Another Sunday, another crunch game for The Arsenal. In fact, this will probably be the shortest preview I ever write as any Gooners not aware of our current situation really need to be paying more attention. Straight to the game then, and we welcome, in the widest sense of the word, Burnley to The Arsenal for a game that must be won if we are to bring at least temporary relief from the endless analyses of why oh why has our team gone wrong. My own opinion on that particular conundrum is reflected in the title of this piece, as despite the bewildering array of possible formations, tactics, strategies, knick-knacks and whatnots I believe football remains a simple game and Billy Ockham and his razor are remembered for good reason. To quote Mikel Arteta:
“at the end of the day we haven’t scored enough goals and without doing that, we cannot win enough football matches. It is as simple as that”.
To summarize my own thoughts: I don’t care how or who lads, just get it done. I realize others may have more thoughtful and equally valid views on the issues that beset us currently but that is my own. Forward we go then for a quick dismissal of the opposition.
Burnley
We could hardly pick better opponents for this game. They have won 1 game in 10 this season, sit 18th in the table and have only scored 5 goals all season. They have a few players out, much like us, but in truth whoever starts won’t change how Burnley play. No doubt they will try hard, defend stoutly, foul in rotation and generally cheat whilst portraying themselves as old school salt of the earth-type honest fellows much like their manager, the absurd Dyche. We know they are nothing of the sort and we must help them on their way out of the PL with the sort of drubbing their hypocrisy, an only child of mendacity and mediocrity, so richly deserves. Harsh some may feel (actually I pulled my punches, you know, think of the kids), but I did say the welcome was in the widest sense of the word.
The Arsenal XI
As you may suspect by now I mostly don’t care which XI Mikel starts given the current situation. If our forwards regain their confidence in front of goal it won’t matter and if they don’t it will be another grim afternoon. I say mostly because, personally, I would certainly keep faith with Auba and Gabriel plus Leno, who now has no serious competitor for his place, but I don’t believe any of the other regular starters could complain if they were dropped after the recent run of weekend results. Of course from a wider perspective I hope MA will continue to develop our youngsters and transition to a more attacking style but this particular game is all about the short-term requirements of simply winning a home game. For what it’s worth, I expect a similar XI to last week’s game. There is an argument to be made for going with three centre-backs to counter Burnley’s set piece threat (except it’s five goals all season folks) but I hope Mikel will continue with a back four and the extra attacking threat it is rumoured to provide. Thomas’s unfortunate thigh will be an enforced change leaving us with the XI below:
Leno
Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney
Xhaka, Ceballos
Willian, Lacazette, Saka
Aubameyang
Is it the XI I would pick? No it isn’t. I have varying degrees of sympathy with those who believe AMN, Elneny, Joe W, Eddie, ESR, Cedric or even Mustafi should start, I just don’t think MA will go that way. Joe W or Eddie are perhaps the most likely changes or possibly some tinkering with the CB partnership, anyway we will see as Mikel may surprise us yet.
The Holic Pound
Whilst this preview contains little of the cheerful, very well-thought out optimism that is so resonant with this fine establishment, I simply cannot bring myself to predict anything other than a heartening win for The Arsenal. 4-0 seems well priced to me at 25s, and I look forward to seeing Mr Aubameyang, at a simply ludicrous 10/3, back on the score-sheet.
I hope those lucky enough to be going will enjoy a fine afternoon’s entertainment – and will support the team with their usual enthusiasm, especially during what may be a tense first 15 minutes – and that their, and our, day will culminate in the sweet joy of victory.Good luck to us all and COYGS!!!
Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
In days gone by, while I am not a regular overseas follower of the Gunners, I would have been at this game. I’ve been visiting Ireland regularly for forty years and my liver bears testimony to that. While I was sorry not to be at the game with a lot of Irish friends I’m glad not to be pitching up at Dublin Airport on Friday morning with a hangover for the ages. That is an experience I’ve had far too often.
So I followed a healthier regime today. A five mile country walk with a friend and BT Sport for the match.
The line-up was slightly puzzling – five at the back or four? (It turned out to be a five.) Would Arteta have told the players in advance? And who would be captain? The answer was Mustafi. It’s a bit like being the mascot you have a different one every game.
The match was preceded by a silence for the great Paolo
Rossi, another superstar gone far too soon.
