BLADES ACE JOHN FLECKS HIS MUSCLES
Arteta’s Gunners fail to get with the programme
ARSENAL 1 SHEFFIELD UNITED 1: PAGES 8 & 9
MIKEL ARTETA had warned his Arsenal stars that they couldn’t afford to switch off for ‘even two seconds’ in his programme notes.
And you have to imagine he’d said as much to them in the buildup to Sheffield United’s visit if only to save them reading them.
The message clearly hadn’t sunk in, because Chris Wilder’s men took advantage of a late secondhalf lapse to score their equaliser. John Fleck drilled a volley into the ground and it took the slightest of defections off Ainslie MaitlandNiles before bouncing over Bernd Leno and into the Arsenal goal.
The strike earned the Blades a point they didn’t really look like collecting from the moment Gabriel Martinelli, starting in place of the injured Reiss Nelson, put the Gunners ahead at the end of a dreary first half.
There had been the odd flash of skill from Nicolas Pepe to excite the home fans but other than that it was not a 45-minute period that will live long in the memory.
The same could be said of the second 45, too, to be fair, with the home side looking like they’d done just about enough to carve out a second
Premier League win in six games under
Arteta.
Instead, they ended up with their fourth draw and they nearly even snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when the ball fell to Oli McBurnie in a decent position.
But his effort was charged down and the Scot had no reason, this week, to raise his hands in the air.
Arteta argued his side should have had a penalty when Pepe went down under a challenge from Jack O’Connell.
Referee Mike Dean had waved play on and VAR ref Martin Atkinson agreed.
“It was very clear,” said Arteta when asked about it after the game.
Of the result, he added: “I’m very disappointed.
“The performance deserved three points, we lost two
points, but in the Premier League if you don’t put the game to bed you know in the last 10 or 15 minutes, these type of teams just need a long ball, a second ball and you can give the points away.”
It was the same against Crystal Palace last week and it was that which prompted Arteta’s programme notes.
So no wonder he was upset, and he said: “There is a history of that and it makes it even more [disappointing].
“In the Premier League, if you are 1-0 up in the last 10 or 15 minutes, be careful, because anything can happen.”
Blades boss Chris Wilder was as candid as ever with his assessment.
He said: “I didn’t think we were anywhere near our best — the result is better than our performance.
“It was one of our poorer performances with the ball. It wasn’t a game of real high quality, no one built up a momentum. I’m pleased we got point out if it. We always give ourselves an opportunity with our attitude of not rolling over.
“But we need to play a lot better than that for us to regularly pick up points.”
Arsenal took the lead when Mesut Ozil and Alex Lacazette combined to release Bukayo Saka and his cross fell kindly to Martinelli after a deflection.
But the visitors snatched a point when Billy Sharp headed on fellow sub Callum Robinson’s cross, and Fleck volleyed home a firm effort.