It is hard to look at this 2-2 draw against the enemy as anything other than two points dropped. Truth be told, I’d rather go for a long walk in the woods and forget about this one than sit here and write my, currently rather pessimistic, thoughts down.
Still, maybe this will prove cathartic.
First off, I have to say that I really dislike Spurs. Obviously, I am biased. Frankly, I find it hard to imagine anyone who is not a Spurs fan that does not dislike them. But, no matter who their manager is, or how many players they change, they are just the worst, most egregiously hateable team in the league. Which is just another reason to feel terrible that they will have left our stadium today chuffed to bits with their point. You know, the one we gave them.
We started with Vieira instead of Havertz and Eddie up top, with Jesus on the left as both Martinelli and Trossard were out. Raya kept his place in goal. His first action was to pick the ball out of the net after three minutes, but Son had been miles offside and did not even bother to celebrate.
We were on top for most of the first half. Saka scored on twenty-five minutes as he cut in and shot for the far post, only for Romero to dangle a leg that diverted it in at the near post. No less than we deserved. For the next ten minutes, we were all over them, but we failed to make the most of a series of good positions and chances. It was hard not to wonder if our profligacy would come back to haunt us.
We pressed well, and we pegged them right back on around the half hour mark until Jesus pounced to rob Maddison in his own box. Our striker put his laces through the ball, and it went over the bar. Let’s be clear; first, Jesus is a superstar and I love the guy; secondly, he should have scored and if he had done, I cannot see us failing to win the game. This miss was poor and turned out to be a huge moment.
The last ten minutes of the half saw Spuds finally wake up and investigate what our final third looked like. Raya made a fantastic save after a good Son run saw him pull the ball back for Brennan Johnson whose scuffed shot was still goal bound until our agile keeper’s intervention. Saliba celebrated it like we’d scored – he knew it was a massive let off. Replays showed Ramsdale clapping, which is what we would expect from the guy, but still a nice touch.
Instead of taking this as a warning sign and making sure to stay switched on, we did the opposite. We let Spurs probe with the ball and failed to clear the second ball after a cross. Johnson beat Saka to get to the byline and pull back for Son to somehow find space between the trio of Rice, Saliba and Gabriel and apply an annoyingly precise finish.
It came from nowhere and we had only ourselves to blame, both that we weren’t further ahead, and that we conceded a goal Arteta would have been fuming about.
Half time arrived, and Spurs were much the happier team at the interval.
We made changes at the restart. Havertz came on for Vieira, the Portuguese having had a decent half but not made much impact. At least he did not look out of his depth like he has in the past, he just didn’t dictate possession the way we would have liked. Our other change was the enforced removal of Declan Rice, who had a calf injury apparently, for Jorginho. I like the Italian, but this was a half to forget from him.
It only took five minutes for us to be awarded a penalty by VAR. Personally, I don’t understand the handball rules, but I think there should be no mitigating factors when a player blocks a goal bound shot with their arms/hands. It may not be deliberate, we might all agree it is unlucky, but a penalty should be awarded to redress the denial of a goalscoring opportunity, and when a shot is going straight in the goal until some bloke’s arm gets in the way, that is a penalty all day for me. I was not sure it would be given as I watched the fifteenth replay of an incident that required one to see it was a penalty, but, despite Gary Neville’s grumbling, it was finally given.
Saka stroked it home down the middle and we all celebrated. Lovely stuff.
Except then, we shot ourselves in the foot. I mean, we really shot ourselves in the foot. Like a centipede with a machine gun, we gave our collective feet one hell of a seeing to.
Jorginho was given the ball in our half, with no-one within ten yards of him. He dithered, then tried to beat a man (like he is well known for) and had the ball nicked off him by Maddison who had Son for company in a two on one against Saliba. He slid a simple ball through to the Korean thorn in our side, who finished past Raya to level the match. Why do we have to make it so easy for them? All I could do was shake my head.
It took the wind out of our sails, all the more so because it was such a gift. We handed it to that absolute shower on a plate. It is not worth having a go at Jorginho, because he knows better than most how desperately poorly he has done there. If the boss were unhappy with the first one, he’d have been apoplectic about this one.
However, we still had thirty-five minutes, plus injury time to make it right. Surely that would be enough?
