Goonerholics Forever

The last time we won a league game at White Hart Lane Mike Arteta was Arsenal captain. Yesterday he was Head Coach as we stepped into their new stadium, the Giant Toilet Bowl, for the first time, looking for a vital three points that would give us every chance of welcoming St. Totteringham back after four seasons in exile.

We started slowly, our three CBs Kola, Luiz and Mustafi all with shaky moments that thankfully led to nothing more than an early tester for Emi. After ten minutes Pepe miscontrolled a ball on the right that gave Moura a chance to chip a ball through to Kane, whose eyes lit up as he thought he had lofted it over Martinez to score yet another goal against us. Fortunately, the commanding keeper made a good save.

Bellerin marauded forwards brilliantly and played a ball across goal to Auba who produced a rare miskick when he should have scored. Big chance.

Shortly after, on sixteen minutes, we went ahead. Xhaka, pedestrian for most of the match, won a ball high up the pitch and it squirted free to Lacazette who touched it forwards and unleashed an absolute screamer from 25 yards that flew into the top corner past the helpless Lloris. It was probably the best strike any of our players have hit this season and it was vital that we built on it, or at least kept things tight for ten minutes after taking the lead. However, Arteta has not yet had enough time with his charges, or opportunities to buy upgrades, that we are completely clear of the worst days of the Emery era, when we were constantly on the verge of giving away stupid goals.

One player I would dearly like to see moved on is Kolasinac. He seems a no-nonsense sort of player and man, seeing things in black and white terms. On 18 minutes, perhaps it was his literal interpretation of the architecture on display that caused him to take a massive dump in the middle of the pitch? He received the ball from David Luiz in his position as our left-sided central defender and, to the surprise of absolutely no-one, decided to ignore Tierney on the wing and play a diagonal return ball back to the Brazilian. Given this is about the only pass he ever plays we might have expected him to have practiced it enough not to mess it up. We would have been wrong. Instead of playing it to Luiz’s left foot, in the direction he was running, Kola played it across him, and he had neither the speed nor the mobility to stop Son from latching on to it and taking it wide before executing a fine chipped finish over the unlucky Martinez.

Although Luiz did not cover himself in glory this goal was all down to Kola. To give them a goal from such an innocuous position so soon after taking the lead was suicidal. How important would that moment prove in shaping the outcome of the game?

On the half hour mark Ben Davis thundered a shot onto the bar from thirty yards. Replays showed Emi got his fingertips to it. We replied with a close effort from the previously quiet Pepe who got into the game well for the last fifteen minutes of the half, brilliantly winning a free kick on the edge of the box that Auba sent just wide, and later shifting the ball quickly to create space for a shot on target that, in truth, he should have done better with. He had a couple of chances to dribble at them from wide, once failing to spot a crossfield ball that was on to Auba as we had a rare break away after defending a corner, instead trying to play in Laca but only finding some tosser in white. He was also shoulder barged off the ball by the odious Lo Celso in a challenge that might well have been worthy of his second yellow. Instead Michael Oliver waved play on. Unfortunately, I cannot imagine Luiz getting away with that at the other end. Moments later he gave Lacazette a yellow, not a bad decision in itself, but hugely frustrating for its inconsistency. The last act of the half was a yellow for Davis for a cynical foul on the breaking Pepe.

We started the second half with plenty of possession but little of it in the final third. Five minutes in and Winks, a player full of niggling fouls, mystifyingly avoided a yellow for a clear and cynical pull on Ceballos. A few minutes later Pepe did not receive the same leniency, getting a yellow for stopping a Spuds attack down our right wing. These cards sandwiched an overhead kick from Mustafi. You don’t see many of them!

Just shy of the hour Auba was put through by Laca. His left-footed drive smashed into the crossbar when it really should have bulged the net. It was a glorious chance to retake the lead in game lacking in quality moments.

It continued with us controlling the ball without creating much. Spuds sat deep and fouled us in midfield, using their short bursts of possession to hit long balls at Kane and Son. They look every inch a dull but functional Mourinho side. At the drinks break Saka came on for Pepe but he did not do much apart from pick up a yellow for hurling the ball into the turf in disgust at decision from the ref that looked correct to me. We began to lose our control in the final quarter of the game. We still had most of the ball but Spuds began getting forwards more often and our defence was a cause for concern. Mustafi had been our best defender (a terrifying sentence) but now he looked shattered, having played a huge amount of football since the restart. His old habits crept in and he began hurling himself to ground and misreading situations in a comedy of errors. Kane went past him and nearly found Son but Emi smothered it.

