Well, this month is certainly dragging. A somewhat sobering footballing week, or so, was rounded off by an extra time defeat against probably the worst Manchester United team in 35 years, reduced to 10 men for 65 minutes. It was almost enough to have me reaching for a post-match pint. Fortunately, I was able to call upon a similarly stoic, bloody-minded willpower to that which allows our team to refuse to compromise and give up on a chosen course of action. For them, a determination to build slowly, at times painfully so, attempting to grind out games through employing the “Death of a Thousand Sideways and Backwards Passes” stratagem. The temptation to think that, perhaps, both of us would be better falling off our particular wagons, is great.
I rose out of the bowels of the earth at Arsenal tube at 2.30 pm to discover that Calafiori was out injured, again, and Lewis-Skelly would be in his place. Rice and Partey were rested with Merino and Jorginho in their places. Arsenal lined up:
Raya
Timber Saliba Gabriel Lewis-Skelly
Ødegaard Jorginho Merino
Jesùs Havertz Martinelli
Arsenal started well, dominating possession and territory. United started as they meant to continue with a series of fouls of varying degrees of snideness which the referee was happy not to call for bookings. One of the Block 10 Magi made the point that they were playing very much as Ferguson’s early 2000’s teams did against us, very physically, relying on the generosity of the officials.
In the 18th minute, Arsenal had a goal disallowed. Timber played a through ball. Martinelli was in an offside position, but The Obelisk tried to cut it out and in doing so played the ball to Martinelli who finished with aplomb. Now Maguire definitely tried to play the ball. Lineker on the half time punditry went through the rules for such a decision where the player doesn’t control the ball and deflects on for a goal, which were:
- The ball has travelled a short distance
- The offending player doesn’t have a clear view of the ball
- The ball is moving quickly
- The direction of the ball is unexpected
- The offending player had limited or no time to coordinate his body movement.
Well, none of these applied to the situation here. Next week we will see a similar decision go the other way. The only thing consistent about PGMOL attitude to what are, after all, laws of the game not guidelines, is the inconsistency with which they apply them.
Arsenal continued to pile on the pressure without really looking like we would score. On a few corners, the degree of manhandling, of Gabriel in particular was ridiculous. In Rugby, you cannot tackle or hold off the ball. How has this been able creep into the game? Who thinks this is okay? On 28 minutes, Martinez quite cynically elbowed Jesùs off the ball. This received the correct sanction of a yellow.
In the 37th minute, Jesùs was taken off after seemingly catching his studs in the turf after fouling Fernandez. There might have been some sympathy for the latter were he not such a rat in human form. Jesùs was stretchered off, hands over his face. It looked serious. Sterling took his place.
Martinez clogged Ødegaard from behind on 46. Free kick but no second card for Martinez. The Surrey-based hordes treated us to one of their comical renditions of “Same old Arsenal, Always cheating.” Oh, the irony!
Half time: Arsenal 0 Man U 0
On 48 minutes, Dalot took out Lewis-Skelly with an ugly tackle on the edge of the box after a clever run in behind by the central midfielder repurposed as a left back. Dalot was rightly booked. Three minutes late, Gabriel slipped while deputising in the left back role and Garnacho was able to sprint forward and pick out Fernandez on the edge of the box to hit a smart finish into the net giving Raya no chance. Until this point, United had done nothing of note and it took considerable good fortune for them to do so. Two minutes later, Havertz had a bad, bad miss from 6 yards. Hitting the target was the minimum required.
Arsenal 0 Man U 1
On 58 United broke, after the referee allowed Hojlund to elbow Gabriel in the face on the half way line while protecting the ball. This resulted in Gabriel going down holding his face. When was the last time a referee ignored a player holding his face on the floor and didn’t stop play? Having not given a foul, the referee then sent Gabriel to the touchline for what I presume to be a blood injury. Did the referee think he had cut himself shaving? I don’t want unwarranted decisions going in our favour. I just want consistency.
