Not Cricket

Sports have rules. It is how we define them and what gives them meaning. For example, in football it is not possible to score points by picking the ball up and running the length of the pitch holding it in your hand, whereas in rugby that is a legitimate way to score points. When we change the rules of a game, it ceases to be the same game.

If two football teams were playing football and the referee allowed one team to run the length of the pitch holding the ball and score a goal at the end of such a run, we would all recognise this as unfair, not only on the opposition, but on every team who had been playing in the league under a different set of rules.

What Michael Oliver did today was as close to the above scenario as you will see. He gave Myles Lewis-Skelly a red card for an offence that is not a red card under the rules of football. It never has been in the past and it still isn’t today. If you see or read anyone claiming the decision was correct then you know immediately that they are either corrupt, moronic or dishonest. Or a combination of the three.

There is no way for anyone to claim that is a correct decision and maintain a scrap of integrity in the footballing world. There was indeed serious foul play perpetrated on the pitch today, and Michael Oliver was its author.

A few years back, Formula One allowed its rules to be egregiously misapplied in the final race of the season in a decision that cost Lewis Hamilton the title. For those not in the know, it was the footballing equivalent of Hamilton being fouled in the box in the last minute of a drawn game and the referee awarding the other team a goal. Just a nonsense, without even a passing resemblance to the rules. 

Since that day, I have not watched a single minute of Formula 1 for the simple reason that without rules a competition is meaningless. If the people enforcing the rules can arbitrarily change them at any time, then the game has no value, no meaning.

Premier League Football is fast going that way. Some think it has already completed the journey.

If so, we might as well give out the league title based on a good, old-fashioned game of Numberwang.

In a new world where the truth is fast becoming whatever lie is shouted loudest, there will again be a lot of gaslighting claiming this decision is something other than a travesty. 

If this is what football has become, why bother watching?

The Arsenal

Frankly, I was minded to leave this report there.

Writing about tactics and players and everything else that makes up a football match seems in somewhat bad taste given that the spectacle today did not adhere to the rules of football. Who cares what formation we lined up in when we cannot be sure that Michael Oliver would not have let Wolves start with twelve men, such was his willingness to remake the laws of the game?

However, in answer to my own question, the reason we bother watching is because we are The Arsenal, and today every single one of our players, MLS included, gave everything they had and did us proud. They deserve to be lauded for their skill and efforts, and just for once this season, we actually got the points we deserved. Despite everything, we won the match.

Without our captain (flu) and Merino (knock?), with two goalkeepers making up the numbers on the bench, with the officials, the media, opposition fans up and down the country, and every other man, woman and their respective dogs baying for blood and lining up to take shots at us, we, The Arsenal, did that most unforgiveable thing – we defied their unified opposition and won a football match.

I am not going to go through all the events of the game. You’ll be able to find that somewhere else if you want to. Havertz got in some great positions but couldn’t quite head us in front. We had lots of possession and were the only team in it, although Wolves looked to play on the counter and fashioned a couple of quick breakaways of their own. Ait-Nouri remains an excellent player at this level and Cunha was their other top performer.

By the way, I can’t see him signing for us after witnessing what Oliver did today – why sign for a team who are given red cards for things no other team is? Why play for the most hated team in the country? That takes a certain mindset, like Rice has, and I’m not sure Cunha is the type of guy to put himself in the crosshairs that Arsenal players face every week.

The card changed the game somewhat, but even with ten men we created decent chances and the match looked about level. With twenty minutes left, Michael Oliver gave Gomes a second yellow for a foul that was much worse than the one he gave MLS a straight red for. The same ref who gave Martinelli two yellows in the same passage of play (still the only time that has ever been done) decided not to issue a straight red for a player already on a yellow. That VAR did not ask him to look again would only have been a surprise to anyone who had not seen them clear the blatantly wrong decision to send MLS off for serious foul play for a trip.

At this point, the amazing away fans, who had been singing their hearts out (‘Michael Oliver, it’s all about you’ getting yet another airing) began a round of ‘One Nil to The Arsenal’ that raised the hairs on my neck. To everyone who was there today, you did your club as proud as your team did you. My heartfelt thanks and appreciation.

On the pitch, despite wasting a few free kicks and Trossard unforgivably hitting the first man with two consecutive corners (sorry to mention it, Leandro, but that really is schoolboy stuff!) we were galvanised when the numbers were evened up and we went on to win it when a Martinelli cross (very effective this week, keep them coming) was headed out as far as Calafiori (on for the sacrificed Ethan Nwaneri) who whipped a left-footed half volley past Havertz and Sa into the far corner.