The magician Winks took 76 minutes to perform a trick that had appeared impossible but his efforts were rewarded when he was finally able to win the yellow card he had been fighting for all match. Bookings are to Harry Winks what watertight boxes were to Houdini, just something to wriggle out of while your manager claps encouragement.

The excellent pair of Bellerin and Ceballos combined to create a chance for Auba whose curling shot at the far post produced a fine save from Lloris. Mustafi let Kane go and a good ball from Moura gave him another chance but Emi was all over him in a flash, blocking it out for a corner.

From this corner Spurs scored again. Another easily avoidable goal. Son put in a good corner and Alderweireld rose above his marker, the much shorter Tierney, to leave Martinez with no chance as a good header flew past him. We had plenty of men in the box but the Spurs man attacked the ball ahead of all of them. We had no one at the back post, which may be questionable, but I don’t think it would have mattered as the finish was good.

Mustafi then lost the ball badly out wide before producing a moment so inept that supporters of any other team would have been howling with laughter as he leapt, like a salmon doing a Bambi impression, somewhere to the right and behind Kane, who ignored this ludicrous piece of ‘defending’ to shoot for the far post, only to find Martinez once again up to the task of foiling him.

With only a few minutes left MA8 took off Kola, Bellerin and Tierney for Willock, Cedric and Nelson. Unfortunately, it was too little too late and the final few minutes drifted away without us creating a final chance to level things up.

The problems were there for all to see. Defenders not good enough as individuals. Arteta cannot make steak tartare out of the mouldy old onion and cow’s feet that are Kola, Luiz and Mustafi. Although what Holding has to do to get a start is beyond me? The midfield was not good enough. Which is strange as Ceballos had a very good game and Xhaka was okay too, but as a unit they did not drive us forwards enough or provide enough dangerous passes forwards. Laca kept dropping deep to help them out. Our third CD robs us of an extra body in midfield. If we had Rob’s distribution this would be less of an issue, but we all know Kola does not have his passing range and it costs us.

Disappointingly, Arteta went back to his previous default setting of not making the right subs at the right moments. Getting Kola off and pulling Tierney into the back line would have made a lot of sense. But whatever he chose to do it was clear in the last twenty minutes that something needed to be done yet he did not manage to change the game from the bench. He will learn.

So, where do we go from here? This result has seriously dented our hopes of finishing above Spuds, or in the Europa League. We have dropped five points from winning positions in our last two games. We play Liverpool and Man City (in the cup semi) next. And we have to pick ourselves up from a hugely dispiriting loss to the worst man in football, managing the most horrific club in football, with a team that, frankly, were not very good and did not have to be to beat us. Uurgh. That all sounds awful.

I shall however, channel my inner Dave and point out that Emi was outstanding, Ceballos was very good, the wingbacks were good, Hector in particular having a great game and finally beginning to forge a partnership with Pepe who created space for him by drifting inside and covered back well at times. Laca is coming back to form too and on another day Auba gets a hat trick. We look much better under Arteta and it is obvious to everyone we are a work in progress. Without a silly mistake at a crucial moment it might well have gone the other way. If we keep up our attitude, keep accepting responsibility for the mistakes that cost us points and keep working hard to improve them then we will get better results and we will move forwards as a team and club. We have the right man in charge, let’s finish the season as strongly as we can and then hope the transfer market brings him all the things he wants and gets rid of what we don’t need.

Yesterday’s was a tough result to take but the future looks good. Have a good one Holics.

P.S. I have just seen the news that Serge Aurier’s brother, Christopher, has been shot dead in France. That is a terrible thing to happen and I am sure I speak for everyone here in offering him our deepest condolences. There are much worse things than losing to the enemy.

Leicester came to a rain-soaked Grove sitting in fourth place 3 places, 9 points and 24 goals better off than Arsenal. It was our second consecutive match against one of the teams with aspirations to take our place at the top table. On the other hand, Leicester were winless on their travels since New Year’s Day and Arsenal were unbeaten at home in 2021, taking 16 points out of 18 available and keeping 4 clean sheets in the last 6 home games. A classic 6-pointer with lots to play for.