Dundalk were fresh from winning the Irish Cup and began energetically. Arsenal didn’t blood anyone from the start but recalled Callum Chambers as one of three centre backs.
We created the first moment of danger as Nketiah rose to a
Pepe cross and then Nketiah had a shot blocked as he surged through.
Dundalk retained the bank manager who played at the Grove in goal but he probably didn’t need a day off to play this time. He didn’t inspire confidence but is well placed to give you an overdraft. Arsenal moved the ball smoothly on a saturated pitch and tried to use the flanks (nothing new there). Smith-Rowe operated down the left.
A fine ball from Mari set Nketiah free and he drew a yellow card from Boyle the Dundalk centre back.
In the 11th minute Nketiah blocked a clearance and dinked the loose ball past the keeper for the opening goal. How we wish he would show that alertness in the Premier League.
Dundalk 0
Arsenal 1
Arsenal were proving the ultimate flat-track bullies in the early stages, showing sharpness and a sense of adventure on the ball. Then Mustafi shinned a cross with his wrong leg and Shields of Dundalk skied it over the bar. On 17 minutes we produced a sustained piece of pressing moving the ball neatly and with a precision we have rarely showed in England this season. When Smith-Rowe backheeled to Elneny he drove a superb shot from thirty yards past the bank manager and into the top corner. A superb strike.
Dundalk 0
Arsenal 2
A slick move down the left between AMN and ESR led to a pull- back to Pepe who blazed over from a central position fifteen yards out. Dundalk then struck back in fine style after 23 minutes, Flores completing a give and go and firing a beautiful shot past Runarsson who might just have done better. But it was a fine goal and clearly heartened Dundalk who up to that point were getting a bit of a chasing.
Dundalk 1
Arsenal 2
Pepe looked particularly confident as did AMN playing in an
advanced role on the left and combining well with ESR.
A poor touch on 27 minute by Cedric, when in a good position led to him fouling the Dundalk defender and this earned him a yellow card. Shortly afterwards the fussy Croatian referee dished out another yellow to Joe Willock who was deemed to have caught his opponent with a stray arm. Willock despite this was looking assured and confident and was enjoying the extra time the Dundalk players afforded him.
Cedric, keen to emulate Elneny, tested the bank manager with a crisp shot that the custodian made a bit of a meal of and Arsenal gained a corner which they wasted. Given our travails at right-back (at least the ones I think we have), both Cedric and AMN were potentially auditioning for a first-team spot. AMN was doing his cause no harm and he hit a fine shot in the 40th minute from distance which the goalkeeper tipped wide. Nketiah was full of neat movement but possibly lacks the physicality to lead the line.
On the cusp of half-time Chambers saved Arsenal from embarrassment with a brave block as Leahy took aim following an excellent Dundalk cross.
The half ended with Arsenal having shown massive superiority but we had only a one goal advantage because of a combination of Dundalk pluckiness and a sense that we were lacking a serious cutting edge. Nevertheless the speed and smoothness of our movement came as a welcome change after our recent league performances.
Half- time
Dundalk 1 Arsenal 2
Would the second half see a flood of substitutions and
especially would we see Balogun and Azeez?
Arsenal began the half pressing strongly and with a willingness to stretch the Dundalk side by using the width of the pitch. Our first goal attempt followed a great turn and shot by Nketiah which saw his shot blocked. Dundalk then broke on the left and only an errant last pass prevented them from embarrassing Arsenal.
Of all the Arsenal performances at this stage, possibly it was the underrated Elneny who was having the most effective game and at this stage it was his goal which divided the teams. Fine play by Cedric on the right saw him fire a beautiful cross into the box but we were short of attacking bodies to meet it.
Mari then played an excellent ball forward, not his first and almost put Nketiah in. As the hour mark approached Dundalk were settling into a decent spell of possession and Arsenal’s technical superiority was much less marked.
Around the hour we saw the introduction of Balogun and Ceballos who replaced Nketiah and Elneny. Our two goal scorers were both removed. As they joined the fray the bank manager made a decent save from a free kick from the left by Cedric.
Mari looks very solid but a trifle slow and the number of
balls hit up the Arsenal right flank suggested that Dundalk saw this also as a
profitable avenue to goal possibly because of Chamber’s rustiness.