After that we held on, Kieran Tierney adding steel and energy to a group who, by rights, should have been dead on their feet but found the guts and will to keep going from somewhere. No names, no special praise, they were all heroes.

Make no mistake, this is a very special group. I wonder if today might be the day. This might galvanise the club and the players. Our backs were to the wall and we did not give in, we won.

Let us hope that today is the day that Gooners everywhere remember that every non-Arsenal fan in football is rooting for us to lose, and we cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves.

It is time for siege mentality. Time to go to the mattresses. Time to win.

Cannons out.

Until next time, ‘holics.

Sometimes, we all can become so very wedded to a particular narrative about how the world is supposed to be, and how we expect it to be, that even when our actual experience of the reality continues to prove our expectations unfounded, we hold on dearly to the belief system that we have already built for ourselves, and invested so much of our selves in it.

Arsenal under Mikel Arteta is not going to play high-risk, intrinsically exciting, swashbuckling football. Rather, Mikel’s Arsenal is meant to play controlled, efficient, methodical game founded as much on off-the-ball discipline and tactical understanding as much as on skills and creativity on the ball. The focus is to become the very best in winning matches and competitions, and sustain that excellence for many years based on a cultural template of efficient football, played by skillful players with discipline and high workrate, and without having to rely on finding technical geniuses all over the pitch. A foundation that can withstand the inevitable injuries, the injudicious officiating, and the randomness and chaos inherent in nature of all things, with a high degree of solidity and consistency.

When seen under this light, many of Arsenal’s performances lately that have been found otherwise unpleasing, make perfect sense. I realize that I just have to become used to the idea that Mikel is not bothered about the aesthetics dimensions of his team’s performance at all. And neither does he believe that spontaneity and inspiration at the cost of his much-cherished fundamentals are sustainable ways to build a winning footballing culture. Whether everyone agrees with that footballing philosophy is quite beside the point, it is the steady upward curve of the Arsenal team’s consistency and results over the last few seasons that proves Arteta incontrovertibly right in insisting on his methodology. Mikel might have learned under Arsène Wenger and Pep Guardiola, but to me he is a throwback to the great Arrigo Sacchi, or, if the history books and sepia tinted reminiscences are to be believed, one Herbert Chapman.

Having a footballing philosophy and insisting on it is one thing, but getting a group of talented and ambitious players – arriving from footballing cultures as different as Saint-Étienne youth system to Arsenal academy to a very successful Atletico Madrid first team – to believe in it, commit to it, and live it on every training session and every matchday is a different kettle of fish altogether.

Arsenal came into the new format Champions League matchday 7th with the possibility of more or less ensuring a direct qualification to the second round. A home victory against the Croatian champions – see the match preview – was thus very much a highly desired outcome.

This has been anything but a smooth season for Arsenal – a challenging schedule in the league in the early months, a series of once-in-a-lifetime decisions going against the team, a spate of injuries decimating the squad especially in the area where we were least equipped to handle key absences – and yet at the midpoint of the season we are second in Premier League, and towards the top end of the Champions League table. While the experience of some of the recent performances has been understandably frustrating, looking at the season until now in a dispassionate manner. We still have every reason to be optimistic that the team is on the right track.

No Croatian football team would be tactically native, and the one that is now being managed by one of the greatest defenders of all time, a key figure in a world cup winning Italian team, Arteta must have expected this to be a tight and cagey affair with the opposition willing to concede possession in favor of their defensive shape. Arteta’s team selection hinted that he expects patience and experience to play a defining role:

Raya

Timber – Kiwior – Gabriel – Zinchenko

Jorginho

Ødegaard- Rice

Sterling – Havertz – Martinelli

Even though our results lately have been less than ideal, we have still dominated possession in those matches and have for the most part created enough chances that this current forward line in their more efficient days would have found enough to turn into victories. The profligacy in front of the goal as well as the lack of quality in the final ball have been the areas of most concern. It was important that we make our early dominance count.

And Declan Rice duly obliged. Martinelli – who has recently started to come back, step by step, towards his best self – went on one of his direct runs, beat his defender, and sent in a well-aimed cross that Kai cleverly cushioned for a late arriving Rice who drilled in a perfect low volley past the goalkeeper.

Arsenal 1 (Rice 2’ ) – Dinamo Zagreb 0

As expected, we focused on dominating possession and space. The high press was excellently coordinated by Kai and Ødegaard, with both Martinelli and Sterling tucking in to cut off the angles. It was good to see Zinchenko playing one of his more serene versions, ensuring recirculation, overloading central midfield, and allowing Rice to assert himself in a freer attack minded role. Jorginho started deeper, but as the game progressed he started to move closer to the attacking third, trusting the two central defenders to handle all long balls. Gabriel found it all too easy, and while Kiwior had one nervous moment in an one-on-one situation from which he recovered adeptly, he deputized for the irreplaceable Saliba adequately enough. A few uncharacteristically heavy touches from Timber was a signal that he is not at his physical best, but his technical abilities and game reading compensated for it.