We did a strangely bad job of getting the ball to Saka to stand up the Spuds left back who had gotten a yellow card on fifteen minutes. The lad on a booking must have been thrilled at how little he had to face one-on-ones against one of the best in the world.
Jorginho continued to be a half-yard behind the game, and we missed Rice’s anticipation and dynamism. Havertz did little more or less than Vieira had. Eddie did not offer much, and I assume it was for reasons of fitness that he stayed on when Jesus made way for Reiss Nelson with twenty minutes to go.
Spurs did not look like scoring as we piled on the pressure, mainly through a succession of corners which we made little of. Some Spurs chap handled the ball in the sort of incident that is often given as a penalty, but VAR did not check it, and I don’t understand the laws, so I have no idea if it should have been awarded or not. It was certainly not a decision consistent with many I have seen recently, which is frustrating, but it would have been a get out of jail free card that even I cannot say we deserved.
Despite the tantalising possibility of us scoring a late winner, we did not really threaten and the whole stadium had their hearts in their mouths when Richarlison struck a late shot goalwards, only to see it deflect wide.
The ref (poor all game but managing not to make any major decisions which impacted the result) decided he had seen enough, and the whistle blew.
My immediate feeling was one of disappointment. More than that, I was gutted that we made it easy for this horrific club to take a point away from a game we should have won. We’ve dropped further behind City, we aren’t even ahead of Spurs, and, as I get to the end of this report, it has not proved cathartic at all, and I am still gutted.
I suppose it is City’s relentless excellence that colours my reaction – any dropped points make it harder and harder to challenge Pep’s behemoth for the title. Yet, there is also the frustration at the careless, needless way we let Spurs score two goals, and our own wastefulness in failing to convert thirty-five minutes of utter dominance into an insurmountable lead. And, of course, there is no worse club to give points to.
The season is long, and this is hardly a disaster of a result. But if we replicate this sort of day many more times then we won’t be in the mix to win anything come May.
In the meantime, I am going for a shower. I feel dirty after that.
Until next time, ‘holics.
Cheers GSD.i share all these feelings you expressed as I’m nearly back home.
Fucking frustrating. To that lot.
And as you said, their left back on an early yellow should have been tested a lot more.
GSD – your title sums it up very neatly . We’ve played four games at home , dropped four points and conceded six goals- and we haven’t played anyone really good at home yet .
We were frustrated and frustrating today . We had several moments where we could have secured the game – Jesus’ miss , the two goals we gave away and we did miss the drive of Rice .
As many will know I advocated signing Maddison instead of Havertz and nothing the German has done has persuaded me that would have been a mistake . But he has to be given more time before we can be definitive about his impact . I would have like to see ESR replace Vieira . Jorginho made a mistake that really cost us too.
Today we lacked cutting edge and Nketiah was indifferent and very lucky not to see red . Maybe the game on Wednesday was part of the reason we weren’t as effective as usual but we have to factor that in this season. It’s still early in the season and we have a lot more games to play and we can’t lack energy especially in an NLD. In fairness energy wasn’t really the problem but we were disjointed and just shouldn’t let palpably inferior teams take points from us at home . Huge disappointment but we need to bounce back . Brentford will be a chance to show our resilience .
You’ve captured what i suspect will be the mood of the bar, GSD, two points given away to the shower we least like to give anything to. Hugely frustrating.
One thing Arteta is going to have to unravel is how Ødegaard was kept relatively quiet.
definitely the game i saw, gsd. what a waste. thanks for taking the hit and writing a fine post.
been shaking my head and muttering to myself all day.
Great report, GSD. It can’t have been easy to write about that game. I need to watch it in TV but my overwhelming impression from my seat in the ground was that Postecoglou worked out a plan and rather outhought Arteta. He injuries we have suffered didn’t help, of course, nor did the fact that we played midweek while they didn’t. But I can’t help feeling that while their manager has considerably progressed the way they play, we are still miles off the way we were playing last season and I really can’t understand it. Much like Gary Neville’s favourite partner, I’m very deflated.
Difficult to add anything to that splendid summary. Most certainly agree with CER that we’re still miles off the way we were playing last season.
If Gabi scores a second, we win that game. He’s wonderfully disruptive but not clinical. Even while missing two penalties against Nice this weekend, Balogun looked like a better bet than Eddie.
