Goonerholics Forever

This evening saw a welcome return to Wembley for The Arsenal after a season that has been challenging to say the least. The FA Cup has provided a quantum of solace in recent years with three hugely enjoyable victories, the last of them after beating today’s opponents in the semis. However, a stern challenge was in store against a Man City side that had proved too strong in our last seven meetings and came into the game on the back of two recent wins against Bournemouth and UEFA.  A tall order then but spirits had been buoyed by a gutsy defeat of Liverpool during the week. Could we beat the current top two in the PL within the space of week? It would certainly send a message.

Before the game there had been speculation on team selection in both defence and attack but as it turned out the biggest surprise was possibly in midfield where Ashley Maitland-Niles was chosen to start, despite rumours of his imminent departure. In all there were 5 changes from the side that started against Liverpool with Auba, Hector, Dani, Mustafi and AMN replacing the unfortunate Nelson, Saka, Rob Holding, Torreira and the cup tied Soares. Emi continued in goal with Mus recalled and Tierney retained either side of David Luiz. Hector, Dani, Xhaka and AMN were given the task of winning what would be a vital midfield battle if we were not to spend 90 minutes under the cosh and our expensively assembled forward line of Pepe, Laca and Auba were entrusted with getting at their occasionally suspect back line.

I must admit if felt very odd to watch the teams emerge to an empty Wembley stadium and line up somewhat pointlessly beside the arch.

The stadium itself was bedecked, or at least the Arsenal half was with reminders of our 13 previous FA Cup Wins – perhaps done as a gentle reminder that money can’t buy you class.

1^st half

Anyway, to the game. Come on you Gunners !! It took only 3 minutes for Mr Toad, disguised as Jon Moss, to ignore a foul on Dani and let City get in a dangerous cross that was well cleared by Tierney. A period of early domination followed for Pep’s men enlivened by a mix-up between Luiz and Mustafi in our area that had me swearing loudly at the TV but was fortunately cleared by Dani, I think, for a corner. Finally about 15 minutes in we started to get forward a little more, a Lacazette offside goal was followed by a good chance for Auba after Luiz played him in with a cracking pass. Unfortunately, Auba shot straight at the keeper when he could perhaps have done better. He was about to make up for it. Deciding on a change in tactics we played the ball calmly out of defence and worked it forward to Laca, who controlled well and played it wide to Bellerin, he nudged it forward to Pepe who swung in a great cross for Auba to ghost in at the far post and slide a perfect finish past the hapless, stranded, baffled and bewildered keeper. Great goal, well worked and expertly finished.

One Nil to The Arsenal

A drinks break followed shortly afterwards, I had a beer, and then I noticed the players were having a break too. Whatever Mikel said or whether it was simply the confidence from the goal The Arsenal started to play much better. Mus was lucky to escape a booking for standing on Silva’s foot but I think it was the last foot he put wrong and it wasn’t really luck in a way as Moss ignored several yellow cards subsequently. I suppose we did ask for more consistency. As the half wore on Ederson did well to cut out a Pepe cross and tip over a Mustafi header from a good Ceballos corner. We should have punished City a couple of times but a mixture of a final misplaced pass by Auba after good work by Xhaka and bad luck when the ball hit Pepe’s heel when he might have been through meant that we went in at half time a goal to the good though it could have been more. City had had half chances but good defending had restricted them greatly. Very encouraging but could we maintain the level of performance in the 2^nd half?

2^nd half

In all honesty the answer to that question is no. We started slowly and Sterling, of whom more later, missed two presentable chances in a couple of minutes. We spent the next 20 minutes pinned back apart from rare forays forward by AMN, who was having a good game defensively but is not blessed with the best left foot cross. The one time Mahrez did escape from AMN Emi was down smartly at his near post to save well. Goalmouth scrambles, last ditch blocks, shots just wide and mostly stout defending was then the order of the day. It was tight, nerve-shredding, nail-biting, edge of the seat, behind the sofa – you get the general idea I’m sure – stuff. The drinks break came again and Mikel wisely told the team to get another goal to reduce the tension. Excellent work down the left by Kieran and Pepe put Auba in the clear and he finished with his customary aplomb through Ederson’s legs.