Mikel decided to stick largely with the team that beat Wolves, changing only two players. He recalled Bellerin to replace Soarez at right wing back and Lacazette to replace Nketiah at centre forward exactly as predicted by bt8. Rogers decided to match our line up with three at the back and despite my suspicion that he was indulging in pre-match misinformation, there was no sign of either Maddison or Cresswell in the squad. Of course, there was no sign of Özil (‘bad back’) or Guendouzi (bruised ego and hissy fit) in our squad either as our coach establishes his dominance in the dressing room.

Early on, both teams pressed high and Tierney overlapped repeatedly on our left flank. His high ball found Saka in the box but his first touch allowed a Söyüncü interception. Then Bellerin worked Schmeichel with a good shot from an offside position. An early shot by Vardy after turning through a Luiz ‘challenge’ was fortunately straight at Martinez. The keeper then stretched to make an excellent stop with his foot to an Iheanacho shot through a crowd-scene from Leicester’s first corner. From 10 to 20 minutes we struggled to get out of our own half as Leicester closed us down aggressively and we found it hard to find our rhythm and were frequently dispossessed in midfield.

Lovely interplay between Saka and Bellerin led to a cutback being blocked by a Leicester defender for a corner that culminated in a superb 30-yard strike by Tierney that Schemeichel had to parry. On 21 minutes a superb forward ball by Ceballos from just inside our half, found Saka running through on the right. Saka’s shimmy dumped Evans on his backside and his right footed pass across the box found Aubameyang running into the 6-yard box from the left. Aubameyang passed it into the net.

Arsenal 1 Leicester 0

After the water-break, Laca found Auba running through on the left and he tried to return the compliment to Saka but Söyünkü cut out the pass. Our goal had clearly shaken Leicester and we began to dominate midfield and possession. Kolasinac fed his interception of a long ball to Aubameyang who passed to Lacazette. He found Saka on the right but his shot was turned for a corner by Schmeichel. Leicester persisted with balls over the top to Vardy. Saka set up an opportunity for Lacazette to turn in the box and force a good stop from Schmeichel then Bellerin forced the Leicester keeper to touch his cross-shot over the bar for a corner. By 33 minutes the corner count was 7-1 in Arsenal’s favour. We really should have scored a second.

After making a good interception outside our box, Saka was dispossessed dribbling out of our half leading to a Vardy cross for Iheanacho to score but this was disallowed for a foul on Kolasinac in the build-up. A timely reminder that this Leicester team remained dangerous and a lesson for young Saka. For 15 minutes after our goal, the pace and movement of the Arsenal forwards had shaken the Leicester defence but as half-time approached the opposition seemed to be forcing their way back into the game. A fine ball from Bellerin found Lacazette in the 6-yard box but his diving header failed to stretch Schmeichel when he should really have scored.

In addition to Tierney’s excellent crossing from the left, Ceballos caught the eye with yet another influential display (a masterclass according to Jaimie Redknapp at half-time), making key interceptions and distributing the ball forward from midfield. As 45 minutes came up a frustrated Vardy kicked out as he fell with Mustafi and caught the German in the face. There then followed a clash of heads between Kolasinac and Iheanacho. A Leicester break on the left led to a cross met by the RWB Justin but his header flashed wide seconds before the half-time whistle.

HT Arsenal 1 Leicester 0

Arsenal had scored against the run of play on 21 minutes after Leicester’s confident start made it difficult for us to find our rhythm but we had dominated the game thereafter with 6 shots on target (equalling our best 45 minutes record this season). On pressure and chances we should have been further ahead at half-time. Would we come to regret missing those chances?

There were no half time substitutions. Leicester started with energy and as too often recently we started slowly. A Vardy overlap on our right flank found Justin at the near post but Arsenal bodies blocked his shot. After 5 minutes we seemed to wake up. A neat threaded ball from Xhaka found Lacazette on the edge of the Leicester box only for him to be bumped off the ball for a free kick. Luiz’s free kick found Schmeichel’s left corner but the keeper tipped it wide. Then Ceballos’ shot from the edge of the box was deflected for a corner from which Mustafi fell awkwardly liying in a heap in the box. Schmeichel saw an opportunity and sent a long ball to Vardy but fortunately Tierney snuffed it out.