Then our third goal arrived. Balogun showed strength and touch to control a high ball in the area and touch it off to Willock whose shot went through the keeper and into the net.
Dundalk 1
Arsenal 3
One sensed that Arteta, who my wife feels could make more of a sartorial effort on the touchline (she’s married to a fashion plate), was agitated by our lack of penetration but it was almost immediately obvious that Balogun’s physicality was giving us a better platform when we built forwards.
On 73 minutes ESR set up Pepe but his ambitious chip drifted wide . Three minutes later we saw Ben Cottrell in an Arsenal first team shirt for his debut. He replaced ESR who had played well.
The impression that Balogun was making was increasingly clear and when on 79 minutes Pepe released him inside the area on the left he finished with coolness and precision.
Dundalk 1
Arsenal 4
After Cedric was cleaned out by Kelly the Irishman was booked and then we saw the debut of Miguel Azeez who replaced Joe Willock in midfield. While one would normally bemoan the plethora of substitutes this was a great opportunity to blood promising youngsters. But then Dundalk scored the first set-piece goal against us this season when Hoare rose to head a free kick from the right past Runarsson. There was again a suspicion that he was slow to react.
Dundalk 2
Arsenal 4
Azeez showed immediate signs of being very comfortable on the ball and looking able to take possession under pressure.
In injury time Callum Chambers was ruled offside when he flicked home following a right wing free kick. It was a narrow but correct decision.
Full time
Dundalk 2 Arsenal 4
So what should we make of tonight? It was a comfortable win with some encouraging performances. Had we won 7-0 it would have exacerbated the criticism of Arteta but we did concede two goals to a very average side and it could have been more. It is hard to get too excited as well by scoring four goals against this sort of opposition but we finished the group with an 100 % record and a goal difference of plus 15. I very much liked the quality that Smith-Rowe and Maitland-Niles showed on the left. Balogun is, in my opinion much more impressive than Nketiah who is a trifle lightweight and in a tiny cameo Azeez looked very skilful and composed. I think all four of those players will make a big impact if given the chance.
Burnley on Sunday is a much bigger game than this but we enter it in slightly better heart.
I was sure that in our long and cherished history Arsenal
must have played a competitive match or two on Irish soil, but I didn’t remember
watching any since I had started to follow the red-and-white in the Arsène Wenger
heydays. A quick walk-through in the Arsenal museum’s European history section
brought me to a minor display – dust-covered and neglected in a corner – of a
double-header against Glentoran of Northern Ireland in the Inter-Cities Fairs
Cup in 1969-70 season. We had won 3-0 at Highbury before losing 0-1 away at
Belfast. But the gleaming showcase at the well-lit center of that section in
the museum tells me that we had won our first European trophy in that
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. First of only two, and I can never shake off that
feeling that it is a record of singular underachievement for a club of
Arsenal’s history and stature.
Just as it happens with everything in life that we take for
granted, only after we have fallen off the high standards required to maintain
our (now all the more so) enviably consistent record of Champions League
participation, the entire fanbase now appreciates the value and significance of
that consistency and is now reunited with the aspiration of the
return back to where we think we belong. Hope is probably a more
suitable word than aspiration. We are currently a Europa League team –
with a few players on Champions League wages – and with a squad that has been
built with the strategic foresight of a Chekhovian aristocrat who after falling
into hard times mortgages his estate to pay for a gala reception.
Nonetheless, however unsatisfying it might be, the Europa League has this enticing (and a little paradoxical) allure of providing an avenue to get out of its Thursday night clutches, and back into the comforts of Allianz Arena or Camp Nou on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Win me, this Europa whispers — even if you are a tame indistinguishable bull in the herd of your fellow league strugglers – and the Mount Olympus of Champions League football is yours to stroll onto.
Though decidedly tame have been our performances and results lately in the league since the memorable away win at Manchester United, in the Europa group stages we have won all of our first five matches and tomorrow gives us an opportunity to put on a sixth consecutive win — however inconsequential that might be in the context of our group as we have already topped the group B and Dundalk F.C. with zero points cannot progress to the next stage irrespective of results – to at least bring a sense of relative calm before the all-important six-pointer against fellow relegation strugglers Burnley in the weekend’s PL fixture.
