Arsenal's hopes of finally lifting another Premier League crown took a mammoth hit away at Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
The back end of 2023 has not been kind to the Gunners who now only have one win to show for their efforts in their last five games.
The defeat against West Ham was perhaps unfortunate, no matter how poor they were in both boxes. Indeed, they registered a whopping 77 touches in the opposition's penalty area without scoring.
This time they did score as they ultimately slipped to a 2-1 defeat. On this occasion, they certainly did deserve it. This was one of the worst performances under Mikel Arteta's reign so far and leaves them in a battle to secure a top-four berth, let alone challenge for the title.
They are now level on points with Manchester City and could slip even further behind in the race if Liverpool beat Newcastle on New Year's Day.
There were a host of nominees for the Gunners' worst performer on the day, but Eddie Nketiah was sadly one player who didn't stand up when it mattered at Craven Cottage.
Eddie Nketiah's performance in numbers
This was a glorious opportunity for the English forward to stake a claim to Arteta. After all, he already has a hat-trick this season in the league – against Sheffield United – and Gabriel Jesus hasn't exactly been prolific, scoring just three Premier League goals.
However, this is a player who now hasn't scored away from home in the top flight for a year. He ends 2023 without an away goal to his name at this level; a statistic that rather sums up the attacker's laboured approach to the game.
There is no doubting that Nketiah is a good finisher. He's a cracking poacher but the fact of the matter is he doesn't possess the tools to be a threat against a low block. The 24-year-old also doesn't offer a great amount in the build-up phase either.
That was seen first-hand against Fulham were he dropped an "utterly anonymous" performance as SPORTbible's Tom Marshall-Bailey put it.
This was a torrid afternoon for Nketiah with the striker perhaps rightfully earning just a 4/10 match rating courtesy of the Standard. That may even be rather generous for a man who managed just 24 touches of the ball – six fewer than goalkeeper David Raya – and only eight accurate passes in 90 minutes of play.
Minutes Played
90
Touches
24
Accurate Passes
8/12 (67%)
Expected Goals (xG)
0.21
Expected Assists (xA)
0.01
Key Passes
0
Duels Won
6/9
Possession Lost
9x
Fouls
1
Shots
2
Nketiah offered very little throughout, managing just one chance of note, firing wide from a tight angle during the first half.
Nketiah's future at Arsenal
In truth, it would be a great surprise if the forward's time at Arsenal came to an end in January but if the Gunners are serious about toppling Manchester City come next May, they need an upgrade.
They don't just need an upgrade on Nketiah, however. They need a more natural goalscorer than Jesus too.
A deal for Ivan Toney is one the club "want" to do as per Miguel Delaney of the Independent but with a £100m asking price previously touted, splashing such an amount of cash in January will not be easy.
That said, even before a striker arrives, raising funds by selling Nketiah might not be the worst idea. His overall goal tally speaks volumes and he's attracted interest from across the league too.
Only this weekend was it reported by The Daily Mail that Arsenal had rejected an enquiry from Crystal Palace for the former Leeds loanee.
Well, after this display, it may not be a surprise if they chase up a few bids over the course of the next month. Nketiah will very likely be an Arsenal player once the window closes, but that is a sad fact that speaks volumes of the club's recent plight. They need to get rid, and get rid soon.
