Video: As Arteta speaks out on Arsenal’s midfielder chase (& Tavares sub), target Bruno Guimaraes bags gorgeous Lyon assist
On the same night that Mikel Arteta spoke out over Arsenal’s pursuit of reinforcements in the middle of the park, a rumoured target on the part of the Gunners provided a timely reminder of his immense talents in France.
Grabban the difference
Arteta’s troops were back in action earlier this evening.
After slipping to a disappointing defeat at the hands of Manchester City last time out, the north Londoners made the trip to the City Ground, kicking their FA Cup campaign into gear in a meeting with Nottingham Forest.
Unfortunately for the Arsenal faithful, however, when all was said and done on Sunday, their side were ultimately sent packing from the competition at the first hurdle.
A severely under-manned Gunners outfit, sans the talents of the likes of Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe, were eventually put to the sword by a goal to nil.
The evening’s telling moment was forthcoming inside the closing ten minutes of action, as a Forest breakaway allowed Lewis Grabban to break free in the visitors’ area, before slotting beyond Bernd Leno from close range:
Lewis Grabban delivers in the big moments @NFFC #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/GpRlraxden
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 9, 2022
Guimaraes shines as Arteta calls for reinforcements
On the back of the full-time whistle at the City Ground, it therefore came as little surprise when Mikel Arteta was drawn on the topic of January reinforcements during his post-match press conference.
Arsenal’s lack of squad depth, particularly in the middle of the park, was laid bare for all to see across the 90 minutes this evening.
Owing to the absences of all of Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny (AFCON), Granit Xhaka (Covid-19) and Ainsley Maitland-Niles (on loan with AS Roma), Arteta was left with little choice but to pair summer addition Sambi Lokonga with academy talent Charlie Patino against Forest.
In turn, amid widespread speculation that the transfer team at the Emirates are indeed eyeing midfield reinforcements, Arteta was pressed hard on the subject in the game’s aftermath.
And the Gunners boss went on to confirm his belief that ‘it’s clear we need to strengthen’:
‘I want to get the best out of the players that we have. I think it’s clear where we need to strengthen. But at the moment it’s what we have and with what we have we have to play.’
Every word Mikel Arteta said on the Tavares substitution, signing a midfielder in January and the defeat to Nottingham Forest https://t.co/r72ln1Fzuq
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) January 9, 2022
Coincidentally, on the same night that Arteta was not at all shy in confirming his side’s need for fresh blood in midfield, one rumoured Gunners target provided a timely reminder of his talents.
The player in question? Bruno Guimaraes.
Brazilian international Guimaraes, hotly tipped for a move to north London of late, featured from the off as Olympique Lyonnais managed to hold Paris Saint-Germain to a draw at the Groupama Stadium.
The 24-year-old played a central role in the hosts’ only goal of the night, too, setting fellow countryman Lucas Paqueta free to slot home inside ten minutes courtesy of a perfectly-weighted pass:
Bruno Guimarães ➡️ Lucas Paqueta
Lyon build from the back and rip PSG to shreds courtesy of a beautiful assist!
Cold finish, cold celebration pic.twitter.com/DSV8B0d5Bp
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 9, 2022
‘Improve the performance’
Last up when it comes to noteworthy takeaways from Arsenal’s FA Cup exit comes the latest on stopper Nuno Tavares.
Portuguese talent Tavares caught the headlines for all the wrong reasons at the City Ground, hooked after just half an hour amid a woeful individual display.
In turn, speaking post-match, manager Arteta was inevitably drawn on his decision to introduce Kieran Tierney at left-back so early in proceedings.
The Gunners headmaster was keen to play the situation down, though, assuring that:
‘I just did it to try to improve the performance of the team.’
When pressed on whether or not he was aware that the call may result in something of a media frenzy, Arteta continued:
‘I understand that but I have to make the decision to try to improve the performance of the team when it’s not going in any other direction.’
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 21 | 40 | 53 |
| 2 | Chelsea FC | 21 | 29 | 43 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 20 | 34 | 42 |
| 4 | Arsenal FC | 20 | 8 | 35 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 20 | 10 | 34 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 3 | 33 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 19 | 3 | 31 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 19 | 0 | 28 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 19 | 0 | 27 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 18 | -2 | 25 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 20 | -1 | 23 |
| 12 | Brentford FC | 19 | -3 | 23 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 19 | -5 | 22 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 19 | -9 | 21 |
| 15 | Everton FC | 18 | -9 | 19 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 19 | -16 | 19 |
| 17 | Watford FC | 18 | -14 | 13 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 17 | -11 | 11 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 19 | -23 | 11 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 19 | -34 | 10 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 8 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 7 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 6 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 6 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 6 |
| Jorginho | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 6 |
| Cornet, Maxwel | Burnley FC | 6 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 6 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 6 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 6 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 5 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 1 | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 5 |
| Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 5 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Rodri | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 5 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 9 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 5 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 4 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 4 |
| Redmond, Nathan | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 |