Martinez pulled off an excellent save from Iheanacho’s fine shot from a Vardy chip from the right. Tierney was then blatantly blocked off by Bennett without any sanction. He had done the same to Kolasinac in the first half, likewise without sanction. The free kick from Ceballos sailed past the far post. Iheanacho and Albrighton were replaced by Barnes and Fuchs as Rogers tried to change the dynamic. Barnes who had won on all his three previous matches against Arsenal then fired over the bar from distance. A Ndidi shot from distance then struck Luiz in the midriff. Good block resulting in a winding! At 60 minutes Leicester were pushing for an equaliser and we looked in need of some extra vigour as we struggled to win and retain the ball. Saka had faded out of the game. We got lucky with a Vardy turn and miss in our box. Finally, we responded and a beautiful Tierney ball across the goal was cut out by Evans. The corner was headed on by Luiz for Lacazette to turn into the net but the flag went up for offside and VAR didn’t disagree.

After the drinks break, Lacazette was replaced by Nketiah and Saka by Willock. Within minutes Nketiah stretched for the ball on a break-out and was given a yellow card for catching Justin. VAR then took an age to review whether it should be a red card and clearly couldn’t decide. The referee, Chris Kavanagh, went over to see for himself and then waved a red card for serious foul play. A harsh decision in these conditions in my opinion! Rogers then sent Gray on for Bennett to apply more pressure with 15 minutes left.

We sat deep, cleared long and challenged Leicester to break us down. A punt over our defence on 70 minutes found the marginally offside Vardy one on one with Martinez whom he rounded to put the ball into the side netting. As 80 minutes clocked up Torreira replaced Ceballos. Aubameyang ploughed a lonely furrow up front, trying to retain possession as long clearances came his way. Ndidi was then replaced by Praet. On 84 minutes a curling ball from the right by Gray escaped our entire defence but found Vardy on the far side of our box. Vardy slotted the ball under Martinez. A prolonged VAR analysis rested on whether Perez had touched the ball on the way across. He certainly moved towards the ball but the goal stood.

Arsenal 1 Leicester 1

With 3 minutes plus stoppage time to go, it was 11 against 10 and Leicester were in the ascendency. Could we hold out for a point? Eight minutes were added! Leicester were matching their solitary previous Premier League point away to Arsenal some 25 years ago and were pushing to match their last win at our place in 1973. An exhausted Aubameyang was replaced by AMN with 6 minutes to go. AMN went into the right  side of midfield and Willock moved to centre forward. Everyone worked hard to close the channels and we made only occasional forays forward but added time was pretty much all Leicester. Praet fired over from the edge of our box just before the whistle called an end to the game.

The result: we stay in 7^th place, 5 points adrift of 5^th and a possible CL position (dream on!) though United now have a game in hand. Aubameyang remains two goals behind Vardy for the Golden Boot. Nketiah is suspended for the NLD and probably also for the two games after that. Our options up front are now extremely limited for the next few games.

We didn’t take our chances during the first half when Leicester were rocking and we had several opportunities to extend our lead. Leicester dominated the second half but Nketiah’s red card definitely changed the game. At the end of the day, we did well to save a point as Leicester pressed us persistently thereafter.

Martinez made several good saves and had no chance with Vardy’s goal; Bellerin was more like his pre-ACL self both with and without the ball; the back-three were pretty solid until the pressure told; Tierney was outstanding and deserved the Man of the Match award; Ceballos was very influential in the first half but faded later in the second while Xhaka was quietly competent; Saka was lively in the first half but faded in the second; Lacazette linked up well in the first half and worked hard but failed to finish two opportunities to kill the game; Aubameyang worked his socks off throughout, was imperious in the first half, and took his goal well. The substitutions were less influential on the course of this match than Saturday’s were, if you ignore Eddie’s unfortunate red card.

In his post-match interview, a clearly frustrated Mikel Arteta said he was extremely proud of the team and felt that we should have been well ahead at half time, observing that we have to learn to kill the game when we are on top. Mikel added that if Eddie deserved a red card, Leicester should have been down to 10 men for Vardy’s challenge on Mustafi after 40 minutes. A fair point.

We have work to do before the NLD. Onwards.