Sterling, evidently, is struggling for confidence. I think I saw a player who is trying his very best, is not particularly riddled with any ego about his standing in the game, has a good work ethic and is defensively switched on, but also a player who had relied a lot on his pacy dribbling abilities in his successful career, and is now searching for a spark to reignite that specific combination of speed, confidence and technical skill which is the secret of players like him. I really hope that he finds some of that ability back soon, and leaves Arsenal with some memorable moments of telling contributions as we end our season strongly.

After the early goal we controlled the match with consummate ease, even though there was no great urgency in forcing through a second goal. Zagreb players looked rusty – unsurprisingly so given that this match comes in their mid-season break – but nonetheless defensively robust and disciplined. Rice was playing a noticeably more attacking role, and one more of his goalbound shot was blocked by two defenders.

At the beginning of the second half, Dinamo players looked more composed and confident on the ball, but lacked any incisiveness to trouble Arsenal defense. Much of the game was being played out in the middle of the pitch, and a sense of ennui creeping into the game with Jorginho and Zinchenko recycling the ball forward only to receive them back. Kai’s movements were good, and Martinelli was full of intent and verve, but the combination play was lacking greatly, and Ødegaard was failing to find any of his signature through balls. Rice was impressively covering a very large amount of ground and some of his striding forward with the ball was an indicator of a player who is becoming more and more versatile in his role in this team.

Timber and Sterling had both seen yellow cards, and both were looking tired. Around the sixty minute mark, they were replaced by Partey and Nwaneri. Ethan immediately injected some pace and urgency on the right wing, and it was great to see him not losing any of his form or confidence over the injury enforced absence.

Kai’s movements and workrate deserved a goal, and he headed in a delightfully accurate cross from Martinelli for the second of the evening. The construction of the goal was based on a signature Arsenal move from one side to the other: Partey to Ødegaard to Jorginho to Gabriel to Zinchenko to Martinelli, who then made a clever horizontal run before delivering the cross.

Arsenal 2 (Rice 2’, Havertz 66’ ) – Dinamo Zagreb 0

A little later Nwaneri delivered an even better cross from the right. The precision, flight and spin on the delivery would have made Saka proud. Rice did the hard part of ghosting past the defense with aplomb, only to skew the header wide. He is not a natural goalscorer, but more and more he is getting into these positions and once he has improved his finishing a bit, he will take the next step forward to become one of the most complete central midfielders of current times.

Zinchenko and Havertz were replaced by Tierney and Trossard. Zagreb enjoyed their first sustained possession in the game with a few corners that we defended well enough. Our own corner deliveries from both sides were of high quality this evening, but it was evident that Zagreb had prepared well, and except for earlier in the first half when Gabriel had evaded his marker and failed to keep his downward header on target, they defended the corners well enough.

A third goal did indeed arrive, and thankfully it was our captain who added his name to the scoreboard. Martin hasn’t scored a goal since November and in between some of his tentativeness and misses in front of the goal have been a bit alarming for a creative midfielder of his quality. Hopefully this goal will help him find back a bit more of that clarity in front of the goal which was one of our strengths last couple of seasons. The goal came from a move started by Gabriel, who released Trossard on the left wing with a lofted pass, Leo ignored Martinelli’s diagonal run and delivered a teasing cross that Rice missed on the front post, but Ødegaard bundled in from a close range.

Arsenal 3 (Rice 2’, Havertz 66’, Ødegaard 91’ ) – Dinamo Zagreb 0

In the remaining two minutes, Arsenal youngster and one more academy product Nathan Butler-Oyedeji enjoyed his first team debut.

So, with one more match to go, Arsenal sits on the third position in the Champions league table, on 16 points from seven matches, with a goal difference of +12. The defensive record has been impressive – only two goals conceded, none from open play, one from corner and one from a penalty. For an injury ravaged team, first missing their creative hub and captain, and then their most potent attacker and talisman, this is no mean achievement.

Mathematically speaking, top eight is not quite secured, and even a loss on the final day away at Girona should leave Arsenal safe given the goal difference. However, strange things can happen, and the team should take no risk on the final day and play with a goal to win.

The new format CL has been surprisingly exciting, and fascinatingly unpredictable. It feels like there can be a lot more such surprises in the knock-out rounds, and I retain my optimism that as the injured players return back, and we bolster our attacking options in the January transfer market, this team has the potential of making this European campaign a joyfully memorable one.

Why do we love Arsenal?

