Atalanta 0-0 Arsenal:We created NOTHING tonight! - Raya SAVED US!

There was no Martin Odegaard. Did you Arsenal fans, including myself, really expect there to be any level of creativity on the park against Atalanta today? Of course you didn't. As you can see above my head, Atalanta nil, Arsenal nil. Now what I would say to counteract the initial point, when Odegaard's been there, no disrespect to Odegaard or his teammates, we haven't been at our fluid best. There has been a creation issue and in fact this time, last season, we had that. Now Arteta has to find ways around it. Kai Havertz cannot create. No disrespect to him because he was one of our better players. You just haven't got that. Declan Rice, you've grabbed the opportunity to be at eight with both hands. You're just never going to be Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Steven Gerrard, etc. And Mikel Arteta has to utilise these players to their strengths or find solutions around not having Martin Odegaard, which I think, as much as I think it's a big thing, it's a cop-out. Martinelli should have had a goal at least today and has missed two chances, but literally it's another game where we're remembering the same handful of chances. We're not creating at mass lengths. We're not really creating. And it's a weird one because Atalanta have won the Europa League. Yes, they're ninth currently in Serie A, but Gasparini is a very good manager. They've got a very good team. They won the Europa League. It is the Champions League. In terms of Europe, travelling away from home, definitely in the last couple of periods under Mikel Arteta has been a bit difficult. So our point is something to move with considering we've got PSG next. I don't know, but it's not the worst. If you can't win, don't lose. It was a low-key affair. You look at the first half, we had five shots, two on target. They had two shots, none on target. By the end of the game, obviously, if I look at the statistics in front of me, people, they had eight shots. We had six. Both teams had two on target. Possession was 46% to 54%, which they had. We had 433 passes. They had 497. We had two corners. They had four. So it was a low-key affair and it draws probably the fairest result. But if you look at the fact that we saved the penalty, they had the better chances. Partey clearly dropping off a level physically, but why is he even there? What's going on with the shape? Second half, we went down the toilet really and truly. I think we struggled to create, struggled to get a foothold in it. First half, I think we did all right. I think Jesus looked, quote-unquote, kind of fresh. I think Havertz was doing well. I think we were doing well in the defensive in the middle third. It's just breaking lines, picking locks, really asking questions of their defence or goalie was something we struggled with. Apart from Saka's effort from a dead ball in the free kick, Martinelli shooting the ball over the bar, we didn't create enough and we haven't created enough. You have to beg the question, is this a direct consequence of what we didn't do in the summer? Now, talking about the transfer market in the summer is irrelevant. Focusing on January is irrelevant. This is what we've got at our disposal. I was shocked to see Martinelli play as many minutes as he did. I would have loved to have seen Ethan get at least the last 10 minutes. It wasn't to be said, but I think I'm really unhappy with the second half. First half, I think we were intercepting high. I think we were nicking the ball back. I don't think we were amazing on the ball, but everyone looked confident. You know, Reyes kicks for the runners in Havertz on occasion, Jesus on occasion, Reyes on occasion. It wasn't working because we didn't score, but we were getting away with it. We just needed to create chances, man, and we needed to ask questions of the goalie, which fundamentally we didn't do today. I can move with a point. If you can't win, don't lose. We got away with it with the penalty being missed. Obviously, on paper, there's a lot of Champions League games to play. It makes our job a bit tougher, but we move people. I'm disappointed in that regard, but nonetheless, smash the like button. Let me know your thoughts. Like, comment and subscribe. That's all I've got to say.