Dundalk F.C. may be a minnow in the context of European
football but they are one of the most successful (and oldest) team in the Irish
domestic league, winning it 14 times, the last of which came in the 2018-19
season. They are also currently the highest-ranked Irish club in European
football. And this is the second time they have qualified for the Europa league
group stages after successfully navigating the qualifying rounds.
Arsenal players, irrespective of the starting line-up,
should be able to enjoy this game and play with some flair and verve that
provide entertainment to the Irish football fans attending the match, and also
to us who in the wider Goonerverse who have been subjected to an array of
listless, drab performances in the league lately. Our Europa performances have
had a few joyful moments this season where the extra amount of space and time
allowed by opposition players were exploited by the higher technical and
physical qualities of our players. We saw a few well-orchestrated moves,
moments of individual brilliance, and sumptuous strikes.
This Sunday’s home match against Burnley will be in the forefront of Arteta’s mind while choosing the starting line-up for this match. However, I don’t think he will start more than one or two players who haven’t yet started for Arsenal this season in any competition. Given the unfortunate recurrence of Partey’s injury last Sunday, combined with Xhaka’s alarmingly slow-paced performance, I think both Elneny and Dani should be in contention for the starting line-up for this Sunday’s match. Neither Joe Willock nor Reiss Nelson (who wasn’t even in the squad) had played a single minute in the loss last weekend – in my opinion, quite inexplicably as both could have brought some directness and impetus that were obviously lacking – so they too should be in contention at least for making significant contributions from the bench if not in the starting eleven. I think at least one of them will still start this match as Mikel will want to ensure that there is a sense of continuity in the technical quality of our Europa performances.
As Nicolas Pépé still has one more match to sit out for his uncharacteristic red card against Leeds, he will start. I hope Ainsley is given a chance to continue to impress in his preferred central midfield role. Balogun will obviously get a chance at some stage in this game, if not starting in tandem with Eddie then replacing Nketiah in the second half. Given our well-known paucity of creative outlets in the midfield the home-grown talent of Emile Smith Rowe is an enticing prospect to be used in Premier League, even if sparingly, and Mikel may want to test his consistency over the span of a full match in this game. Callum Chambers played his first few minutes of professional football after a long recovery so he should continue that process again as a second half substitute, with five subs being allowed in European competition that option becomes much easier to implement.
My predicted line-up:
Rúnarsson
Cedric – Mustafi – Mari – Kolasinac
AMN-Willock
Pépé – ESR – Reiss
Eddie
With the likes of Chambers, Balogun, Miguel Azeez, Ben
Cottrell coming in the second half.
A win with a few goals and some entertaining football will
be most welcome. I am guessing another 4-1 victory.
Happy viewing everyone!
Before kickoff a look at the table showed the painful truth
that the old enemy could go top of the league with a win, while we were more
modestly aiming to go into the top half. There could not be a better game to
end a dismal run of performances and results that have had the fanbase looking
squarely at the manager to lead us out of this funk. Would it be one of the
good days?
When the team was announced we were boosted by the news that
Thomas Partey was passed fit to play. I am not a doctor and I have to trust our
medical staff but given how this decision turned out it is one that many will
question in the cold light of day. And today the light is ice-cold indeed. Absolutely
sub-zero.
We kicked off and Laca immediately kicked the ball out of
play. I laughed at that. It was a comical mistake that did not cost us anything
much. And I vaguely thought that at least our passing could not get worse. Right?
Our second potentially comic moment took only a minute
longer to arrive, the hopeless Xhaka rugby tackling Kane outside our box. If
another player had done it I might have found it amusing but having seen the
Swiss do the same thing countless times before when he could not get near the
ball I was not impressed. I managed a mirthless grin as he escaped without a
clearly deserved booking. Gary Neville on Sky commented that he seems to commit
about 800 fouls per match, which may be an exaggeration. I then laughed at Eric
Dier as he Luized the freekick high and wide.
The game settled quickly enough. We had more possession, as
you would expect against a team setup by the translator. There were a few fouls
in midfield, we had a couple of crosses but nothing much was happening. Until
it did…
In the 13th minute we spread the ball wide to
Bellerin who put in a poor cross aimed at Auba. Spurs headed it clear and
flicked it on to Kane in the centre circle. Gabriel was not tight enough to
challenge him or foul him. Partey opted against a cynical takedown. Perhaps he
is not yet used to playing in a team that lets the opposition take a mere two
touches from their own penalty box to put you into last-ditch tackle territory?