I listen to my Heavy Metal mix rather than SKY’s commentary during the game. I couldn’t understand for a single power chord why that penalty needed to be replayed and then reviewed. Obvious from the first moment.
Thanks GSD, a tough job excellently done. A honest report. It’s still hard to swallow the result. We must be more clinical in front of the goal. It felt Arteta still learning on the job and I think the GK situation might created uncertainity within the team.
But still we could win if Gabi Jesus… (ohh my ohh my)
COYG
That’s as cool headed, objective and accurate an analysis of a bad day at the office as the Guvna ever wrote. Superb job, GSD. You capture not only the game I saw but also plumb the depths of my feelings about the way it unfolded.
It was a hugely frustrating match, given how dominant we were for 30minutes but we failed to put our boot on their neck when we had the opportunity – twice: during that spell and then after taking the lead again. Thereafter it became a basketball game and our passing went to pot while the loss of Rice at half time really hurt our dynamic on the ball and our security off it.
We are still a work in progress. Much more work is required. Plus the lack of that old chestnut, the ‘fox in the box’ is now the glaring shopping essential.
Well done GSD. It’s a hospital pass when your name is on the rota for a game like that. You’ve done a fine job of describing the game. Some bad luck with injuries have temporarily disrupted our control. Some big games coming up now. Here’s hoping on some good news from the medical centre.
Thanks GSD, as others have said a fair report of a rough day.
I’m not buying the spud revival narrative personally, we should
have been 3 up by the time they started to play.
Let’s see how we react, swatting some bees sounds good.
Detected some negativity elsewhere (not here). To put things in context we are one point behind where we were last season. Still unbeaten in all competitions. Still work to do, but no grounds for negativity.
What C100 said @11.
BtM@6: VAR’s law: The more obvious the penalty, the longer the search for a reason to disallow it.
OM@10: Postecoglu is the media’s new shiny toy. They will tire of him soon enough.
Cheers GSD!
Cheers GSD – perfectly sums up a needlessly frustrating performance and result.
I had Tomiyasu at LB in my preview team because I thought Kulusevski would be a danger on their right wing. And so it proved. Despite Gabriel and Zinchenko doubling up on him for their first goal, no challenge went in and that’s what allowed the ball to be crossed into our area. Had that situation been sorted at source the ensuing passage of poor defending would not have happened and the goal would not have been scored.
Sure, other people made mistakes but I am getting quite irritated by Zinchenko as a defender. He is great further forward in the 8 role but getting back to defend his positioning is often all over the place.
We are vulnerable to a good winger on that side and Gabriel often has to run out of position – outside of Zinchenko – to take on the winger himself.
I know inverting fullbacks are all the rage but the first duty must be to defend. Zinchenko is a worse defender than Tomiyasu and, currently at least, a better 8 than Havertz.
Very good points from C100 and Trev . If Citeh hadn’t started like they have we would be pretty happy with our form . There are issues – concession of goals at home and balance in midfield and I think Trev’s point about the left back position is very germane . Timber’s injury was a huge blow . Zinchenko always impresses me when playing for Ukraine in midfield but he isn’t a great defender . Tierney was much better and I miss him in that position. Midfield is a problem and we need to decide how long we give Havertz to bed in . It was always going to take time but in his case it was a speculative move as he hadn’t played there regularly for some time . If he doesn’t work out we do need to see what ESR can give us in that role because even in his cameo yesterday I thought he offered more than Vieira, Jorginho or Havertz .
The Times suggested today that Jorginho’s poor performance diminished Odegaard and we pray that Rice will return very soon . But all is not disaster and if we beat Citeh in a fortnight we will be much happier with life
Trev@14: Your point about Zinchenko’s defending is well made. There is always relief if Arteta manages to sub him off before he has made his habitual defensive giveaway. I wonder if the original cunning plan was to play Timber at full-back and move Zinchenko into midfield, where he plays for Ukraine. If it was, Timber’s injury scuppered it, of course.
Yeah, I could have been onboard that, Ned.
As long as it didn’t involve playing Partey at right-back.
TTG@15: Our posts must have crossed in the ether.
As I alluded to in an earlier post, while Rice’s departure didn’t help, I think Ødegaard’s effectiveness was crimped more by Postecoglu’s tactics, which need to be decoded because other managers will be looking to do the same. He had his fewest touches, attempted the fewest passes, had the lowest pass completion rate (60.6%, shockingly low for him), the second-lowest number of progressive passes and the fewest take-ons of any game he has played for us in the league or CL. That suggests that he was systematically starved of possession and then denied outlets.