A couple of minutes later, Dalot was sent off for an out-of-control studs up lunge on the half way line. Dalot plaintively appealed to the referee with the sweet smile of a Saint. Garnacho then impeded the free kick being taken, and the referee simply asked for it to be taken again. It mattered not. Gabriel scored the equaliser after a clever Martinelli cross came down to him to hammer via a slight deflection past Bayindir.
Arsenal 1 Man U 1
On 68 minutes, a dancing run into the box by the effervescent Sterling released Havertz who went past The Obelisk, showing all the customary fleetness of foot we have come to expect for club and country, and fell. Every season of Strictly Come Dancing requires the compulsory leaden footed oaf to laugh at. It can’t be long before Maguire receives his invite. There was contact. The kind of contact we are often told by the “experts” means it’s a penalty. BBC comms couldn’t wait to cast doubt. Consistency? That doesn’t live here anymore. Some handbags then followed, as United players tried desperately to antagonise Arsenal players into reacting in a failed bid to even up the numbers. Arsenal players, most internationals, ought to have recognised this for the sort of “professionalism” it was and walked away but were drawn into a number of confrontations. Ugarte clearly made contact with his head on Havertz. Had there been VAR, he ought to have been given a second yellow. Then again, with VAR it might have gone the other way. Consistency. Gabriel was booked. So was Havertz. Go figure! Bayindir made a very good penalty save. This was not going to be Arsenal’s day.
The pretty much invisible Merino made way for Rice on 72 minutes and 6 minutes later he could have put Arsenal into the lead when his header, from a fabulous, chipped cross from Ødegaard was placed a touch too close to the keeper. On another day it would have nestled in the back of the net.
It was now relentless Arsenal pressure and United threw on 3 subs, taking off a couple of booked players and the diamond elbowed Hojlund and injecting some energy. The game then dragged towards the inevitable extra time.
On 86 Amad went down in a skirmish and rolled off the pitch. Arsenal looked to take the goal kick, but the referee decided, presumably, that he needed to ensure Amad wasn’t on the pitch receiving treatment. Of course, the linesman, with whom we are led to believe referees are in contact over microphone, could have told him this. No. He needed to run from the half way line back to the player to check, preventing the goal kick. I have never seen this before. It was odd.
Full Time: Arsenal 1 Man U 1
We pressured. It didn’t happen.
Result a.e.t. and Pens: Arsenal 4 Man U 5
Conclusions
After the game, Arteta tried to put a brave face on it in his press conference. It wasn’t really convincing. His repetition of how proud he is of his team and how we had dominance had echoes of the dog days of Wenger. It’s all very well winning the possession stats, but the nature of the performances doesn’t pass the eye test. So much of it is sterile possession. The football is painfully slow and laboured for the most part. For heaven’s sake, on the BBC commentary even Shearer, who is to tactical understanding what fish are to bicycles, spotted this. Gone is the free-flowing football, with almost telepathic understanding between players enabling quicksilver breaks. In has crept a blend of conservative, at times stultifying, ossified football; a seeming determination to ensure that we are at all times defensively secure before launching attacks, resulting in opposition being able to pull 10, at times 11, behind the ball. When he first arrived, he had to put pragmatism ahead of style, as he dealt with the dross and the ne’er-do-wells he had been bequeathed. But this team now is to a man his. I don’t have the answer. Perhaps the more tactically astute of you do. But something in the way we approach games needs to change. What doesn’t need to change is Arteta in the role of manager. We are all frustrated at how this season is turning out. We are not playing the football we expected and, I believe, the manager wants to play. But you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. This place tries to live up to the outlook of its namesake, the incomparable ‘Holic. It benefits hugely from being staffed by people who share this outlook and who in many cases have seen a lot both in life and in football. That provides the benefit of perspective. In football as in life, things don’t always go your way. We are defined not by our successes, but how we deal with our disappointments. There are people currently calling for the manager’s head. The benefit of perspective is that it allows you to remove yourself from the detail and look at the big picture. That big picture is rosy. It is now down to us, as supporters, to rally round and dig in. This is turning into a difficult month. Let’s show a bit of guts and back our team and club.
Phew! It’s enough to make a man turn to drink. Almost!
Super job, CER, and excellent, perceptive conclusions.
We were very lucky with injuries for two seasons and because the football was working we made very few changes. Saka, including internationals, had played 64 games for each of the last two seasons and many others won’t be far behind.
This is the third season of intense effort – no rotation for anyone who’s actually fit this season – little or no summer break – and a World Cup wedged into 2022 and Euros in 2024.
The injuries and illness have exacerbated the tiredness this season. That’s why I think we look knackered and the telepathic, free flowing football has dried up. Hard to develop any kind of understanding when you’re playing with different team mates around you every week.
Cheers CER!
I knew something would go wrong when my train arrived five minutes early in London.
But at that stage I wasn’t sure whether it would be the football or the journey back. Thankfully it still wasn’t both, at least.
We need teeth. Sharp ones.
I was the opposite of you though: I told myself I might indulge in a drink if we’d won.
As we didn’t, I settled for a pint of Diet Coke post match.
Not that I have been a strict ‘Drier’ as I had a couple of pints for the Brighton match. It’s more about getting back to full fitness for me.
Anyway, only the small matter of the dirty neighbours next. Hopefully we’ll put things right this time.
When I saw that CER was tasked with the match report I anticipated fairness, good sense and yes, perspective , leavened with the disappointment that we are all currently feeling . CER has delivered admirably taking on a difficult task and invoking the spirit of Holic who would have provided exactly the same sane analysis .
Having said this I am very perturbed by our situation . After a stellar 2023 window last summer’s was very bland – we signed two players , one of whom is scarcely able to string together two games and another ( Merino) who has suffered provided the same impact as Dennis Suarez and Kim Kjallstrom .Neither of the two loan players was considered appropriate to start yesterday .
I will revert in more detail later as we debate our situation but we are very vulnerable as we face an NLD we should skate . Who is going to score ?
We’ve had 47 shots in two games and had an xG close to 7 . We’ve scored one goal in that time and in 31 games this season we’ve scored 1 goal or less 14 times .
We’ve needed a striker for eighteen months and we now desperately need front players . If we don’t improve we will start to find CL qualification a struggle .
A short straw honourably grasped with, as TTG puts it, fairness, good sense and perspective worthy of the Guv’nor, CER. We are going through a sticky patch, as we did around the Christmas before last, but without the chance of a January Dubai reset this time. We shall eventually come out of it, but the games are coming just like Aaron Lennon — thick and fast, as he Guv’nor liked to say — so it could do irreparable damage to this season’s ambitions. As much as we need to rediscover how to put the ball into the net as fast as we can, we also need a touch of inspiration in the January window that will refresh the minds and bodies of a weary squad.
Kai Havertz’s wife, Sophia, says that he and she have been receiving abuse on social media because of Kai’s recent performances, including threats to their unborn child. This is despicable. Such behaviour has no place in the game, or anywhere.
What sort of disgusting moron threatens an unborn child, or anyone else, over a football match ? There must be a way of tracing these people through the technology. Jail them.
As a tribute the Arsenal’s accolade of being the highest scoring, most free flowing, footballing teams in Europe in the past calendar year, the once ‘mighty’ Man Utd came to the new home of football with a flat back five and an Uruguayan thug positioned in front of three centre halves determined not to concede a goal then get thumped – very much in the style of a Dyche Burnley or Pulis Stoke team in days of old.
In the first of those, they failed. However, because of a very unfortunate slip by the most potent and effective central defender in England, they did manage to score a goal in virtually there only attacking move of the game. Had Martin Odegaard gone from a perfect 8/8 in penalties to 9/9, Manure’s ten men would have had to come forward, and in so doing, might well have opened themselves up to said thumping. The post-match dialogue would have been rather different had the skipper hit the penalty that he hit about an hour later. Havertz wife and unborn child wouldn’t be receiving shite from morons.
