Tough start for Kiwior
After two months Jakub Kiwior had almost passed without a trace during his time at Arsenal. Aside from 45 minutes for the under-21s there had been precious little playing time for the Polish international who surprised us all with his speedy arrival in January from Spezia.
Thursday night was finally to be his time to shine though as Mikel Arteta opted to give him the nod. As he reflects on his first appearance on in Arsenal shirt though, Kiwior may have wished it had gone a little better.
Living up to the example that Gabriel has set is no mean feet, but Kiwior struggled to assert the same air of invincibility that the Brazilian has carried in recent weeks. Instead his positioning was questionable at times, and it appeared as though he was taking a while to still figure his teammates out. This is all totally forgivable on his first outing in nearly two months, but the nadir of a disappointing debut came in the concession of Sporting’s first goal.
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Fabio Vieira form, Arsenal set pieces and conceding simple goals
As the hosts’ corner was whipped in Kiwior failed to even challenge, allowing Goncalo Inacio a free header into the net. A mix up with Turner could easily have been to blame for that given the way the Pole seemed to actively not go for the cross, but Arteta certainly seemed frustrated with the outcome.
“I don’t know what it was,” the Spaniard said of the potential mix up in his post-match press conference. “It happened in a split second but for sure in that space somebody cannot have a free header and concede a goal.”
In fairness to Kiwior he did recover to have some positive moments, and that passing range that we saw in the 21s match was on display. Arteta’s penchant for centre halves who play on their stronger side means that if something were to happen to Gabriel then Kiwior would be the next in line to play, so throwing the Pole in here was the right call. He’ll learn from a relatively low stakes first appearance, and hopefully look to kick on to more convincing displays from here on out.
Vieira comes to Portugal and plays for Arsenal
Fabio Vieira would probably be lying if he said he was totally satisfied with how his first season has gone at Arsenal. Yes, he didn’t turn up at the Emirates expecting to supersede captain Martin Odegaard in the pecking order, but he probably would have expected to have made more than two Premier League starts by mid-March.
That’s why these Europa League games take on such a significance for the 22-year-old. With the limited opportunities he gets, he simply has to impress, and back in his home country Vieira did not disappoint.
Without necessarily producing an eye-catching moment the Portuguese youth international was a consistent presence around the edge of the Sporting box looking to make things happen. His corner for William Saliba’s goal was a well earned assist, and it was interesting to note his versatility as Arteta moved him into the false nine role later in the game. The Spaniard may have had a few words to say to him from the touchline after the position switch, but he was effusive in his praise after the game.
“Really happy with him,” Arteta said of Vieira. “I think he deserves more minutes than he’s had, especially in the last two months. Obviously he had a difficult start because we injured for two months after a surgery and wasn’t at the level that we want. You saw tonight he was probably our most dangerous player. He was always making things happen. He’s a player that I absolutely love.”
With the start at Brentford being followed up by this impressive performance, you do get the feeling Vieira’s time is coming. Arteta promised a long time ago that we would all grow to love him as much as he does. That time may have arrived sooner than we were all expecting just a few weeks ago.
Set piece problems
What was once an area of strength is quickly becoming an area of weakness for Arsenal. Prior to the World Cup they had conceded just once from set pieces. Since the tournament in Qatar they’ve let in five. This will be of particular concern to Mikel Arteta who bemoaned his side’s recently discovered penchant for conceding “simple goals”.
“Sometimes the opponents are really good at what they do,” he began. “When they get the delivery in the right space it’s just half a centimetre sometimes whether you get that header out of the box or it goes it.”
That defence could not really apply here though. It’s not as though Sporting looked to pummel Matt Turner’s box with an aerial bombardment. In fact, they only had three corners in the whole game. Instead Arsenal gifted Goncalo Inacio a free header in the box after a miscommunication between Turner and Jakub Kiwior. The fact that these issues are almost starting to become endemic in the Gunners defence was something that even Arteta was willing admit he’s concerned by. “It’s true that it’s something we must improve dramatically in the next few games if we want to keep winning,” the Spaniard added.
Arsenal can’t rely on their talented forward line to get them out of jail each week if they’re going to surrender such avoidable advantages to the opposition. Reiss Nelson provided them with a get out of jail free card on Saturday that avoided their set piece record coming into question, but with no late winning third goal coming this time, the set piece record is back under the microscope.
Nicolas Jover will undoubtedly point to the fact that it is very difficult to work on set piece routines with the limited time Arsenal have on the training ground at the minute. The Gunners will fly back to London Colney on Friday before training ahead of Fulham on Sunday. With this quick turnaround and a rotating cast of players due to different recovery times and injuries, working on something that is such a team effort is very tricky.
However, with a Premier League title on the line it’s the marginal gains that could make all the differences. Arsenal are still well placed to progress to the next round of the Europa League despite conceding another set piece goal, but if they don’t address the issue soon, they won’t keep getting away with it.
Shadow squad struggles
By his own admission Mikel Arteta has wanted to rotate more this season, but he has felt bound by the limitations of his squad. At times on Thursday night it was easy to see why.
With the six changes Arsenal made, they quickly began to look a long way off the levels that have earned them a five point lead at the top of the Premier League. Passes were sloppy, some positioning was poor and after just 10 minutes Arteta felt the need to use an injury to Sporting striker Paulinho as an opportunity to hold an impromptu team talk.
The Spaniard was understanding of the fact that this is to be expected with so many alterations, but it was easy to see the frustration simmering not too far beneath the surface at his side’s inability to achieve his high standards. “We made a lot of changes today and sometimes that takes time to get that cohesion,” he said. “You could feel it in the first 15 minutes that it needed some time to adapt and click.”
The drop off in tempo from Premier League to Europa League games has been noticeable all season, and with the diminished importance of the latter competition this season, most would probably accept that. But there will be a concern that the second string appear to be the source of such a drop off, particularly when you consider how much more control Arsenal had when Gabriel and Thomas Partey came on in the second half.
Between now and then end of the season, many of those who played at Estadio Alvalade will need to step up to aid Arsenal’s title charge. Many of the players who have started every game are looking a little fatigued – Bukayo Saka for example was largely anonymous on the night, while Ben White received an earful from Arteta for failing to sprint back into position as Sporting prepared to take a late goal kick. When these guys need time out, Arteta may question on the evidence of Thursday night, if he can risk giving it to them.
READ NEXT:
Arsenal wonderkids drafted in as Mikel Arteta is without senior stars for Sporting CP clash
Arsenal player ratings vs Sporting CP as Saliba and Vieira good, Kiwior mixed debut
Why Martin Odegaard and Kieran Tierney are absent for Arsenal vs Sporting CP Europa League tie
FA investigating Arsenal celebrations after last-minute Reiss Nelson winner vs Bournemouth
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium
