{"id":1820,"date":"2020-11-23T11:38:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T11:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=1820"},"modified":"2020-11-25T17:41:29","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:41:29","slug":"alarming-plateau-of-mediocrity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=1820","title":{"rendered":"Alarming Plateau Of Mediocrity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Credit: MICHAEL REGAN<\/a> \/ Contributor <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After a fortnight of international football where most Arsenal players needed to travel around the world while a pandemic is raging, the team regrouped only a few days back to prepare for what was expected to be a particularly difficult away trip against the newly promoted Leeds, managed by the managers\u2019 manager, Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentinian enjoys a nearly universal respect among the football management fraternity for his tactical acumen and the ability to build teams that irrespective of their playing personnel play in a trademark fluid style with relentless intensity, first brought to world\u2019s attention as he built a formidable Chilean national team which was the basis for their subsequent success in Copa America.  
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were coming into this match on the back of a less than mediocre run of forms in the Premier League. The rare (and well-deserved) away win at Manchester United \u2013 courtesy a penalty by Aubameyang, our captain too has been in an uncharacteristically poor run of form in front of the goal, only two PL goals in this campaign including the \u2013 may have made us all not as alarmed as we would otherwise have been by our two consecutive home defeats: 0-1 to Leicester and an embarrassing 0-3 to Aston Villa. If we include the other away trip to Manchester City which we had lost 0-1 we had three points from our last four premier league matches, 5 goals conceded, 1 goal scored and that too from a penalty.  It is no longer just a blip but a noticeable stagnation, especially so in the attacking department where we had looked predictable and pedestrian. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there have been other reasons for optimism. Our newly acquired midfield stalwart Thomas Partey looked exactly the player we had hoped for, and more. And next to the new Ghanaian, the returning (from loan) Egyptian Mohamed Elneny finally looked to have found a system and a manager who can best optimize his specific skillsets and positive energy. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Partey was yet to recover from the injury he had suffered against Villa before the break, and Elneny unfortunately is in self-quarantine for a fortnight more after being positively diagnosed with Covid-19. Thankfully there are no such interlull before March. Hence a forced and unfortunate change was expected in the engine room of the team. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aubameyang-Lacazette-Willian have been Mikel\u2019s go-to choice for the forward line before the break, and given the paucity of goals and shots that department too was expected to be revamped.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The line-up looked aggressive and assertive, with a clear 4-3-3 and our captain returning to a central position where his movements, instincts and finishing abilities were surely expected to give us an edge we have been missing. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leno<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellerin-Holding-Gabriel-Tierney<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xhaka-Ceballos-Willock<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u00e9p\u00e9-Aubameyang-Willian 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willock earned his first start of the PL this season on the basis of a series of effervescent and energetic performances in the Europa. Xhaka and Ceballos resumed their old partnership from towards the second half of the last season where they provided a basis of solidity and consistency on which we had built a clever counter-attacking game. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The omission of Saka was most definitely due to his prolonged involvement with the England senior squad. Keeping Saka company on the bench were our Icelandic goalkeeper, Mustafi and  Maitland-Niles as defensive options, Lacazette, Nketiah and Nelson as firepower up the field. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started brightly enough. Willian \u2013 hopefully rejuvenated after a memorable meal of the golden Tomahawk at Nusr-Et Dubai \u2013 moved through the gears effortlessly (reminding us all that we were supposed to have brought in a world class performer) and charging into the Leeds penalty box but his cutback was cleared out. Around 6th<\/sup> minute P\u00e9p\u00e9 ran at speed with the ball past the defenders but the ball was expertly taken off his feet before he could set it up for a curler. A few minutes later a bright move saw Dani moving up the pitch and from outside the box powered through a shot that hit the side-netting. Leeds didn\u2019t look particularly perturbed by this flurry of activities in front of their goal. Around 12th<\/sup> minute they put together a typically rapid and fluent counter-attacking move which drew a good save from Leno. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this early stage the possession was evenly split, but Leeds looked to have more variations and ideas than us. Watching an Arsenal team play without any neat triangle of passes around opposition or a defense-splitting pass from an advanced midfield position is something that I have not yet become used to, despite our frighteningly rapid slide down the attractive football ladder in the last couple of years. And hopefully Mikel Arteta will soon find a way \u2013 and the requisite players \u2013 to remind us of why Arsenal for the last two decades has been synonymous with inventive, attacking football. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 15th<\/sup> minute Ceballos was hacked down which earned Leeds a yellow card. P\u00e9p\u00e9 delivered a decent enough free-kick in the box which was cleared for a corner. P\u00e9p\u00e9 took the corner, Auba found himself offside. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willian was dropping in deep and adding an extra body in the midfield. I think the idea was for that to be a signal for Joe to join in Auba centrally while Tierney takes over an effective left-winger role in attack. While Tierney was doing his part, Joe looked tactically lost in his positioning and movement. Evidently this is a system not all of these players have had much time to work with and\/or has past experience of. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u00e9p\u00e9 switched flank momentarily and around 21st<\/sup> minute drove past defenders near the left by-line and miscued a cross (or was that an intentional shot? Surely not\u2026) that hit the cross-bar. We were building a bit of attacking momentum. Around 24th<\/sup> minute Bellerin set up Auba with a crisp pass. Auba had two options: either to shoot from a tight angle or try to set up P\u00e9p\u00e9 who ghosted a run behind the central defense. Aubameyang did what was expected of him but his shot instead of rippling the opposition net flew harmlessly wide. The commentators didn\u2019t think much of that chance but watching Auba all these years that is exactly the kind of \u201cin the penalty box but not quite there to score\u201d chances that he excels at. In my book it was a miss.     
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the first 20-odd minutes Leeds started to exert more influence on the game. It was noticeable how little we were trying to play out from the back in this game — well aware of the collective high-press of Leeds and the slow turning radius of Holding and Xhaka \u2013 but Leno kicking it up field. Neither Auba nor P\u00e9p\u00e9 are quite the target man so our goal-kicks will often find their way back to Leeds players. One such well-orchestrated Leeds move drew another good save by Leno around 30th<\/sup> minute. In the next 10-odd minutes Leeds saw most of the ball and created couple of good chances but in both cases shot over the bar. As the half-time approached P\u00e9p\u00e9 found just enough space to cut in from the right to bend in a left-foot curler that went just wide. Neither him nor Willian were having particularly memorable game, but at least there were some attempts to make something happen from P\u00e9p\u00e9. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the interval Willian was replaced by Reiss Nelson who too \u2013 like his mate Joe \u2013 has been impressive in his appearances (if not as impressive as Willock) this season despite a few niggling injuries that kept him away in a few matches. We started energetically with Reiss and P\u00e9p\u00e9 switching flanks as well as moving inside to create positional uncertainties for Leeds to be able to defend space. While trying to influence the game from one-such inside-drawn position P\u00e9p\u00e9 committed an absolutely irresponsible offense that earned him a red card. It was his first red card in senior football. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u00e9p\u00e9 was being hounded by a Leeds defender both on and off the ball with some niggly kicks and pushes. This was as per the course in modern football though some teams apply this tactic more than others. After a while P\u00e9p\u00e9 reacted by head-butting \u2013 well, technically speaking it was indeed a head-butting but was not a dangerous play; let us just say he fell for one of the oldest tricks in the footballers\u2019 manuals in getting opposition players carded \u2013 and deservedly received the marching order albeit after a consultation with the VAR. I think P\u00e9p\u00e9 the player has a very high ceiling and sooner than later things will work better for him, and I hope this was a significant learning experience towards that direction. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was now only 52 minutes on the clock and we were down to ten men. That definitely forced a tactical change for Mikel who brought in Saka to provide both more technical security in defense while allowing for incisive counter-attack down the left: Tierney-Saka-Auba have traditionally been the best attacking avenue for Arteta. Saka replaced Willock around 56th<\/sup> minute. It was a learning experience for Joe as well, who couldn\u2019t quite impose himself in the game the way we had all hoped he would. Playing against a midfield that rotates positions so cleverly and presses so relentlessly he will need to find a better tactical awareness about what is happening all around in the pitch to complement his technical abilities. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately afterwards Saka-Tierney-Aubameyang put together a crisp passing counter-attacking move that ended up with a tame shot from our captain. But Leeds was now dominating possession much more and overloading both flanks. Leno produced a superlative save around 63rd<\/sup> minute, punching away a fierce shot headed towards his top right corner. We managed another promising counter-attack when Saka\u2019s cross was headed clear. On 75th<\/sup> minute Xhaka stepped up to take a free-kick from outside the penalty box and his effort didn\u2019t dip and bend enough to trouble the keeper. In between Leeds continue to pour forward, and hit the post once, but other than that didn\u2019t trouble our defense too much as Gabriel, Holding and Xhaka dropping deep stood firm. There were stretches of the game when we were playing two defensive lines of 5-and-3 with just a few meters between them, only Auba somewhat listlessly floating around and hoping for a counter-attack. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I was just imagining it but it felt like the team is more comfortable defending deep and in numbers and then launching rapid counter-attacks than when they need to take the initiative and force the issue. After going down to ten men and having to reshape the formation and the positioning, the team played with a greater tactical assurance. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We did put together a couple of more sharp counter-attacks and on another day either of those could have ended with a goal. First, the Saka-Auba combination down the left led to Auba\u2019s shot hitting the arms of a Leeds defender who was already on the floor. The VAR decided not a penalty. But isn\u2019t the letter of the law now that any handball in the penalty box is a penalty? Maybe there is a fine print in the complex and everchanging legalities of handball rules that I have missed. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then the best move of the match came on 80th<\/sup> minute when Bellerin made a wonderful through-pass bypassing all of Leeds midfield to set Saka up 1-on-1 with the Leeds keeper. Instead of taking a first time shot on either side of the keeper or loft it over his head Saka tried to move around the keeper to find him with an empty net but the keeper recovered swiftly and made an excellent save. It was a movement of pure brilliance, all the more memorable as our current Arsenal incarnation has been so bereft of moments like that. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few minutes later Leno made yet another good save. Around 86th<\/sup> minute Bamford\u2019s header after beating Leno found the post. As the game approached the 90th<\/sup> minute five extra minutes were added. Within that injury time Saka suffered a knock and was replaced by Maitland-Niles. Leeds again hit the bar around 94th<\/sup> minute, but the game then ended as they were getting ready to take another corner. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A clean sheet, and an away draw at Leeds with playing nearly half of the match with ten men is not the worst result. We do have Bernd Leno to thank, and also his best friend the goalpost. But while the result was acceptable the first half performance with eleven players on the field was not entirely so. The team is missing both cohesiveness and inspiration in attack, though the defense has come in leaps and bounds since the troubled days last year (around this time last season our defense had more or less disintegrated). We all have our theories about how best to revive our attacking verve, but at this time of his tenure and at such a crucial juncture of Arsenal\u2019s season, our young manager needs all our support and maybe also a bit of patience. I myself am convinced that he will turn this around, will do so sooner than later, but he and the entire team are now under a bit of pressure \u2013 as they should be — to start moving up the league table.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a fortnight of international football where most Arsenal players needed to travel around the world while a pandemic is raging, the team regrouped only a few days back to prepare for what was expected to be a particularly difficult away trip against the newly promoted Leeds, managed by the managers\u2019 manager, Marcelo Bielsa. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820"}],"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\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1820"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1839,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820\/revisions\/1839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}