The unmolested Kane spread it wide to Son. Son ran at
Holding, who backed off, and from thirty yards he smacked a wonderful shot that
flew past Leno.
Tottenham 1 – Arsenal – 0
It is hard to blame the keeper when the shot was so good. And
I understand why Holding did not commit. He had no cover (Bellerin trying to
make up ground, Willian looking suspiciously like Theo – running in the right
space but never looking interested in actually making a tackle) and if he dived
in then Son’s quick feet might well have gone past him and given the South
Korean a one-on-one from inside the area. Better to let him shoot from 30 yards
as he won’t score often from there. But yesterday was the day he did. Sometimes
them’s the breaks.
Could we respond?
Well, sort of. We continued to control the ball but, as so
often, without creating clear chances. Partey showed his quality in the
midfield. Xhaka also showed his quality. Ahem. Unfortunately, that is not of
the same level as Partey. I am finding it hard to watch him foul his way slowly
around the pitch, passing backwards and killing our attacks with a skill I wish
our deep lying midfielder possessed at stopping the opposition’s attacks.
Bellerin got forwards but did nothing apart from give away
another foul throw. I would call it a schoolboy error but schoolboys know how
to take a throw in.
Auba got no service and was not really involved. Saka and
Willian had the ball in good positions but created little. Willian did improve
his recent set piece delivery but we do not have the personnel to attack these crosses.
Not that we worked that out all game. If at first you don’t succeed etc.
With five minutes to go Auba pulled out to the left and put
in a low clipped ball that Willian made a good run towards. The Chelsea Willian
smacks that left-footed into the goal. Our version seemed to withdraw his foot
at the last second and the ball bobbled behind him on yet another day to forget
for the Brazilian. His Arsenal career so far has been a bit Eternal Sunshine Of
The Spotless Mind – most of us would pay good money to have it erased.
As we passed the 45 minute mark and went into injury time we
broke forwards after a clearance from Holding. Lacazette played a beautiful
pass through for Hector who tried to find Auba. A frustrated figure throughout
the game, the Gabonese is really in the doldrums. Quite what he was trying to
do as he ran backwards away from the ball is anybody’s guess. It was weird at
the time and a day later the replay is no better. If he had gone towards the
pass he would probably have nicked it before the defender and had either a
penalty or a shot on goal from 12 yards and the game might have gone another
way. Instead Aurier brought it out and passed it to Lo Celso who was standing
centrally between their penalty box and the centre circle. From that position
he had only three Arsenal players, Holding, Gabriel and the keeper, between him
and the goal. In contrast the two defenders are marking three Spurs players
apart from the one with the ball. What kind of defensive shape is that?
Xhaka was ten yards in front of Lo Celso. It was a crazy
starting position for a bloke with no recovery pace even if his midfield
partner had been covering. But he was not. Thomas Partey had felt his thigh
injury recur and hobbled to the touchline. Despite Arteta’s desperate attempt
to push him back into the space he had vacated he was going nowhere fast, just
like Xhaka. The timing of that injury was very unlucky and very costly.
We all knew what was coming. Lo Celso passed to Son, who
played in the overlapping Kane. Despite a moment of confusion when the Spurs
striker was surprised to find something large and wet in his mouth he realised
in time it was just his tongue, and twatted the ball in off the bar. Not much
Leno could do.
Tottenham 2 – Arsenal – 0
Ceballos came on for Partey before the half ended. As the
second half started we had a brighter spell, with Ceballos himself looking
lively. However, we were not creating clear chances and the match settled into
a pattern we have seen before against Mourinho sides. We dominated the ball. They
sat back and did nothing (they are such
a dull side) We put in a huge amount of crosses. But we have forwards who do
not score headers very often and the spuds defence were fairly comfortable.
Auba had possibly our best chance of the match as, for once,
he connected with a whipped ball in from Tierney but his header was poor,
failing even to hit the target. Boy does he need a goal.
Lacazette almost ran on to a Bellerin cutback following some
tidy team play but he did not attack the space with enough conviction and so
found himself half a yard short. Had Rambo been playing at 10 he would have
scored.