Two Nil to The Arsenal

Two nil up, 20 minutes to go. We have not been a team you would ask to defend a lead if your life depended on it for some years now but cometh the hour today and with Luiz to the fore we defended with great bravery ad no little organization and skill for the last 20 minutes. Pepe was the first to be subbed off for Willock shortly after Auba’s goal. He was not at his best today but he played an important part in both goals and has won the prestigious photo at the top of this article prize. Willock was shortly followed on by Torreira replacing Lacazette and clearly the plan was what we have we hold. And hold it we did, Laporte shot just wide, then Sterling deliberately fell on Mustafi and may well have injured him – Mr Toad sailed serenely on – and Sterling then had the cheek to complain about Mustafi being injured. A minor annoyance but it was in no way accidental to my mind and should been reviewed. Mus went off having done well after his early Mussiness to be replaced by Holding and Dani went off to be replaced by Kola. There were a long seven minutes of extra time but City had by then run out of ideas.

It was a great team performance today, Mahrez, Sterling, De Bruyne and Silva were for all their possession mostly ineffective and that was not because they suddenly became bad players, it was due to hard work and discipline in closing the channels they like to play down. However, having said that I must give individual shouts to Xhaka, he was superb today, Tierney likewise and Luiz who had a great 2^nd half when the pressure was at its fiercest. Auba was class and Lacazette led the line well.

Finally, well done Mikel, a first Wembley game as manager and you’ve seen off that Pep Whatshisname bloke.

It’s good to be a Gooner.

Onward to the final. What did she wear?

When I, and I believe so do many others in the world of global Arsenal fanbase who had started following and supporting the team from different corners of the earth in the early days of Arsène’s singular regime, think back about why specifically we fell in love with this great football club, a gritted teeth rearguard defensive display doesn’t appear anywhere in the list. However, as times went by, and the great Arsenal teams that so dominated the English football in the late 1990s and early 2000s started to lose their steeliness to morph into a still entertaining, often breathtakingly so, but no longer invincible team – for a myriad of complex and much debated reasons that will always pain our memories, even if we acknowledge nothing lasts forever – the more seasoned Arsenal supporters who have been through the thick and thin of Highbury terraces would ruefully reminisce about other Arsenal vintages where the no-nonsense defensive display was the minimum standard expected and almost always delivered by the team, even in seasons where the creativity and goals will make only rare appearances.

We too, along with those wise and experienced guides to the world of Arsenal, started feeling nostalgic about a past that we ourselves never experienced. After the umpteenth time some expensively collected hoofball team had played two lines of defense against our technical wizards for much of the match to snatch a slender win gifted by our increasingly wayward defenders, we would feel that maybe now and then it will be okay to play this way. When you support a team, you support a team, and even though you support them for the quality of football they are capable of playing, you just want them to win.

That technical wizardry too ran its due course, leaving behind some delightful memories and a few domestic cups. Increasingly erratic performances in the league as we slipped further and further down the rung of elite teams in Europe put the spotlight more on a defense which was now capable of delivering the absurdly comic on a predictable basis. Funny, not funny.

As this strangest of season winds down and we learn to accept a final league position in the lower strata of the top half of the table, we also realize that climbing back up will require time, patience, and no small amount of inventiveness and dedication. But whatever be those pathways back to excellence are, we simply can no longer afford to defend the way we have been doing in recent past.

Coming off yet another defensive horror-show in NLD which to be fair was a relapse of the old habits after a run of relatively robust displays since the season resumed, the expectations were grim against the already declared champions: a high-pressing high energy team with a mobile and efficient front three that have been scoring freely in England and Europe for couple of seasons now. The visitors were also chasing a record point tally in Premier League and at least the much coveted 100-points mark. The claim of their invincibility had of course earlier been proven to be unfounded.  

