
What constitutes a perfect football day? I often ask myself this, particularly as I’ve had a lot of excellent outings over the past few years since I engaged with the Goonerholic fraternity. Even if you aren’t a particularly sociable person (and most Holics I’ve encountered seem to be very sociable) there is something very enjoyable about breaking bread pre-match with Arsenal-supporting friends, and today was no exception. Btm, C100 and I, together with Countryman Junior and an old footballing colleague of mine from Kent, met in the most nicely appointed Ecuadorean restaurant in North London (that I know of) and enjoyed an excellent and quite original meal (unless you eat in Ecuadorean restaurants regularly). While eating we speculated on whether we could continue our excellent form from Wednesday, whether Kai Havertz would continue his improvement in form so clearly in evidence in Europe, and whether the team would bear much relation to the one that started on Wednesday.
The answers were in order yes (to start with), no (because he didn’t start), and yes (the team barring Havertz who was replaced in the starting eleven by Trossard was identical to the one that started against Lens). On a bitterly cold afternoon I had the great pleasure of sitting next to a young man called Freddie who was making his first trip to see us in the flesh. As Freddie came from Perth in Western Australia it was quite a day for him. He sang North London Forever with a tear in his eye, marvelled that he was sitting next to someone who paid his first visit to Arsenal over 62 years aago and thrilled to an early attacking performance that was entirely in sync with the way we started against Lens.
He did not have long to wait to see his first Arsenal goal. Bukayo Saka wriggled through a number of challenges including the last from Craig Dawson that was extremely flaccid and turned the ball into the left-hand corner. An annoying, and what we deemed a totally unnecessary, VAR check took some of the gloss off the goal, as is so often the case nowadays.
Arsenal 1 Wolves 0 – Saka 6 mins
Our control of the game was almost total, and we extended our lead with a beautifully worked goal 7 minutes later. Jesús and Zinchenko played an excellent one-two in the inside left channel, and our Ukrainian cut the ball back to an unmarked Ødegaard to finish emphatically.
Arsenal 2 Wolves 0- Ødegaard 13 minutes
Freddie was in seventh heaven and most of the rest of us sat back expecting another first half obliteration of the opposition. I thought we were actually playing better than against Lens in that first period. Trossard was lively in a midfield role, Saka and Martinelli had more space than in recent weeks and most importantly Ødegaard seemed to be back to his very best form after a recent blip. We had almost nothing to do in defence and Declan Rice was utterly imperious as ever. Martinelli slid through the Wolves defence but pushed his shot against the post, Trossard was foiled by Sa (who then had to leave the field with an injury sustained during the scoring of our second goal), and Jesús skied a close range chance at the far post after a cross dropped to him.
Wolves had a little more of the play as the half progressed with a couple of late free kicks but at half-time the chatter on the concourse outside Gate 100 was that we had played well but were letting them off lightly.
Half-time Arsenal 2 Wolves 0
We began the second half very positively, and I thought Jesús was held back (subtly) by a Wolves defender to prevent him reaching a low Saka cross.
Around the hour mark our play began to betray the fact that we played on Wednesday with these personnel, and our play lacked the penetration we had exhibited in the first half. We began to freshen the mix with Havertz joining the fray, Tomayisu going off injured to be replaced by White, and Jorginho and Kiwior coming on with Nketiah replacing Jesús (who my neighbour detected had a possible groin injury — watch this space).
Raya had made two decent saves from Cunha, and Wolves began to play with more pace and determination. Our goal was rarely threatened until sloppiness from Zinchenko gifted possession to Cunha, who produced a fierce drive past Raya’s right hand.
Arsenal 2 Wolves 1 – Cunha 86 minutes
While we didn’t descend into panic mode we were now fighting to hold onto a lead we had compiled effortlessly in the first half. What we needed was to regain the initiative and gain a third goal. Ødegaard almost achieved this with a beautiful flick to Nketiah but Eddie’s shot rebounded off the post and out.
The game ended uneventfully, and we recorded another three points that put us four points ahead of the best club side in world football.
Full time Arsenal 2 Wolves 1
A spectator behind me leaned forward to commiserate with Freddie about ‘coming all this way to watch this crap’. Freddie, far from thinking this was still revelling in watching a dream come true. I felt it necessary to ask the friend behind if he really though that ‘crap’ was an operative term for football that for most of the game was on a level to which few sides can aspire. To his credit he rode back on his criticism explaining that he was frustrated by our failure to kick on in the game, and I later had a similar conversation on the train with another disappointed Gooner.
Maybe I have been around too long but every season contains games where your team underperforms, and the underperformance today was relatively marginal and partly explained by Wednesday’s exertions. Some of our early football was brilliant and very easy on the eye. We are truly lucky to be able to watch a team of this quality; this good fortune seemed lost in a large part of those in attendance today. Arsenal fans used to have a keen sense of entitlement largely fostered by the continuing excellence of Wenger’s teams though our fall-off in recent years should have reminded us that to reach – and stay – at the summit of English football is no easy task.
I thought Ødegaard was sublime today, Rice was his usual excellent self, Saka and Martinelli always looked dangerous, and Tomayisu really is an admirable player. My main reservation is that Zinchenko commits too many defensive errors; I’d like to see him further forward in midfield, if he plays at all, with White, Tomayisu, and Kiwior starting in the full back positions. But please Gooners, enjoy what is being provided. These are potentially special times. Don’t tarnish them with ridiculous expectations!