{"id":10620,"date":"2025-01-08T23:09:41","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T23:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=10620"},"modified":"2025-01-11T09:33:42","modified_gmt":"2025-01-11T09:33:42","slug":"a-disappointing-night-in-n5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=10620","title":{"rendered":"A Disappointing Night in N5"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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On a cold night in north London, an Arsenal side recently ravaged by viral illness and still learning how to play without its creative genius, Bukayo Saka, took on a vibrant and confident Newcastle United in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were delighted to see that \u00d8degaard had shaken off enough of the lurgy to start and so too had MLS and Havertz (Jes\u00f9s dropping to the bench) and that we started with our first choice midfield:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, MLS;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00d8degaard, Partey, Rice;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trossard, Havertz, Martinelli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Codes started much more briskly than we did and moved the ball quickly through our ranks in contrast to the way in which we seemed usually to ponderously built our attacks throughout this match. Our defenders passed the ball mainly laterally to beat the high press, midfielders regularly dropped deep to receive the ball then passed laterally as if to allow the Codes\u2019 high press to drop back then when the ball eventually reached our wide men, they usually stopped, danced a bit, allowed the opposition defence to set themselves and then either passed back to a teammate or swung the ball in to meet the head of one of the Codes\u2019 big stoppers. A friend described the experience as akin to watching David Raya plus ten Ray Wilkins playing. Perhaps I exaggerate a tad, but this was a very frustrating game to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the efficiency of Newcastle\u2019s high press and low block did slow down our attacks but our desire to pass the ball to feet facilitated that block as midfielders sought out a clear pathway for a pass to feet and opposition players sat on or in front of possible recipients. Our midfielders turning from right to left and back again, then choosing a square ball or a back pass became a frequent feature of this game. This Newcastle team proved a hard nut to crack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Newcastle\u2019s early vigorous start in which Joelinton skied the ball over after 3 minutes, we played our way into the game and began to dominate possession. There were several near things. After 13 minutes, Timber headed a Rice corner wide from a decent chance. A Rice free kick from wide right, caused bedlam in the box with a Martinelli shot blocked by Tonali, a Saliba shot blocked by Burn near the goal-line and Havertz\u2019s toe-poke smothered by Dubravka. A taste of things to come, sadly! Timber then met another Rice corner that he sent over and this one really should have hit the net. Our set pieces were getting closer! At this point we looked a good bet for the opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Newcastle remained dangerous on the break. Isak beat Saliba and cut a ball back from the byline which reached Hall whose shot, blocked by Gabriel reached Tonali via a poor MLS clearance and the Italian blasted a great opportunity over the bar. A warning! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, after 30 minutes, a sumptuous one touch ball out of our own half from Trossard gave Martinelli a one-on-one with Dubravka. Sadly Martinelli’s shot hit the post and rebounded. Another Arsenal corner followed leading to another scramble in the box which ended with a superb block by Botman to another close-range Havertz effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly thereafter, their goalkeeper lofted a long free kick to the edge of our box, Botman nodded it on, we failed to clear the ball, it bounced to Murphy who got a lucky touch to Isak who had lost his marker, \u00d8degaard. The on-form Toon striker thumped the ball high into Raya\u2019s net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A foul on Partey at the edge of the D offered the chance of a swift equaliser but \u00d8degaard\u2019s effort hit the wall. As 45 minutes loomed a close-range Gabriel effort was blocked by Dubravka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half Time: Arsenal 0-1 Newcastle United<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Opta stat that Newcastle had blocked eight Arsenal shots in the first half was ground for half-time optimism that we could wrest this tie back under our control but the vision of Barcodes throwing themselves in the path of goal bound shots in Keownesque fashion was the abiding image of the half. We had 58% possession, 14 shots vs 5, 3 on target vs 2 and 19 touches in the opposition box vs 10. Surely the second half would see us finish the job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started the second half on the front foot and had Newcastle under early pressure but after 6 minutes the shit hit the fan. A Murphy pass found Isak inside our box. His shot was parried by Raya diving to his right but fell to Gordon who put it in his net at the far post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of this half was a siege, albeit often in slow motion as described in the opening paragraphs. On 58 minutes, Havertz missed a sitter, the ball looping from a deflected cross to him in the 6-yard box with only Dubravka to beat but he shouldered it wide. That could have changed the complexion of this match and the scale of our task in the second leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the hour, Arteta then put Jes\u00f9s and Jorginho on for Trossard and a tiring Partey. Interestingly, there was no attempt to add Sterling to the mix despite our need for a goal. Five minutes later, another excellent Rice corner was headed wide by Saliba from a few yards. \u2018Nice