Arsenal suffered a first loss of their pre-season schedule on Wednesday night, as Real Betis defeated Mikel Arteta's men in Dublin.
A mismatch of players started for the Gunners at the Aviva Stadium, and this dysfunction was ultimately reflected in the performance and result. Betis ran out 3-1 winners , courtesy of first half goals from Rodrigo Riquelme , Nelson Deossa and Pablo Fornals , cancelling out Piero Hincapie 's close range header.
Kepa Arrizabalaga , named in the starting eleven in David Raya 's absence, has come under criticism for his display, with many urging Arteta to dip into the market and acquire a more adequate back-up goalkeeper.
The Spanish shot-stopper certainly produced a calamitous performance on the night, making a dreadful error for Betis' opening goal. That said, in the grand scheme of things, Kepa's struggles aren't a huge concern for Arsenal, assuming he plays a similar number of minutes next season to last.
However, one man's showing might well have concerned Gunners supporters and Arteta.
Ethan Nwaneri is under pressure to perform throughout this pre-season. The Hale End graduate endured a torrid loan spell at Marseille in the back half of last season and has returned to North London with rife speculation regarding his future.
All signs point to an exit, or at least a temporary one, although exceptional displays in these friendly matches could still prompt a rethink for Arteta and the key decision-makers at the Emirates. Unfortunately for Nwaneri, he did nothing against Betis to spark a reassessment of his status in the Spaniard's ensemble.
The midfielder saw plenty of the ball in his 77 minutes on the pitch, but did very little with it. He had 50 touches, but turned this into just one successful dribble and one speculative blocked shot. For a player whose standout attribute when he broke into the first team was beating a man off the dribble and then ripping powerful shots off, this isn't a good sign.
| Nwaneri's statistics vs Real Betis |
Stats via FotMob |
|---|---|
| Touches |
50 |
| Acccurate Passes |
31/36 (86%) |
| Shots |
1 |
| Successful Dribbles |
1/2 (50%) |
| Chances Created |
1 |
| Touches in Opposition Box |
3 |
| Passes into Final Third |
4 |
Arteta is clearly looking for Nwaneri to demonstrate that he is capable of playing a more 'mature' game that displays more traditional midfielder traits like ball progression and defensive work. However, this seems to have had an adverse effect on the 19-year-old .
He looks to be trying so hard to adhere to his coach's expectations, that he's playing within himself and not expressing the qualities that made him so exciting in the first place.
It's possible that this is over-analysing a performance that is mostly about building fitness, but ultimately for Nwaneri, this is his opportunity to stake a claim and he's not doing it so far in this pre-season.
Nwaneri is being linked with a move away , with RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund mooted as a potential suitors. Arsenal are reportedly looking to implement a buy-back clause into the deal, which may result in them settling for a reduced price - and this will no doubt cause a meltdown amongst Gunners supporters.
Unfortunately for the youngster, there isn't an obvious path to minutes for him in Arteta's team. Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze are going nowhere this summer, while Max Dowman is arguably ahead of him in the pecking order at the moment, on the right wing and in the number ten position.
On a given matchday, if Arteta has everyone fit and available, it's difficult to envisage Nwaneri even making the bench. Unless he pulls up trees in the next few pre-season matches, then this is unlikely to change.
This peripheral role in the squad won't do anyone any favours. Not only will Nwaneri's development stall, but Arsenal will be damaging a valuable asset. They either have to sanction his permenant departure for a significant fee - either without a buy-back clause or a depressed sum with one - or let him leave on loan and reassess the situation in 12 months' time.
This article was originally published on www.paininthearsenal.com as Forget Kepa, a different Arsenal star's performance vs Real Betis was more concerning .
