{"id":2723,"date":"2021-04-12T06:25:50","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T05:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2723"},"modified":"2021-04-14T19:14:33","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T18:14:33","slug":"gunners-rebound-to-pick-up-the-scraps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2723","title":{"rendered":"Gunners rebound to pick up the scraps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the frustration of the Liverpool game and the late concession against Slavia Prague, this match took on something of an end-of-season aura as Arsenal\u2019s league season has been defined as one of mid-table mediocrity even as the opportunity remains for them to move up, with only two of the seven remaining fixtures against clubs (Everton and Chelsea) that are higher in the table.  More importantly, it was necessary to put in a good performance to put the team into a better psychological place going into the away leg of their tie against Slavia Prague in midweek.

Mikel Arteta sent out a lineup that looked like a 4-3-3 based on the personnel selected.  But as the game progressed I thought Arsenal played mostly in a 3-3-3-1 variation with a back three of Holding, Pablo Mar\u00ed and Xhaka; Chambers, Thomas and Ceballos in midfield; and P\u00e9p\u00e9, Saka and Martinelli farther forward, with Lacazette spearheading the attack. Aubameyang being out with flu, Martinelli got his long-awaited starting chance and provided the breath of fresh air that would have been so welcome earlier in the season.  Saka, Lacazette, P\u00e9p\u00e9 and Martinelli all did a lot of interchanging in advanced positions, and even Chambers and Ceballos were able to get forward to aid in the Arsenal attack, so weak was the Blades\u2019 own attacking threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Holding — Mar\u00ed — Xhaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chambers — Partey — Ceballos<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u00e9p\u00e9 — Saka — Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lacazette<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bench: Ryan, Bellerin, C\u00e9dric Soares, Gabriel, Elneny, Azeez, Willian, Nelson, Nketiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a minute\u2019s silence was observed upon the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh, Arsenal kicked off in their all-blue change strip, and looked lively from the start.  In the second minute Saka was fed by Martinelli on the left but hit his shot was too high.  A few minutes later P\u00e9p\u00e9 fed Saka on the other side but the youngster\u2019s cross was blocked before Bukayo\u2019s poor touch outside the Blades area led to a good chance for McGoldrick who pulled his shot wide past the right upright.  Was it a warning sign of danger to come?

Arsenal were dominating possession and looking the better side without creating clear chances but in the 24th minute Martinelli tested Ramsdale on the near post after a fluid break featuring a clever back heel by Ceballos started the move.  On 30 minutes Saka fed Martinelli who stepped inside to hit a deflected right footed drive that the keeper gathered.  Arsenal continued to dominate possession, and a couple of minutes later they broke through after a lovely central passing combination from Thomas to Lacazette to Saka to Ceballos, who touched it on for Lacazette who ran through the Blades defence to put Arsenal into the lead.

Sheffield United 0-1 Arsenal  (Lacazette, 32 minutes)<\/strong>

Arsenal had another decent chance a minute later but Ramsdale gathered.  P\u00e9p\u00e9 won a corner in the 41st minute, took it himself, Laca nodded it on, and Martinelli drove a left footer into a mass of bodies in front of the net.  It was blocked but Martinelli was looking dangerous, and certainly not afraid to shoot.  Thomas Partey then lost it in midfield in the 43rd minute leading to a Sheffield United corner and a left footed volley by Egan that was straight at Leno.  In stoppage time Laca centered for Martinelli but Sheffield put it out for a corner.  P\u00e9p\u00e9 sent it in and a VAR shout for handball was denied before the half ended with Arsenal in a deserved lead against clearly inferior opposition.  Could they sustain a performance for the full ninety, and put a teetering opponent to the sword rather than let them back in the game?  A least it was a good feeling to know the players had responded well after the disappointments earlier in the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halftime: Sheffield United 0-1 Arsenal  <\/strong>

No changes were made at halftime.  McGoldrick tested Leno and won a corner seconds into the half, but after ten-odd minutes of Blades ascendancy (if not sustained pressure), Arsenal regained the initiative and had a good chance in the 56th minute when Lacazette sent his shot too high.

Martinelli went down as he was chasing a ball in midfield in the 64th minute, and looked in danger of serious injury until Trev popped up on my screen saying it was only a mild ankle inversion and, surely enough, our young Brazilian was up and running in no time.  The Blades made a double substitution in their front line a minute later, but when Saka went down with injury he had to go off to be replaced by Willian.

In the 71st minute P\u00e9p\u00e9 broke on the right after intercepting a poor pass near the Sheffield box, and he sent in a left footed shot that Ramsdale parried into the path of Martinelli who doubled Arsenal\u2019s lead with a calmly executed tap-in on the rebound.

Sheffield United 0-2 Arsenal  (Martinelli, 71 minutes)<\/strong>

In the 75th minute Lacazette won a free kick just outside the box after a give and go with Ceballos, but Willian sent it harmlessly off the wall.  The Gunners were totally in control of the match and increased their advantage in the 85th minute when Thomas took the ball at the halfway line and angled a sumptuous through ball that only Lacazette could reach.  He darted behind the last defender and finished powerfully past the keeper, completing his satisfying Sunday before being substituted by Nketiah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheffield United 0-3 Arsenal  (Lacazette, 85 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u00e9p\u00e9 wasted another chance when he passed poorly instead of shooting, but the Arsenal defence saw out the remaining minutes to ensure the clean sheet, and three shiny goals remained as reminders of a job well done.  Yes, it was only Sheffield United, but I have a feeling Mikel Arteta will be pleased with this performance going into the defining match of Arsenal\u2019s season in the away leg of their Europa League quarterfinal at Slavia Prague before they host Fulham next Sunday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dates for your diary. Coming soon on Goonerholics Forever…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the frustration of the Liverpool game and the late concession against Slavia Prague, this match took on something of an end-of-season aura as Arsenal\u2019s league season has been defined as one of mid-table mediocrity even as the opportunity remains for them to move up, with only two of the seven remaining fixtures against clubs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"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\/2723"}],"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\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2723"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2735,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2723\/revisions\/2735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}