Soccer
  • Home
  • Football
  • Arsenal News: Gunners Lacked 'Spark And Creativity' In Goalless Burnley Draw, Says Arteta

Arsenal news: Gunners lacked 'spark and creativity' in goalless Burnley draw, says Arteta

Arsenal mustered 20 shots at home to Burnley on Sunday afternoon, but couldn't find the breakthrough they needed.

Arsenal knew three points on Sunday afternoon would've temporarily lifted them above north London rivals Tottenham in the Premier League table.

However, the Gunners were unable to find the back of the net against a stubborn Burnley side.

It was the Clarets' first Premier League clash since their trip to Leeds United on January 2, and their extended break seemed to give them enough energy to keep out Arsenal's offence.

Meanwhile for Arsenal, the clash came just days after their Carabao Cup loss to Liverpool, and Mikel Arteta thinks a busy schedule has had an effect on his players.

"We started slow, we looked leggy and didn't have enough rhythm or intention to attack the way we wanted," said Arteta.
"We started to play better, more rhythm and threat and came out in the second half completely different.
"We tried in every different way but lacked the quality in the final third. At the end, when we have a really low block, you need spark and creativity to win football matches and today we didn't do that.
"It is what they do, they want to play a slow game, it takes long, it is their game and you have to respect that."
The Gunners came under fire recently when they called off their game against Spurs just days after letting Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Folarin Balogun, Sead Kolasinac and Pablo Mari leave.

It's thinned Arteta's squad, with midfield a particular concern for the Spaniard. However, when asked about any potential incomings, Arteta said it'd be "difficult" to complete any deals this month.

"It's what we planned, but the market is difficult, it's complicated," he said.
"We knew that, but it's a lot to manage and we have to make the right decisions with players that we believe are going to really help us and try to bring in ones that can take us to the next level.
"We are certainly trying, but I don't know if we're going to be able to do it. Let's see, it's not only our intention, but a lot of facts that are needed to happen.
"Players that come here have to be able to take us to the next level. We already have a level, and we want to see much better standards than we already have, and that is how we're going to recruit."
The draw means Arsenal are still yet to win in 2022, and with their top four hopes quickly dwindling, fans will be keen to see an addition or two to Arteta's squad.
As for Burnley, their hard-earned point will go far in their survival scrap, with the Clarets currently sat bottom of the table on 12 points.
However, with so many postponements in recent weeks, they have multiple games in hand on all their relegation rivals, so survival is certainly not off the cards yet.

Manager Sean Dyche is hopeful that their resilient performance in London will be something to build on as his side prepare for a hectic schedule.

"It is a building block, you want to move in the right direction, we just felt it was appropriate to get them right back to the basics," he said.
"It gives us a nice platform to keep building on that performance because I thought the mentality and the performance was spot on coming to a place like this.
"With all the situations around the performance today, it has been very, very difficult. We have only had a group we can work with in the last two days because we didn't have the bodies.
"We had to work hard when they had the ball and we did that, it is the mentality for me. We have had players missing, players training and two or three who were out there today who wouldn't be in a normal set of circumstances."

READ MORE: Manchester United news: Ralf Rangnick urges Rashford to find 'continuity' after bagging late winner

More Articles