The free flowing automatons that were so effective that even Shearer can remember them largely played out down Arsenal’s right flank with Ben White, Matin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey parleying some of the finest football seen in the land for many a year. At that time, the discontent was principally focused on the inability of our left side to replicate that excellence. Is it really such a great surprise that absent two (often three if TP5 plays RB) that that fluency has dissipated? It happens (even the bright lights of the Dundee team of the 60s dimmed slightly when Charlie Cooke or Alan Gilzean weren’t one the field). Did that ever occur to Shearer do you think?
Arsenal were the much better team yesterday. Sufficient chances were created for a convincing win but that wasn’t to be. Like Haaland did recently, Kai’s having a very dry spell. It happens.
Liverpool crumbled last season when one player (that Egyptian fella) came back broken from the ACN. Saka is a generational talent and is way ahead of the 22 year old version of Salah. Any team in the world would miss his influence and Arsenal very clearly is, (most unsurprisingly to this spectator).
When your Starboy falls, then his talented understudy falls and then his understudy’s, understudy falls, your situation can in no way be described as good. Alan Shearer and anyone else expecting more free flowing automatons please note. You’re going to be disappointed. Absent new recruitment, securing top four in the PL will be a grand accomplishment. Anything better than that will be a very remarkable success story with a front four pool of only Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli and Trossard, none of whom are close to their top form.
I’d love to see Nico Williams and Liam Delap fly in from the lands of paella and potatoes respectively. However, like Benjamin Sesko and Martin Zubimendi in the summer, while it would suit us, it may not suit them to come at this point in time and the Winger and Striker shelves in most superstar footballer supermarkets don’t look to be overflowing. Nor were they last summer.
Even right to the end, the mood in the part of the stadium where I sat yesterday was pretty good despite the dispiriting situation. It was a bit difficult to listen to the chants of ‘Just a shite ‘f*****g Tottenham’ from the pond weed following the team on edge of the relegation battle on the way home however.
A well thought out response to another disappointingly early FA Cup exit, CER. As you observe we have had an awful run of missed chances and as a result have become the epitome of sterile possession. We desperately need another Dubai-scale reboot and to rediscover our eye for goal.
As BtM notes it is no surprise that the free flowing automatisms have disappeared along with our first choice right back and starboy, the viral fug that our captain has been playing through and the regular shuffling of our midfield pack. Yet we could have, indeed should have won that game. We aren’t a bad team. Our luck must surely turn soon.
As we lose yet more key players to injury, the silver lining of that penalty shoot out defeat is that our schedule will be slightly less gruelling and there will be more opportunities for rest and recuperation. Hopefully our renaissance in front of goal starts on Wednesday.
Amazing how so many players can collectively lose form. I suppose Rice and Ode can say they are recovering from injury and Kai has been ill but it’s crazy those three cost north of 200 million combined.
What excuses do Trossard, Martinelli, Sterling and Jesus have? Merino and Jorginho?
Will Saka, Saliba and Gabriel stick around?
We need a goal and he brings on Tierney instead of Zinny?
Raya diving every time before the kick is taken?
So much blame to be shared.
The last few days remind me of 1980 when Brooking and Kempes ripper our hearts out in the space of a week.
Rant over. Let’s right the ship on Weds and remind Sp*rs of their place.
In general I agree with the comments above. I do want to point out that Arteta inherited a team with 4 true strikers: Auba, Laca, Eddie, and Balogun. And since that time he has gotten rid of all of them and only brought one player who, imo, is not a true striker in Jesus. Kai was not brought in as a striker but as a replacement for Xhaka (you would not ask any of other strikers to place as a number 8, although I recall Laca may have been played in that position a couple of times). As much as I enjoy watching Jesus play he is not a proven goal scorer (14 in his best season with Shitty) and was never a regular starter generally starting about half the games per season.
I’m assuming that we will not see Jesus the rest of this season given his response to his injury. So we are currently looking at finishing the season with no strikers. I hope the Arsenal’s upper management convince Arteta that they need to spend the money and bring in a quality striker in this window. I recognize that bringing in quality players in January is difficult but if we wave enough money and are willing to over pay, it could happen.
