Arsenal without captain Martin Ødegaard is struggling and Erling Braut Haaland without a well-oiled machine is squandering chances.
On Saturday’s 3-0 win at the Emirates over Nottigham Forest, we once again saw an Arsenal team that can beat anyone. – In time for Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with in-form Sporting at the Estádio José Alvalade.
There is no quick fix for Manchester City, they will have to wait until the winter window opens to get Premier League top scorer Erling Braut Haaland, who has become less and less effective to function optimally again. Sky Sports has highlighted him as the player who has underperformed the most in relation to xG (expected goals) in the Premier League since mid-September.
Read: Jamie Carragher uses Martin Ødegaard to show Liverpool’s challenge in midfield
Over the weekend, it became very clear. Tottenham won 0 – 4 and Haaland’s inefficiency is among several challenges for City manager Pep Guardiola. The Norwegian had seven finishes in the game.
Tottenham were naturally pleased.
In the period since September 15, Haaland has played eight games in the league and scored three goals. Sky Sports’ stats say that during these games, he has had an xG of 7.04 goals. This means that Haaland has statistically scored 4.04 fewer goals than he should have based on his chances. 14 players have scored more goals than him since mid-September.
The one who has wasted the second most chances is Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. On the Sky Sports stats, he ends up at -2.69 in goals measured against xG. This is followed by Adama Traoré (Fulham) with -1.76, Anthony Gordon (Newcastle) with -1.5 and Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) with -1.45.
Haaland statistics autumn 2024:
- Premier League: 12 games, 12 goals
- Community Shield: 1 game, 0 goals
- Champions League: 4 games, 3 goals
- Nations League (with Norway): 6 games, 7 goals
- Total: 23 games, 22 goals
Pep Guardiola suffered a fifth defeat in a row for the first time in his managerial career. Manchester City have struggled since Ballon d’Or winner Rodri suffered an ACL injury in September. When Mateo Kovacic also picked up an injury during the international break, Guardiola opted to field 20-year-old Rico Lewis in midfield alongside veteran Ilkay Gundogan to try and cushion City’s disastrous form.
But the pair’s combination only proved to combine inexperience with a star in decline, which led to disastrous consequences and City fell five points off leaders Liverpool who then added another three points after the win against Southampton.
City only made two signings during the summer in young winger Savinho and the returning presence of Gundogan, but neither of them has yet to produce the impact expected of them.
The failure to add sufficient quality in depth despite warning signs seems to be costing City as they continue their worst form in more than 18 years.
Despite being the world’s richest owners, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal have spent more over the last five seasons, while their net spending is still only the eighth highest of any Premier League team in that time frame.
However, Manchester City have chosen to pursue younger and untested talents in recent years, with Erling Braut Haaland’s arrival in 2022 perhaps the last time a true superstar was signed.
The quality in depth outside the club’s core has shrunk to the point where Guardiola regularly fields inexperienced academic youngsters on the bench, while even elite stars like Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker have started to regress with their fitness and reliability.
Still, City have failed to build a succession plan to their aging stars, which led to Gundogan effectively replacing himself when he returned to the club this summer after a season at Barcelona.
And the 34-year-old has looked like a shell of his former self, asking the question why City failed to sign a top-quality replacement for him or integrate signings like Matheus Nunes properly.
Having seen Real Madrid experience a similar situation this season, it could be argued that this is simply the end of the cycle that all elite clubs eventually reach, especially when stars like De Bruyne eventually move on.
Guardiola’s new contract this week means that the Spaniard will be tied to a tenth year at the club, but his biggest challenge yet will be to rebuild the squad to ensure that his high standards do not continue to fall as they seem to have done so far.