Eddie\u2019 then put Kelly, Barnes and Longstaffe on for Murphy, Willock and Isak, adopting a 5-4-1 by adding Kelly to the back line and leaving Gordon up front on his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The siege resumed and was met with stolid, brave, last ditch defending. A Jorginho strike from 20 yards was blocked by a diving Joelinton before Almiron replaced a flagging Gordon and joined the midfield line to make their formation 5-5-0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arteta\u2019s last throw of the dice was to replace MLS with Zinchenko who took up an \u2018inside left\u2019 position in the absence of any attacking threat from Newcastle and got a yellow card on 80 minutes for a magnificent challenge on Joelinton. The game played out with more pressure and more blocked shots. Jorginho fired a beauty just over the bar as 90 minutes came round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Time: Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle United<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match stats show 70% possession, 23 vs 7 shots, 3 vs 4 on target and 47 vs 15 touches in the opposition box. The key difference was that they had an on-form top class striker who scored the first and ‘made’ their second. For all my hyperbolic criticism of our pedestrian build-up in the opening paragraphs, I must credit the team that their heads didn\u2019t drop, their efforts never flagged and they kept trying right to the final whistle but it just wasn\u2019t our night. Newcastle put in a superb defensive performance without displaying many of the dark arts we have seen from them before and took their few opportunities well. They deserved their win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought that Saliba, \u00d8degaard and Havertz in particular played as if they were still suffering from post-viral malaise and none of those three, despite much effort, showed the quality that we have come to expect of them. I have seen much angst, anger and criticism in social media but in truth we have played less well this season and taken the points. The effort was there, the crispness, the final ball and the finish just weren\u2019t and at the other end we had two unlucky bounces of the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am optimistic that this Arsenal team, when we throw off the viral lurgy and get a few of our wounded back, can win this tie in the away leg in Newcastle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believe!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onwards.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[This was originally scheduled to be Lonestar Gooner’s review, but life moves pretty fast and Baff had to step into a temporary breach. Nonetheless, here’s LG’s piece as a fillip to Baff’s. — eds<\/em>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

We Must Save Ourselves…<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Jan 8th, 2025 by Lonestar Gooner<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Zoidberg as Jesus from Futurama, courtesy of https:\/\/morbotron.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Let me establish a couple points from the start: (1) Newcastle are a good team in very good form. The barcodes brought a substituted line-up (no Guimar\u00e3es) to the Emirates, rode their luck, finished their chances, and established a solid (but not insurmountable) lead for the Carabao Cup second leg. (2) The Arsenal are a very good team in fair-to-middling form. Of course there are numerous explanations, we\u2019ve recounted them ad nauseum, but, even if the team is not serving up scintillating fare at the moment, we produced enough to win our match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alas, make no mistake, we\u2019re in the washing machine right now\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lineups<\/strong>
Less than seventy-two hours from a mentally and physically draining trip to the South coast, Mikel Arteta once again drew-up the ranks, this time to welcome the Geordies to North London. Undoubtedly, the team had been running on the thinnest gruel, paracetamol, and Biofreeze, but the gaffa fielded perhaps the strongest side available (which was almost perfectly predicted by Bath\u2019s quality preview). Given our squad\u2019s current fitness levels and rotation needs, I thought it was quite a strong line-up (perhaps I would have gone with Bath and started Jes\u00fas, but, hey-ho), and Arteta clearly penciled a team designed to give it go:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raya
Timber\u2014Saliba\u2014Gabriel\u2014Lewis-Skelly
\u00d8degaard\u2014Partey\u2014Rice
Trossard\u2014Havertz\u2014Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordie<\/s>, I mean, Eddie Howe also fielded a team designed for a protracted skirmish. Fair play to them, Newcastle did not sit back and low-block us from the off; rather, they came to play. With height at the back, swift thuggery in the midfield, and top-level finishing leading the line, Newcastle would be no mugs, and much like Alexander\u2019s phalangites squaring off against Darius\u2019s Immortals, quality \u201cfinishing\u201d would make all the difference. Deploying in a 4-3-3 formation, the visitors looked thusly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordon\u2014Isak\u2014Murphy
Joelinton\u2014Tonali\u2014Willock
Hall\u2014Burn\u2014Botman\u2014Livramento
D\u00fabravka<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 0 \u2013 Newcastle 1<\/strong>