I also acknowledge that incorporating new players into the team takes time, but at this point, given our injury issues and Liverpool’s form, I think winning the league is almost out of reach. I would rather us focus on the CL. If we win one of our next two matches, we will likely finish in the top 8 and not half to play until March giving us time to bring a new player up to speed.
Finally, dry January? January has 31 days, while February only has 28 days this year. Dry February is much easier to do.
Many thanks CER. A tough assignment, masterfully handled.
Many thanks for the kind words. I’m glad I took sone time out between writing the first draft and submission. I watched the game again, this time in TV, and saw a rather different performance yo that which I saw in the ground. This doesn’t happen very often to me – seeing a different game, not rewatching the match. My name is CER and I’m a Goonetholic, after all. But the performance I saw on tv wasn’t quite as slow and laboured as it appeared in the ground. It wasn’t incisive and fluid though, to mix metaphors, hence some of my more angry comments.
ecg @9 – thanks for your thoughts. Re the strikers Arteta inherited: the same complaints being levelled at Jesus and Havertz were also applied generally among the fan base to Lacazette and Nketiah, the latter of whom has made only 6 league starts with no goals and 1 assist this season since being sold to Palace. Aubameyang was being a prima donna and was not interested in sublimating himself to the whole for the greater good, to put it kindly. He was also falling off a cliff performance wise as evidenced by his subsequent spells at Barcelona and Chelsea. Balogun has gone on to do very little in the far weaker Ligue Un where he is now largely a substitute behind Embolo, who was far from impressive himself against us last month. I think we can argue that Arteta may not have improved the forward line, but it is not weaker than it would have been. And we still sit second in the league, rather higher than when Arteta came in. If we can see what needs to be fine, I’m sure he Dan. Operating under a strict budget – as it appears all clubs are now- means it is going to take some time to rectify what needs to be done. I’m trying not to get sucked into the media view of looking at each season as the only important thing. We’re still building. We may need to write this season off, unless Liverpool start to suffer with injuries to significant players. Next season, I expect us to rectify, though.
Thanks CER, great report and true character to do
a rewatch of that game.
Many good posts above making some excellent
points as there in previous post game drinks too.
There is nothing like beating the spuds to
cheer us all up.
And what Trev said @5
Lots of very good comments and sense above .
There is a lot of negativity about Arteta in certain parts of the fan base. Part of this is frustration and disappointment about a missed opportunity to take the title this season . That is looking unlikely now unless we bring in reinforcements of quality now .
There are also a lot of stupid people who follow football. Listen to phone-ins on 606 and particularly TalkShite or look at some of the Arsenal blogs for confirmation of this .
If Arteta left who on this earth would do a better job who might be obtainable ? My current choice would be Iraiola who impresses me greatly or maybe Xabi Alonso but it’s a decision I don’t want us to have to consider .
Arteta did a remarkable job in turning the club around after Emery’s nightmare 19/20 and to take us to a Cup win with the personnel he had was remarkable. He stuttered at times thereafter but the last three seasons before this have shown a positive direction of travel. But this season we seem to be eliminating risk at the expense of playing positive football. At times we are quite dull to watch and the emphasis seems to be on this JDP where position and phases of play are sacrosanct and our play is incredibly complicated with no obvious increased dividend . Allied to this as ECG points out we have jettisoned our strikers and if you add to this Biereth who may turn out to be a serious goalscorer in European football the movement is one way .
Those who remember George Graham may recall that after we lost to Benfica in the European Cup he went from a side that played awesome attacking football to a team that relied almost totally on Ian Wright for goals although he was was supplemented by Merson Smith and Campbell but had journeymen in midfield . We relied on that incredible back four and Seaman and it was quite successful but hard to watch . But players of the quality of Wright and God bless him SuperKev would be very welcome at the present time.