The starting line-up included some fresh legs and (hopefully) fresh minds.  The increasingly impressive Martinez in goal who one imagines, after the calamitous defending of the last weekend, was hoping to be better protected by a back three of Tierney, Luiz and Rob Holding who replaced Kolasinac. Soares came in for Bellerin in the right wingback role. Saka similarly supporting Tierney on the left side. In the center of the midfield it was great to see the always efficient Lucas Torreira starting his first game after his injury, partnering Xhaka. Ceballos was on the bench. Up front the collective of Pepe, Lacazette and Reiss Nelson making its first starting appearance together, with Pepe atypically on the left side and Reiss on the right. Our captain and the most reliable goalscorer was being given a break. He has been playing non-stop since the restart and there is a cup semifinal in the weekend. His good friend and strike partner Lacazette wore the captain’s armband.   

The match started exactly as Arsenal supporters must have had feared. Liverpool pressing high, playing quick interchanges around the box, moving ball swiftly from one side to another while we were having genuine trouble to put two passes together or get out of our own half. When we did send the ball long to the left Saka-Laca combination earned us a corner around 4^th minute that didn’t result to much. Torreira was busy as ever, covering a lot of space and trying to recycle after winning possessions but none of the front three were strong or calm enough to retain possession and drive forward. Liverpool had their first corner around 9^th minute which was well defended.

Around 11^th minute we almost gifted a goal when Martinez – who has been confident, crisp and accurate in his passing in all the matches in the recent past – waited just a second longer to release as Firmino pressed him and his clearance hit the Brazillian and then ricocheted off the post.

Lacazette by now was dropping so deep he was playing more as a central midfielder. There were a few times he did hold up the ball well enough but our midfield had neither the nous nor the well-drilled collective understanding demonstrated by our opposition to benefit from Laca’s hold-up play and spring an attack.

Our shape had shifted to 5-3-2 now with Pepe and Reiss the most advanced, waiting hopefully for some release ball to come to them. When Soares tried to win the ball high up on the pitch with most likely such an attacking intent in mind Firmino won possession and before anyone in a red-and-white shirt could cover for the stranded Soares on the right Robertson raced through and placed a ball perfectly on the path of Mane who was too sharp for any of our defenders to stop him from scoring.

Arsenal 0 – Liverpool 1 (Mane 20’)

At this stage a demoralizing rout seemed to be very much of a possibility. However, it was apparent that if there was a chance to return the pressing favor to the Liverpool defense we are willing to take it. Our attacking avenue, probably more by resignation than plan, seemed to be to bypass the midfield and send long diagonals towards our front three and when Liverpool defenders regain possession to press them in pack.

It paid off. And surprisingly by a forced mistake from Liverpool’s talismanic captain who has been mostly flawless this season. Pressed by Reiss, Van Dijk mistimed his backpass for Lacazette to gleefully accept the gift, round their keeper and slot home for the equalizer.

Arsenal 1 (Lacazette 32’) – Liverpool 1 (Mane 20’)

The goal seemed to have generated a greater intent to move into their half as Soares served a cross that found no one. Then Saka drove through the midfield but was crowded out. On the other end the ex-Arsenal man Oxlade-Chamberlain saw his attempt at goal blocked by Cedric.

Our willingness to press Liverpool defense paid off, again. Around 44^th minute Alisson, receiving a throw-in from Robertson and being closed down rapidly by Nelson, tried to pass the ball back to Robertson, Lacazette read and intercepted the pass cleverly, ran forward and set up Nelson who kept his cool while surrounded by two defenders and scored his first ever Premier League goal with a composed finish.    

Arsenal 2 (Lacazette 32’, Nelson 44’) – Liverpool 1 (Mane 20’)

With that Nelson became our fifth player under the age of 20 to score Premier League goals this season, after Martinelli, Saka, Willock and Nketiah.

It was pleasing to see that our willingness to press high even when we were on the back foot was rewarded so handsomely. Since the restart we have earned a few goals through our collective pressing.

Liverpool was shocked. Camera focused on Klopp’s face on the sideline. He had the look of a man who has lost not only all hopes for humanity, but also the love of his dog.