Although the visitors deserved credit for coming to the Emirates in a mind to play football, and this could be down to their lack of fear (interesting Orbinho statistic: Arsenal had failed to score in four of their last six matches against Newcastle), Arsenal played some dominant and very good attacking football for the first thirty-five minutes or so. Attacking the Clock End, the Gunners produced wave after probing wave. Havertz was denied a point-blank attempt, Timber spurned a presentable chance from a corner, Gabriel shot wide, and \u00d8degaard blasted over. Newcastle attacked when they could and Isak\u2019s cutback really should have forced Raya into action. One rare Newcastle foray into our half produced Arsenal\u2019s best chance of the night when Partey and Trossard combined to set Martinelli free on goal. Trossard\u2019s first-time pass split the Newcastle midfield like a hot knife through butter, and Martinelli\u2019s control and pace left him with just the keeper to beat. Shaping for the near post, Gabby\u2019s shot seemed poised to ripple the back of the net only to cruelly smack the post and rebound into touch. I melted into my couch\u2026this felt like it could be one of those<\/em><\/strong> nights. And so it proved. From what appeared to be a foul on Rice, Newcastle were awarded a freekick, and the keeper\u2019s ensuing offering was nodded down, split Saliba and Gabriel, and was rifled home by the in-form Isak. It was poor from our red Twin Towers, but, not for the first time this season, the margins had broken against us, and the Geordies were enraptured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HT Arsenal 0 \u2013 Newcastle 1<\/strong>
Although Gabriel forced D\u00fabravka into another brave save from close range, Newcastle had the lead they craved and began to settle into a low block. Arsenal would have everything to play for in the second half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 0 \u2013 Newcastle 2<\/strong>
Truth be told, many of the Emirates support (the criminally quiet crowd was rumored to be heavily populated with tourists) had barely returned from their halftime snacks and constitutionals when Newcastle\u2019s strike force extended their lead. Somewhat against the run of play, Isak was allowed to receive the ball in the Arsenal final third and rifled a cross-cum-shot towards Raya\u2019s far post. Raya was only able to parry the ball, and Gordon beat an uncharacteristically inattentive Timber to the rebound. Once again, the Magpies had breached our defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FT Arsenal 0 \u2013 Newcastle 2<\/strong>
The traveling horde in black and white could scarcely believe their eyes (neither could I). Newcastle had played for a smash-and-grab, snaffled it up, and prepared to sink back into their lair like a satiated badger. And they defended their lead like a badger protecting its hard-won carcass from a marauding bear. Arsenal pressed. Newcastle sank back. Arsenal replaced the ineffective Trossard with Jes\u00fas, the again impressive Lewis-Skelly with Zinchenko, and Partey with Jorginho. A quick word for the eighteen-year-old MLS, we really have a good one on our hands here. At least twice, he received the ball under pressure in our eighteen-yard-box and either rode the challenge into space or drew the foul. He plays with moxie, intelligence, and maturity\u2026get him on an improved contract please.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal continued to probe and dominate possession, and, on about sixty minutes Havertz contrived to \u201chead\u201d a deflected cross\u2026with his shoulder. Newcastle responded with fresh legs (Harvey Barnes, Almiron, Kelly, and Longstaff) and curled up into an obstinate 5-5-1 formation. The Geordies made block after block as the Gunners alternated between peppering the Newcastle goal and blasting shots over it. In the end, the good guys were unable to convert chances into goals, and Newcastle galloped off our pitch and into the second leg with a two-goal cushion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong>
In many ways, this result has been in the post. We\u2019re a tired team. Losing our skipper for more than ten weeks (along with Benjamin White\u2019s absence) placed a heavy mental and physical burden on the team. Losing our best player for likely the remainder of the season has poured water on a drowning man. Our attack, at times, looks stunted, but, if you study the stats… (well, I\u2019ll just leave that there and observe that we simply got varianced, we got footballed). Critics abound, and many, rightly either question how the team has found itself in this predicament or, more importantly, ask what the Board and front office can do to remedy our offensive malaise. Loud voices clamor for January attacking signings, but, unless these folks know some form of sorcery, I haven\u2019t seen a list of gettable names (it takes two to tango\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, I\u2019m afraid the team will be on its own to grit out nine games in January (last year, Arsenal had three January competitive fixtures). I think Mikel has done a yeoman\u2019s job of keeping this injury ridden, snake-bitten, and physically and emotionally depleted side second in the Premier League (within six points), third in the new and improved Champions League, and into the third round of the FA Cup. Lest we forget, this Carabao Cup semifinal is far from over, and, if any team can go to St. James\u2019 Park and steal a result to go through to the final, I\u2019ll back us to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I\u2019ll not tell anyone how to support the lads, and I have no idea whether we\u2019ll receive any January reinforcements. But I do think it\u2019s time for Arteta to tell the boys to break the pots and pans, sink the ships, and burn the tents. We\u2019re on our own, and at the end of the season, either we\u2019ll sleep in our opponents\u2019 tents, or we\u2019ll just (metaphorically) sleep. Take care, \u2018Holics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MCMBD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a cold night in north London, an Arsenal side recently ravaged by viral illness and still learning how to play without its creative genius, Bukayo Saka, took on a vibrant and confident Newcastle United in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.  We were delighted to see that \u00d8degaard had shaken off enough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10620"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10620"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10638,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10620\/revisions\/10638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}