And why do we care about them as much as we do?

These are questions we have all asked ourselves at various points over the course of our Arsenal supporting lives. As with supporting any football club, there are highs and lows no matter the size or expectations of your club. And the thing is, expectations change over time. A good season for your club in 2025 may have constituted a poor season for your club in 2005 or 1995. We have experienced this expectational shift in recent seasons. If we are to finish second with no silverware the reality is many would consider this as a poor or underwhelming season. As recently as 2022, this would’ve been considered a tremendous season. If you had told an Arsenal supporter on the final day of the 21/22 campaign, in which we finished 5th, two points behind our local rivals in brutal, gut wrenching fashion, that the following season we would unexpectedly challenge for the title and ultimately finish second, they would’ve been over the moon. And yet when that did indeed transpire, many of us were beside ourselves with disappointment.

I suppose the point I am trying to make is sometimes you need to stop and take stock of the journey you are on and relish the progress you have made and will continue to make. Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa was a major blow to our title aspirations, but at least we have title aspirations! The same cannot be said for most of our rivals. At Arsenal we strive for the big trophies which have eluded us for 20 years and one of them has eluded us for 139 years. But it doesn’t stop us believing. Three years ago we would’ve been ecstatic with fourth place. Now, second feels like a disappointment. That is progress. Has our progress stagnated this season? At this moment in time, possibly. But that’s precisely what football is made up of; every goal, every tackle, every shot that goes miles over the bar is a new moment in time. If you go 1-0 up in the first minute do you refrain from celebrating because you might concede in the next 89’? Of course not. You can never know what is around the corner. Football imitates life in that sense.

We let a two goal lead slip at home causing us to drop vital points in the title race. That is not a good thing. But it happens. Another contentious VAR decision prevented us from winning 3-2 and here I am sitting here trying to be philosophical about it all. I would much rather be talking about how we followed up our morale boosting NLD win with another three points against a fellow Champions League side. But I’m not and I am surprisingly ok with that. We can still win the league, it’s just become even harder for us now. As fans we can give up if we want and attempt to accept that it’s not going to happen for another year. But I’ve tried that in the past and it just doesn’t work. Getting angry and blaming the referees won’t make you feel better either. If your happiness depended on the competence of the hapless PGMOL, you’d spend life in some sort of uninhabitable purgatory, constantly stressing over whether or not a bald Tranmere Rovers fan from Wythenshawe was going to ruin your weekend.

Without belief and hope, we are left with very little to strive for. And Mikel Arteta has reignited our Arsenal supporting lives with those two things and I am confident that I speak for all of us when I say, we are grateful to him for that. The Maths tells us we are unlikely to win a trophy this season. We trail Liverpool by six points in the league. We are 2-0 down to Newcastle at half time in our League Cup semi final. I believe we are fourth or fifth favourites to win the Champions league. But there is a very big difference between unlikely and impossible. You have to be pretty good to be second in the Premier League after 22 games. You have to be quite good at football to be third in the humongous 36 team Champions League table after six games. And let’s not forget we overcame the footballing giants Bolton, Preston and Crystal Palace to reach the semis of the Obscure Energy Drink cup. Arsenal are probably the fourth or fifth best team on the planet and that means we are capable of winning lots of football matches which we have done in recent years. It also means we are capable of winning the Premier League and Champions League. Most teams are not. And without the efforts of Mikel and his players in recent seasons we wouldn’t even be in contention.

I have constructed my “match report” in this way because I have seen and heard of much displeasure within the fanbase towards the manager, the board and certain players in recent weeks. I could go over where we went wrong against Villa, who was at fault and why the ref is an obnoxious oik. But that’s not going to make me feel better, nor you, the reader. So instead I have opted for a piece I hope will offer fresh hope and belief following this very emotional and fragile period of the season. Ultimately, it just is not that bad. Of course expectations are always high at a huge club like Arsenal but winning trophies is not the be all and end all. Football is not “win a trophy or bust”. Contrary to our Amazon doc a few years back, it is not All Or Nothing. I think football, much like life, is not black and white. You can not win a trophy and have a successful season. In any case, winning trophies only makes up 1% of supporting a football club. It is the journey that Mikel has referenced that makes up the 99% of following your team whoever they are, no matter how good, bad or mediocre they play. And that is my message: enjoy the journey. It is nowhere near over and there will be ups and downs as we have already seen many times. And maybe it won’t have a happy ending. And even if that is the case, what next? Will we pack up and go home? Not a chance. There is always the next game or next season. Perhaps that’s why we love Arsenal and care about them so dearly. They are a constant in a frightening, ever-changing world.

Life is Arsenal and Arsenal is life.

Always Forward.