Laca had a couple more half chances and he did well to force
good saves from Lloris. Playing as a 10 the Frenchman had a decent game. Some
good touches, linkups and efforts on goal mixed with some poor moments when he
failed to keep possession or find a pass. Despite being involved in some
dangerous situations it was unsurprising that he struggled to find space
against a side that packed the middle of the park and tried to smother him out
of the game. However, his workrate was excellent. He fought hard all match and
when Spurs had their first attack of the second half, in injury time, it was
Lacazette who sprinted the length of the pitch to crop up as our last defender
and win a tackle on the edge of our box. Top effort.
Spurs offered nothing all half. Their work was done. We
subbed on Nketiah for Bellerin but it made no difference. We did not get a
break despite doing a lot of positive things. They defended deep, untroubled by
all the crosses in the world, and the match played out predictably to end
without further goals.
So, what do we make of that? Perhaps there is a lot to say
about the club, even yesterday’s match? I won’t try to say it all when I know
you lot will continue to fill The Drinks with the good sense they have come to
be known for. I’ll touch on a few things though.
The dust has settled enough that I am over the initial
sickness that losing to that shower always induces. I have stayed away from
social media which, I imagine, has some pretty unhappy people being quite vocal
about how they feel. Which they are of course free to do but, as the man said,
not for me, Clive.
As a team we have a lot of problems. At the end of last season we all knew we lacked creativity. It was our biggest problem. So we signed Willian and pursued Aouar, ultimately unsuccessfully. Willian has so far been very poor, failing to add the one quality he was primarily bought for. Worse still is that Pepe, despite his lack of consistency, is an unpredictable player who scores goals, yet his place has been taken by a predictable player who does not score goals. We are actually worse as a result.
Our press has gone out the window. Even the positional
discipline that was so excellent away at Manure has disappeared faster than
Roadrunner, leaving Mikel Arteta treading air like Wile E Coyote. Our best
midfield player by some distance has been allowed to talk himself into the team
when not physically ready and it will surely see him out for a while at a time
when we need him the most. Was that well handled?
Individual players are struggling. Auba can’t buy a goal,
although he is getting none of the service he thrives on, so that is not
entirely down to him. Rob Holding suffers from a lack of pace. And he always
will. Bellerin’s defensive contributions are worrying. Saka is too young to be
responsible for getting us out of jail and this season he has struggled to build
on his impressive numbers last season. Laca has missed a lot of good chances-
he must start finishing.
Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka makes me weep. Tears and tears of
confusion and sadness. Like a naughty child that has woken up on Christmas
morning thinking that they were going to get a nice present from Santa but
instead has to watch a highlights reel of every backwards pass Xhaka has ever
made for the club and has realised it is so long it will go on until Boxing Day
and they are going to miss all the turkey and the Christmas specials.
All that said, I have plenty of faith that Mikel Arteta will
come good. And patience for him to do so. Not everyone shares this opinion, and
it does not make it any easier to watch our current struggles whatever you
think of the future. I think the issues at our club go far deeper than the
manager and I want to stick with someone who I see huge potential in rather
than throw the towel in because we have hit a bad patch. In any case, I can see
no chance that the club will get rid of him anytime soon, so giving him my full
support continues to be the only viable option. I expect that, at some happier
point further down the line, he will look back at this tough spell as being a
formative one during which he learned a lot.
I do, however, have little sympathy when he keeps starting Xhaka,
who is just not good enough. And I wonder what has gone on in the last two
months? Even eight weeks ago we looked like a team with a game plan. Now we
look clueless and it is on the boss to sort it out and show that we are on the
right path. The lack of clarity about what we are trying to do in the last
couple of months has been concerning and I hope for all of us that we see some
improvements sooner rather than later.
Fortunately for us, Arteta is a man with a steely
determination and it appears the players are fully behind him. They are putting
in a shift, and I did get a little frustrated with a couple of people who said
yesterday that they were not putting in any effort. That was not what I saw and
strikes me as lazy ‘analysis’. It is not just a question of running a bit more.
We have a handful of top players that have quality and
workrate. We can build around them. There is also a lot of potential in some of
our young players who will surely get more game time as the season unfolds.
There are grounds for positivity as well as realistic concerns at where we are
right now and I think it is sensible to acknowledge both.
