Online Reporter
EBERECHI EZE usually becomes Superman when winter turns into spring.
The England midfielder, whose stats around this time with Crystal Palace were always sensational, also found his best form for Arsenal during March.
Yet April is the time of the season when things generally go a bit wobbly for Mikel Arteta.
That is often linked with injuries to players, so it is ironic that even Eze lost his superpowers and went into this month on the sidelines with a calf injury.
Eze, 27, returned on Saturday, coming off the bench against Bournemouth, although he could not stop the Gunners from delivering their worst performance of the season by some distance.
Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino were all still missing which underlines the North London club’s fitness curse, particularly in the last few weeks of a campaign.
Even the ones playing regularly look exhausted. Martin Zubimendi was awful against the Cherries and looks knackered.
This fourth Premier League loss of the season posed more questions relating to why Arteta’s teams keep going off the boil in April. It is not a coincidence. Arsenal have no time to dwell on this shock defeat as they host Sporting in the quarter-final second leg on Wednesday, trying to protect a slender 1-0 Champions League lead.
That came courtesy of Kai Havertz’s injury-time winner in Portugal, even though they did not play particularly well, and judging by Sporting’s lack of firepower in the final third, Arteta’s men should reach the last four.
Yet Sunday’s trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City is looming and it is a game which could define Arteta’s spell. If the Gunners lose, then one of the most spectacular title collapses of all time would be a real possibility. So what is it about April? Just look at the previous five seasons.
Two years ago, things were not so bad in the Premier League but the Gunners were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich.
But on too many occasions in April, the time Arsenal needed to be consistent, wins have turned into draws and draws have ended up as defeats.
This is the time when managers — such as Arne Slot at Liverpool last season — change their training to reduce the intensity. It seems as though this is not the case at the Emirates, as fatigue and injuries continue to play a part.
And those who were on the pitch appeared flat and tired against a fresh- looking and impressive Bournemouth, who have obviously had a much lighter schedule with fewer games.
The Gunners have finished second in each of the previous three seasons and surely history will not repeat itself. The title is still in their hands, though.
Equally, the 2-0 loss to City in the Carabao Cup final, the 2-1 defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final and this result on Saturday suggests that, maybe, the team is also mentally fragile and not dealing with the pressure.
Arteta denies this. But his players look anxious — it spreads to the stands — and this falls on the manager. So have Arsenal also become tactically predictable? Cherries chief Andoni Iraola worked out how to press Arsenal keeper David Raya with the ball at his feet and the Spaniard struggled as the visitors blocked his options.
Junior Kroupi reached double figures with a close-range effort but Viktor Gyokeres grabbed goal No 18 for the season from the penalty spot after Ryan Christie’s handball.
Yet the Cherries tore Arsenal apart for the winner, with Alex Scott sweeping the ball past Raya and they are now unbeaten in 12 Prem matches.
Leandro Trossard, who replaced the anonymous Gabriel Martinelli for the Gunners, admitted: “It just wasn’t good enough and everyone knows that.
“We are the first who have to look in the mirror now and keep going. We have to be confident of the title but this is a tough result and we have to take it in. We have a big game in midweek and we have to keep going.” — Sun