Let’s hope this is a phase that will see us emerge stronger with top quality strikers operating . And yes the Champions League ( and qualifying for it again next season ) should be our focus for the rest of this season
Something to cheer everyone up ahead of tomorrow:
https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/production/google-pixel-produces-sol-campbell-video-ahead-of-north-london-derby/5200763.article
I don’t think JdP is the problem in itself. It has been Ateta’s organising principle from the start. It can generate fast, flowing, attacking football as much as dull ball recirculation. There is no doubt that a 5-4-1 defence, as Newcastle and 10-man Manu U used, takes more time for JdP to break down than a 4-4-2 for all the obvious reasons, especially when we have lost a player of Saka’s quality. Yet, in both matches, we created enough openings by applying the principles of JdP to score more but repeatedly fluffed our lines in front of goal.
You make a fair point Ned and of course C130y and ourselves as the main exponents of JDP have been top scorers in the last couple of seasons . But watching live and on TV I have got hugely frustrated by the philosophy of the side .
We play out from the back with extreme risk , putting CBs and DMs under great pressure from the opponent’s press but ….fair enough that is modern football and it embraces risk .
But several times in recent games we have turned corners or free kicks into pass backs to Raya who then lumps a ball into a defence that has pushed up to the halfway line, rather than put in a speculative cross that might catch the opposition unaware . We also take huge time over throw ins that almost lead to yellow cards ( delaying set pieces is clearly part of Jover’s schtick, as you can see from corners ) .But quick spontaneous play is becoming less and less of a feature . Trossard’s ball to Martinelli opened United up and was very much the way we used to play . I think we are losing spontaneity. I’d be interested in other views as it may just be me!
TTG@17: The choreography of corner kicks is intriguing in a nerdy sort of way. I have long wondered who is signalling what sort of kick is incoming. For a while, I thought Rice might be doing that using the sequences in which he tugged at his shorts and then raised one of his arms. However, there wasn’t a consistently detectable pattern. Nor did Saka do anything like that on the right. Just stuck his arm up. So maybe the movement of the attackers in and around the six-yard bo is the trigger, and that is what the corner taker has to wait for. Gabriel increasingly appears to be the one issuing instructions to the others, presumably a relay from Jover. It is blatantly obvious with free kicks. I agree with you about the throw-ins. The delay just gives opponents time to get set.
I focused on our throw-ins on Sunday. Generally most were fairly slow. When I put myself in the throwers position, it seemed to me that I’d be slow too because few players were making themselves available to receive the ball. I’m not convinced that slow throw-ins are part of our new approach to the game. Having said that, there were occasions when a player picked up the ball looking for a quick throw then relinquished the ball/opportunity to Timber (right) or LMS (left) – so that part may be pre-determined.
The slowest return of the ball into the game came from Manure’s keeper’s kicks. He wasted a lot of time.
@19 Manure’s keeper did the same thing in the league game in December until we scored.
@17 i think you’re right that we are less open in how we play, MA has said openly several times I think that he wants more control – give the opponents no chance at all. It seems a fairly natural approach considering his apparently perfectionist nature. It is less entertaining but of course he will be forgiven and praised when we win, and criticised / written off when we lose. Personally, I am happy to wait and see what happens through the season as I believe we are still in with a good shout in the PL and CL but that is my apparently optimistic nature 🙂
Good set of results for us today.
Matt @19
The results today were excellent from our perspective . OK Bournemouth and Brentford might have won and Forest triumphed but we’d have signed for those results before kick off .
Tomorrow we need to win and get an infusion of confidence in front of goal . What a game to have to play eh with that as the issue! Interesting watching the West Ham/ Fulham game and the absolutely ridiculous goals that Fulham gave away because if playing out from the back. I’d love to see an analysis of tge benefit you get from playing out from the back set against the goals you concede directly because of over-elaborating. Bernd Leno wasn’t great with his feet and really loused up tonight b
This article from the Athletic addresses TTG’s question about playing out from the back:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5295095/2024/03/04/football-teams-playing-out-from-the-back-why/
It has lots of charts towards the end, which may count as the analysis TTG is looking for. It is quite an interesting read anyway, once it gets going.
Incidentally, the article says (and I paraphrase a bit) that managers and players are generally comfortable with playing out from the back; it’s the fans who need to be won over.
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