the past, has been one of the standout aspects of Liverpool’s amazing start to the season.

While he remains a creative force, his role has changed under Slot. Ryan Gravenberch’s introduction in midfield has allowed the Liverpool boss to use Alexander-Arnold more like a conventional full-back and he’s answering the call. One of the toughest tests a full-back can undertake in the Premier League is a game against Karou Mitoma but Alexander-Arnold stood strong throughout.

His tackle count of nine was the most made by a player in any game this season in the Premier League while Mitoma only completed three of his eight dribbles in the game.
Lewis Jones

Forest for top four – why not?

It is all going right for Forest, currently. Chris Wood has transformed himself into one of the most lethal strikers in the top flight of English football and the team have ascended into the top three of the Premier League.

The sky is the limit for this side. They have heaps of quality surrounding their in-form striker and showed that through Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ola Aina and the talent they called upon from the bench.

You would be naive to think this was just a purple patch of form – we’ve seen that sides like Aston Villa can challenge top teams for Champions League football, so why can’t Forest be the latest to do this?

They have all the necessary components at the ready and continue to churn out performances and results against solid opponents.

The upcoming meetings against Newcastle and Arsenal will be crucial in determining what the ceiling for this team really is.
Patrick Rowe

West Ham must improve across all areas

It was a third formation change of the season from Julen Lopetegui, as he returned to the 3-4-3 he used during the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea.

In the early stages of the game, it looked as if the combination of Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos could keep the in-form Wood quiet after he was limited to just eight touches in the first 25 minutes.

However, the Forest forward nodded in the opener moments later and it was not long before West Ham were reduced to 10 players and the game spiralled out of their control.

Lopetegui was quick to point out after the game that the result did not solely fall on the shoulders of Alvarez and instead looked at his team as a collective by insisting they must be better across all fronts. And he was right.

West Ham started well but unravelled even before the red card. If they are to prevent this season from petering out into mid-table mediocrity – or something much worse – they have to improve across all areas.

At the moment, they seem like a team lacking direction.
Patrick Rowe

Needless Phillips red costs Ipswich dearly as long wait for top-flight win continues

It would have been a long 20 minutes in the Portman Road dressing room for Ipswich Town’s on-loan midfielder Kalvin Phillips after his sending-off helped turn the match on its head against Leicester City.

Until that point, Kieran McKenna’s side were in complete control and cruising to a first league win since their promotion back to the Premier League, but for the second week in a row a lack of discipline cost them dear.

Last week, it was Harry Clarke’s dismissal that acted as spur for Brentford to go on and win a seven-goal thriller with a 96th-minute strike at the Gtech to break Ipswich hearts.

Fast forward a week and this time it was the far more experienced Phillips who let his team down, forcing them to paly out the final 20-odd minutes a player short in Suffolk and, boy, did the Foxes take advantage.

The visitors should already have been level, but for a sensational goal-line clearance from Cameron Burgess to deny that man Ayew with two minutes to go, although the substitute was not to be denied, levelling matters in the fourth minute of stoppage-time as the Tractor Boys’ wait for a top-flight win, which stretches back to April 2002, continues.
Richard Morgan

Saints win papers over cracks

Southampton claimed their first league victory and clean sheet in 10 attempts, but they will struggle to earn many more with similar performances.

The hosts controlled possession, as usual, yet were second-best to Everton in all the attacking stats apart from final third entries.

Instead, the big Beto moments went Southampton’s way. Jan Bednarek’s foul on the striker, who then missed from five yards and had a late equaliser ruled out followed instinctive saves by goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale – Southampton’s Player of the Match.

Russell Martin praised his side for “sticking with what we want to be and who we want to be” although their struggle is likely to continue.
David Richardson