Just a minute or so before this second goal Mane, who is used to bullying defenders, met his match in Rob Holding. They came together for a collision, Rob stood his ground to send Mane falling backwards on the ground. Mane kicked out at Rob, as clear a red card infraction as there could be. There was of course, no card. And no minute video analysis from every angle to finalize the decision. Eddie Nketiah, watching the match from his home, can be forgiven for finding it all a bit unfair. He would have one more opportunity to ponder about the asymmetry of referring caprices.

Second half started with Torreira receiving a yellow card for a tackle. A couple of minutes later Trent Alexander-Arnold assaulted Saka with a high boot to his thighs. A challenge that looked decidedly less innocuous than the one that had earned Eddie a three match ban. In this case a mere yellow seemed to suffice. To his great credit, Saka didn’t try to make too much of the situation.

Liverpool was dominating possession, pinning us back in our half. However the defenders stayed organized and disciplined, tracking runs, doubling up on players, cutting off passing lanes, clearing headers. Despite their dominance and fast passing and movement around the penalty area there were no clear-cut chances for them. When Salah made such a chance for himself Martinez expertly tipped his close range shot over the bar.

Arteta chose to make his substitutes little early, around 56^th minute. Ceballos replaced Torreira, who once again did his job exactly as it was required of him. Willock replaced Lacazette who had a goal and an assist to his name. Following this up from a couple of very well taken goals recently, this return to form was most welcome. Aubameyang replaced Nelson. Interestingly Auba didn’t move to Laca’s #9 role, but played on the wings whereas Willock took on more of a “false 9” position which was mostly false and rarely nine as we continued to put as many defenders as possible behind the ball.

Auba started on the right, leaving Pepe on the left side before switching sides after a while. Pepe was having an entirely forgettable match. But once he moved to the right he had a bit more involvement in the game and a few moments where more physical resilience may have seen him able to keep the ball and drive forward and not lose possession immediately after the first few dribbles. To do justice to his considerable talents in the full throttle world of premier league football he needs to learn to improve this area of his game significantly.

Soares was replaced by Ainsley Maintland-Niles around 75^th minute to help out the right side of the defense as Mane continued to be the prominent threat down that side. AMN stuck to Mane, and around 85^th minute when Mane ran through to the goal he put enough pressure on him to force a miss.

We hung on to our lead tenaciously, the defenders starting to believe in their collective ability to see off all attacks, especially with Martinez offering a safe pair of hands whenever called for. This was not aesthetically pleasing for any Arsenal supporter, and the realization of the gap in the respective qualities of these two teams was equally unpleasant to us, but it was definitely heartening to notice the application and discipline, the willingness to fight for every ball and every inch of space, and a quiet optimism that this can be done.

A tiring Saka was replaced by Kolasinac around 85^th minute to help see the match out.

As often happens in these types of situations, we got a golden chance to increase the lead from a counter-attack when Auba expertly controlled the ball on the left wing and put in an inviting cross in the penalty box. Willock attacked the penalty box arriving late, but his volley flew wide. A little more composure and we would have been 3-1 up. Nevertheless, it was nice to see an Arsenal midfielder actually making those runs in the opposition box. Yes, it has been that poor a season.

There were five extra minutes of added time. It seemed a little generous towards the visitors. And there was a moment of scare when Alexander-Arnold’s shot after a deflection headed towards our goal, only to be expertly saved by Martinez’s fingertips.

As the game ended with our first PL win against Liverpool since April 2015, against a team that most definitely was just that tiny little bit less focused than they have otherwise been this campaign, the realization of the obvious gulf in quality was partially offset by the promise that has just started to show in these very early days of Mikel’s leadership. We were free-falling, shapeless and rudderless in matches, unwatchable. He has arrested that slide, has created at least a semblance of a discipline and organization, helped instill a work-ethic and has started to demonstrate the ability to be able to set up his team tactically against different types of opposition. His communications to the press and fans have been transparent, precise, and unafraid of recognizing the challenges ahead and yet confident about surmounting those challenges.

He knows what needs to be done, and he seems to be more than capable of doing so if ably supported. It seems most fans realize that too, as does most players who are happy to be part of his journey.

It is a moment of opportunity for the club’s owners and executive board. Let us hope they realize that too.