And look, football is a funny old game. Maybe next week we
scrape a win through an offside goal that a faulty VAR fails to rule out
(causing Sean Dyche to do his impression of an aged bollock crossed with a
furious beetroot), we all have a good laugh, something shifts in our fortunes
and we start to build some momentum? Maybe Pepe returns with the bit between
his teeth and displaces Willian? Maybe Auba scores a hat trick and goes on a
run of goals? Maybe Partey is not so badly injured and has a great Christmas
spell? Maybe we move early and decisively in the transfer market and add
players we need to the squad whilst trimming some we don’t? (Edu- that one is
on you!)
Who knows?
Football is mad. 2020 is bonkers. Anything could happen.
After a dispiriting day like yesterday we are all hurting and no one thinks we
are where we want the club to be. Maybe it will get worse before it gets
better. But there are no quick fixes for this one. If we are in Hell then we
are going to have to keep going. Let’s keep going together.
And so, just like Christmas, the North London Derby comes around again. It finds the Arsenal goose somewhat underprepared this year if not raw after our worst start to a league season in 39 years. We come into this game in 14th place with just 13 points from 10 games. Our opponents sit 8 points ahead of us, squatting at the top of the table. Last Sunday they scrapped out a 0-0 draw at the Bus Stop in Fulham while we put in another poor PL performance ending in a dispiriting home defeat. The Marshdwellers are certainly in good form currently but the Arsenal’s performance and win against Rapid Vienna on Thursday has lifted the mood and shown what we are capable of, if only against a pretty poor outfit. Fortunately, the NLD often does not go to form because so many players raise their game for the occasion – will that apply in a largely deserted barn containing 2000 numpties? A win wouldn’t take the Arsenal into the top half of the table but it would go a long way to restoring the possibility of a St Totteringham’s celebration by season’s end.
Our PL record at their place (whatever you call it and including their squat at Wembley), is 5 wins, 12 draws and 11 defeats in 28 games with an aggregate of 35 goals for and 40 against. We have to go back to March 2014 for our last victory at the shabby end of the Seven Sisters Road when a goal from Thomas Rosicky after 2 minutes gave us a classic 1-0 victory. Strangely, in each of our last two visits to their lair, we took the lead in the 16th minute. In March 2019 Aaron Ramsey’s fine goal was pegged back by a late Kane penalty for a 1-1 draw and in July 2020 Lacazette’s goal was pegged back almost immediately then we lost 1-2 to an 81st minute goal from Alderweireld.
In the absence of a sceptical home crowd, the Marshdwellers have embraced the specious one’s dire game style. When out of possession they play a low block with midfielders Højbjerg and Sissoko dropping into the backline to create a back 6 screened by a threesome usually comprising Son, Bergwijn and Ndombele. As with all Moaninho’s sides, they happily concede possession and ground awaiting a stray pass or successful tackle to break out at speed. Kane is usually the initial focal point of their breakout receiving the ball inside his own half then firing it forwards for the onrushing Son, Bergwijn or fullbacks. They have become very good at swift and accurate passing between runners and on the counter attack they represent a real goal threat. The interchanges between Son and Kane in particular will have to be stifled. Will they adopt a high press or an all-out attacking strategy against a wounded Arsenal? I don’t think that they will press or drive forwards for long periods but they will do so for spells then revert to the shell. The specious one has suggested that Lloris and Kane are doubtful for this match. I don’t believe a word that man says.
Despite the solidity of their massed defence, their centre backs are vulnerable to pace and swift passing and movement. Furthermore, their fullbacks often leave acres of space behind them and are vulnerable to wide-men on a counter-attack. The Marshmen also retain a proclivity to crumble under pressure as Wet Spam demonstrated earlier this season.
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal teams used to succumb to the Portuguese reptile’s ‘rope a dope’ tactic with sickening regularity. For years I wanted Arsene to beat him at his own game by drawing his team onto us and striking on breakaways but he never played against them that way. Sadly, we did then have a team capable of rapid counter-attacks but those days have long gone and I honestly can’t see that tactic working with Xhaka and Ceballos bestriding our midfield.
