Arsenal confirm season-ending injury to Emery's only irreplaceable player

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Heading into this weekend’s do or die London derby against Chelsea there was no getting away from the dark clouds circling above Arsenal.

The Gunners, following their lifeless performance and 1-0 defeat at West Ham, again made headlines with reports suggesting their head of recruitment Sven Mislintat was set to depart the club – which was confirmed on Monday afternoon.

Unai Emery, and the club itself, were banking on a rebound. Their chances of finishing in the top four rested on it.

Chelsea, who occupied fourth spot, had a six-point lead over fifth-placed Arsenal with a resurgent Manchester United – who they face in the FA Cup in Friday – now level with the Gunners.

Thankfully for Arsenal fans, Unai Emery’s side completely suffocated Maurizio Sarri’s team and they collected all three points to close the gap on their London rivals.

But just as it seemed light would pierce through those dark clouds, they regathered even thicker than before. The ray of sun that seemed capable of shining through was the return of Hector Bellerin; his injury now the cause for the continued gloom.

Against Chelsea, Bellerin made his first start for Arsenal since being forced off at half-time during the 3-2 defeat to Southampton. 72 minutes later, he left the pitch on a stretcher with what has now been confirmed as a season-ending knee injury.

For those 72 minutes, however, it became abundantly clear to anyone that may not have realised – or simply forgotten –  how pivotal the Spaniard is to Emery’s system. His injury, therefore, was an instant reminder of how challenging the rest of the season will become.

But before we look at why chief Squawka writer Muhammad Butt’s description of Arsenal’s recent triumph as a ‘Pyrrhic victory’ was so perfect, it is important to document the events that preceded it.

Emery’s full-throttle full-backs

The Spanish full-back missed four consecutive matches due to the thigh injury suffered against the Saints – Burnley (home), Brighton & Hove Albion (away), Liverpool (away) and Fulham (home) – a run that saw Emery’s side collect seven points from 12 and concede eight goals.

In his absence, Sead Kolasinac was transformed into the most attacking full-back in the Premier League – but at a cost.

The Bosnian has created more ‘Big Chances’ than any defender in the league – his 0.6 per 90 minutes is the same as David Silva and Mohamed Salah – whilst also averaging more touches in the opposition box per 90 than any other full-back.

However, such was Arsenal’s emphasis on overloading the left-hand side, Kolasinac became a predictable outlet and, more importantly, a volatile one. In fact, Arsenal’s clean sheet against Chelsea was just the second in the Premier League this season with Kolasinac in the side, the other coming against Huddersfield.

Whether in a back four or being deployed at wing-back, Emery was incapable of balancing the side in a way that allowed Kolasinac maraud forward without leaving gaping spaces in behind the Arsenal defence. As a result, the Gunners became so lopsided and over-reliant on their tank to blow holes in the opposition defence that they pressed the self-destruct button in the process.

This is where Bellerin comes in.

“Perfectly balanced… as all things should be”

Now, whilst not achieving Thanos-level equilibrium, the Spaniard’s presence in the team is the perfect counter-balance to their Bosnian Hulk.

It should not come as a surprise that Bellerin also started the aforementioned games against Huddersfield and Chelsea. It may come as a surprise that Arsenal have not lost a league game under Emery when both Bellerin and Kolasinac have started. It will definitely come as a surprise that those seven games include the following:

  • Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea
  • Manchester United 2-2 Arsenal
  • Arsenal 4-2 Spurs
  • Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool

Unquestionably Arsenal’s most attacking options for the full-back role, Kolasinac and Bellerin are as vital in executing Emery’s plan when out of possession as they are to his side’s use of it – hence the success when using them the pair against stronger teams.

Not only does this full-back duo offer the width and ‘creativity’ so desperately lacking within the Arsenal squad, but their eagerness to push forward also pushes their teammates up the pitch, allowing for the intense pressing traps we saw against Chelsea to be sprung more often.

With Maitland-Niles in Bellerin’s place, this becomes inconsistent. With Lichtsteiner in Bellerin’s place, this becomes impossible.

The former is a centre-midfielder-cum-winger-cum-emergency-full-back that has become a victim of his versatility, losing the instincts that made him an exciting player. The latter is a 35-year-old who is in steep decline and no longer able to offer any tangible benefits to the side when on the pitch, despite his obvious wisdom off it – his trophy cabinet is enough to make anyone blush.

This is an issue.

No Bellerin? No huge problem

Emery’s focus on using his full-backs to create overloads – therefore promoting them to chief chance creators – looks brilliant when he has his preferred options available. The problem exists when they are not available (an issue only exacerbated by not having Arsenal’s most creative player by a distance at least on the bench to compensate).

Current status of preferred options being available: not.

Without diving too much into what can be seen in the above graphic, one thing is clear.

Although the difference between Nacho Monreal and Kolasinac is relatively large, this is because of how good the Bosnian’s output is. The alarming conclusion is that Emery’s go-to replacement for Bellerin is near-ineffectual.

With Bellerin in the team, the Gunners are able to attack down both flanks confidently, creating the cut-back opportunities that have seen their first-choice full-back duo provide eight assists between them – Watford’s Holebas is the only defender with more than Bellerin’s five, and the Greek left-back takes set-pieces.

With Lichsteiner in the team, Arsenal become lopsided and rely too much on their left-hand side because of how wasteful and blunt the Swiss is.

Even if Emery realises this and anoints Maitland-Niles as Bellerin’s heir, the 21-year-old has been underwhelming as an understudy, as to be expected given his constant position changes.

In simple terms, Bellerin is the only player in the Arsenal squad Emery cannot currently replace.

For the first 72 minutes against Chelsea, Arsenal fans were ready to feel positive about what could become of their season as Bellerin bombarded down the right – his role in Alexandre Lacazette’s opener ensured his season ended with a personal best-equalling five assists in the Premier League this season.

By the final whistle, however, an enormous victory was tainted by the dread of how bad the Spaniard’s injury would be.

Today, their worst fears became reality: Hector Bellerin’s season is over and with it, Arsenal’s could be too.

The post Why the season-ending injury to irreplaceable Hector Bellerin is catastrophic for Arsenal appeared first on Squawka News.



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