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Good summary of the match GSD! Nothing more to add.
I would have liked to see Reiss coming in for Eddie much earlier and working with Jesus playing centrally. Jorginho’s mistake was punished most obviously, but we have an uncharacteristically high percentage of poor control and passing. I am sure Mikel and the coaching team must be trying to find the reason for such strange drop in quality.
Let’s hope Gabi and Leo recover soon. And let’s hope ESR starts getting more chances to play.
Dr F@20: what turned the game was that Jorgiho being robbed by Maddison was punished with a goal while Jesus robbing Maddison was not. Fine margins but huge differences in outcomes.
There won’t be much on the next Gooner about the game
The Editor was so upset he’s asked us not to write about it in the next edition !
In fairness I don’t think many wanted to
TTG @22, I think that’s an overreaction by Layth. GSD’s piece captures the reaction of every fan to whom I’ve spoken and the game itself is an important yardstick of where this team stands in the quest for the PL and ECL silverware. We are all desperately disappointed but it’s not a tragedy and no-one died! Moreover it’s an important life lesson in the management of one’s own expectations and disappointment.
*votes baff*
Heh @ Ollie@24.
This is an interesting analysis of the game and might give MA8 a few sleepless nights:
In the cold light of day Bath has it.
I would feel worse if we had been cheated out of the result by ridiculous officiating decisions. The truth is we defended poorly for their first goal and gifted them the second with a schoolboy error. I think the reaction has been so extreme because taking the lead twice and letting them back in twice made it feel like a defeat. It was two points carelessly thrown away and was annoying and upsetting. But we got a consolation point and despite giving them two goals the Spuds still couldn’t win.
A lot of good sense on here. A reminder that in 2003/2004 we’d drawn three games at home by the end of November and were very lucky not to lose to Portsmouth. Younger fans sometimes have the impression that the Invincibles were always 3-0 up in 20 minutes and never gave away a bad goal. Not so.
Bath@25: Thanks for the link. It was helpful to see broken down what we all know to be a change in the way Arteta wants the team to play this season in order to deal with teams coming to grips with how we played last season, and particularly, as we have noted here before, oppositions deploying low blocks. I am not sure any of the analysis would cause Arteta sleepless nights, as it shows the team doing what I believe he wants it to, although I would be equally sure that he is worrying away at why the team isn’t/isn’t able to execute the new playing style flawlessly, and is working hard in training to get the players to internalise the new automations and erase last season’s.
I would argue that he is right that the team needs to keep evolving how it plays to be competitive at an elite level. I have a notion that he is building a team better suited to win the CL than the PL, but that is speculation for another day. In the clip, the analyst in the light sweater suggests what he called the Rice experiment could be considered a failure. Far too premature an assessment after just six games and not one, I would hazard, that will stand the test of time.
re: the Ivan Toney speculation. Big No 9s now seem in vogue at all the top teams, so our interest is understandable, but would Toney pass Arteta’s character test?
You bet he would ! 😏
Bath and Trev
I couldn’t agree more . We’ve had much worse situations vis a vis Tottnumb but as each season goes by and social media pressure mounts up ( to unrealistic levels ) you get silly overreactions. I hate any setback with the Swampies but this wasn’t a disaster .
C100 makes a very reasonable point. The Invincibles drew 12 games that season and although we beat Tottnumb at home tgat season it was a very fortunate victory after we trailed for much of the game ( to a worse Spuds side than this current one )
Ned@21, exactly! Fine margins etc.
Countryman @27, right. However, the level of the league has progressed so far that even the Invincible season point tally may not always be enough to win the league. Too many home draws hence is unhelpful, especially when the points are dropped not because of the innate quality difference with the opponents. Hopefully the City match will provide a good opportunity to recover much of the lost ground, as well as build more conviction in our own abilities, that conviction seems to be lacking at the moment.
Dr F@32: To your point, only two teams since the Invincibles won the PL with fewer wins than the Invincibles’ 26, the red Mancs in 2010-11 and Leicester in 2015-16, who both did it with 23 wins. Since Leicester, PL champions have averaged 30 wins.
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