After the grim displays against Villa and Wolves and the paucity of chance creation and dearth of PL goals from open play, I found it difficult to see a more fruitful approach to this game than reverting to a back three, prioritising a low block and looking to strike on the break. This would replicate the playbook that we used at Old Trafford though that result relied on a liberal contribution from Lady Luck at both ends. Despite the good performance against Rapid Vienna on Thursday, the quality of the opposition was several rungs below PL standards so it is unlikely it will convince Arteta to retain a 4-3-3 but I think he will use KT3’s and Saka’s flexibility to morph between a 3-4-3 out of possession and a 4-3-3 on the offensive.
My nightmare is this: our central defence will be lambs to the slaughter if we lose possession when camped on the edge of the opposition box with our wing backs thrown forward and pedestrian midfielders left for dead as opponents race past them. To me, it would be far more preferable to play cat and mouse rather than drive forward, hell for leather.
I have found selecting a team for this match a major challenge. I hope Mikel Arteta has found it easier. On the one hand we have the record of miserable performances in our recent PL matches that demand improvement and on the other we had that delightful performance on Thursday with the injection of youthful enthusiasm in the form of Nelson and AMN and a re-invigorated looking Lakazette. Yet we must be realistic. Rapid Vienna barely closed us down and those players will not be given that time and space on Sunday.
The keeper and back three pick themselves (surely Luiz must be rested following two recent head injuries?). The continued absence of Partey is a huge blow as his midfield physicality and distribution were significant factors in the Old Trafford result. All our other midfield options lack those qualities. As a former midfielder of some distinction, MA8 will be well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the midfield players at his disposal. Like many, I am tired of watching Xhaka floundering in our midfield but he does have the experience and street-smarts to match the opposition’s big, tough midfield thugs. Yet I’m not sure I would select him as a starter because he is so bereft of pace. Before Thursday, the whirling Dervish Ceballos’ contributions had been equally turgid. However, his cameo against Rapid Vienna showed his creative qualities with several incisive forward balls and he has forced himself back into contention.
On Thursday, AMN excelled in his favourite position as a box to box midfielder. However, as he played the full 90 minutes and as Thursday’s opposition would have made Xhaka look like Patrick Vieira (I jest), I think he will be on the bench, perhaps to replace Willock late in the game. Lacazette and Nelson both also had excellent games, the former in a deep lying ‘10’ role in which he excelled (against weak opposition), while Nelson displayed high energy and linked well creatively (against weak opposition). Elneny had a less spectacular game but, a couple of poor passes apart gave a reasonable performance as the deep-lying midfielder (though Ceballos looked better). I think it’s a toss-up between Elneny and Ceballos starting in midfield and Ceballos’ cameo may have won him the starting position. For me, that would be alongside Joe Willock.
I expect Mikel Arteta to give Lacazette a chance to reprise the ‘number 10’ role against big boys. With Pépé’s continued suspension, I would start Nelson and Aubameyang drifting centrally from ‘inside forward’ positions ahead of him. This would allow Bellerin to overlap on the right and Saka and Tierney to attack the wide left corridor.
Actually, I think that Mikel Arteta will start Willian over Nelson because of his vastly greater big match experience and recognition that Nelson’s good performance was against lightweights. Heaven forfend Mikel sticks with the turgid combination of Ceballos and Xhaka in central midfield but he might just decide that experience trumps legs and he is paid to make those calls. I think we need more directness, energy, strength and pace than those three players offer but there’s no doubt that experience counts in games like this and youngsters can be overrun. The truth is that we don’t have midfielders of the quality that we need for this level of competition. The brave, though some might say foolhardy, choice would be to play a 4-3-3 with a midfield of AMN, Willock and Ceballos and a front three of Nelson, Aubameyang and Saka. It’s not happening, nor should it.
Thus, I expect we will start a 3-4-1-2, morphing into 4-2-1-3 when breaking forward:
Leno
Holding, Gabriel, Tierney
Bellerin, Ceballos, Willock, Saka
Lacazette
Willian, Aubameyang.
The Holic Pound
I will be satisfied with a good performance and a point but the Holic pound is backing a cheeky 1-0 to the Arsenal at 11/1.
A good result in this game, no matter how it’s achieved, would make a massive difference to this team’s confidence and its performances in forthcoming games.
At the risk of overegging the pudding by returning to the opening metaphor, I hope we don’t get stuffed because if we do, our goose may well be cooked this season.
