{"id":4516,"date":"2021-12-27T07:08:32","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T07:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=4516"},"modified":"2021-12-31T23:47:14","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T23:47:14","slug":"coming-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=4516","title":{"rendered":"Coming Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My favorite moment in this Boxing Day away fixture against Norwich came just before the half-time around 44th<\/sup> minute, when despite their dominance on the ball and being in complete control of the game Arsenal was winning by a slender 1-0 lead.  And entirely hapless even though the Canaries were, they had by then decided on the cunning strategy of kicking their opposition out of the game, and in the process hoping to find a slice of fortune, if not a moment of footballing inspiration, to get something out of the game. Given that one of Arsenal\u2019s veritable leaders is particularly gifted at walking straight into any trap of red card provocations, and given how many times in recent years we had allowed struggling teams to come back against us from unlikelier positions, I felt another goal before the half-time would be the best way to nip that possibility in the bud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel Martinelli \u2013 who has now formed a habit of responding to losing possession, anywhere on the pitch, with a serial duelist\u2019s sense of personal honor \u2013 dropping down all the way into the right defensive midfielder position won the ball back, and immediately fed it to Martin \u00d8degaard. The Norwegian has lately been using his left foot with the self-assuredness of a philharmonic conductor waving his baton, and in one single turn and move he passed the ball, with the characteristically precise weight and spin, onto Kieran Tierney\u2019s path. Tierney\u2019s first touch may have moved the ball just a bit further forward than what he had hoped for, but still he had enough time and composure to place a clinically precise side-foot finish on the inside of the far post into the net.  Since our super Scot had joined Arsenal, he has shown glimpses of his striking abilities with a few well taken goals and some fierce drives onto the posts, and without having to go full Roberto Carlos on us I hope he would take more such attempts in the coming days and years. Especially if he celebrates like that, connecting so directly and wholeheartedly with the ever-spirited traveling faithful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norwich City 0 \u2013 Arsenal 2 (Saka 6\u2019, Tierney 44\u2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two-goal lead going into the break was the minimum Arsenal deserved after completely outplaying Norwich with a pleasing authority. Mikel started mostly an unchanged team from our last Premier League victory against Leeds, the only exception being Tomiyasu\u2019s Covid-enforced absence. It seemed his other immediate replacement options were all unavailable for the same reason: Cedric, Chambers, Maitland-Niles. (We live in such perplexing times that strange coincidences no longer stir our abilities to be moved).   Holding came into his place, slotting in Benjamin White\u2019s right-sided central defensive role while White himself shifting towards the right back. Tomiyasu has been one of our most consistent performers this season and even when we as a team are not playing well, he has provided a reassuring security and control on the right side of the pitch.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramsdale<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White \u2013 Holding \u2013 Gabriel \u2013 Tierney<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partey \u2013 Xhaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saka \u2013 \u00d8degaard \u2013 Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Sambi and Mari were back on the bench following the end of their quarantine periods.  On the bench too were Eddie Nketiah, P\u00e9p\u00e9, Patino (all goal-scorers in our last match in the League Cup) and our highest goal scorer for this season, one Emile Smith-Rowe, who nowadays seems to need only 10-odd minutes of sub appearance to score his customary Premier League goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our bright and purposeful start was very quickly rewarded when Martinelli chasing after a ball forced Norwich central defender Kabak into an ill-judged pass that was snapped up by Tierney. Arsenal moved the ball rapidly forward through interchanges between him, Laca and Gabi, who promptly passed the ball to \u00d8degaard, who had taken a central position. Martin fed it to Saka inside the penalty box. Within a few seconds Arsenal had moved the ball from left-midfield position to the right side of the opposition penalty box. Saka hesitated just the right amount of time, the defense had no clue whether to close him down or look after the movements of Laca and Gabi, and Saka took full opportunity of that uncertainty with a precisely placed shot between the defenders\u2019 legs. Gunn in Norwich goal didn\u2019t see the ball until the last moment and his reaction was too late to stop conceding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Norwich City 0 \u2013 Arsenal 1 (Saka 6\u2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In between these two goals we played some enjoyable football. Partey seemed to have sped up his forward passing and was much less inconsistent on the ball and looked more like the player we hope he would eventually be for Arsenal on a consistent basis. Gabi and Saka terrorized the full backs, Laca nicely knitted the movements together, and even Granit looked for the forward pass with an unusual frequency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But my favorite performance was by \u00d8degaard in that half. As the story goes, he could have joined us when he was a teenage sensation before he eventually went to Madrid, and I myself had always wanted Arsenal to get him on a permanent move this season among all the attacking midfield options we were being linked with in the summer, even though his short spell on loan last season was somewhat inconsistent. I love the intelligence of his positioning, his wonderful understanding of the half-spaces, the skills on the ball and the subtlety of his passing that is reminiscent of another left footed player who too had joined Arsenal from Madrid, added to that a solid defensive awareness and praiseworthy work rate off the ball and I think we have a player who can become one of the best in that position. He has lately been producing goals and assists, and the first half performance by him in this match was simply outstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our most worrying moment in the first half came when Xhaka, in an inimitably Xhaka-like fashion, nearly manufactured a sending off for himself. Thankfully Arsenal players came to rescue him from his own petulance. Norwich was very poor on the ball, so the Xhaka-Partey partnership was not particularly tested, but I thought I saw a few glimpses of clarity in their interchanges and intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second half continued that theme of Arsenal dominance. Martinelli started to torment the right side of the Norwich defense incessantly, had a goal from a deflected shot ruled out because of offside, and even though Norwich enjoyed a bit more possession in the Arsenal half and got a few corners, it felt like only a matter of time before Arsenal would get a third. Which Bukayo Saka delivered on the 66th<\/sup> minute. Following a period of patient build-up play through the midfield and then the Norwich right side, Lacazette found Saka on the edge of the box. Recognizing the tentativeness in the Norwich defense Saka quickly maneuvered himself into a position from which he curled in a cultured finish from his favorite left foot. Saka \u2013 already precociously intelligent on and off the ball to complement his superlative technical skills \u2013 has this season started to demonstrate an ability to quickly assess the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition defense and vary his approach accordingly. His attempts used to be more instinctive in and around the box, but now he seems to be thinking a few seconds ahead all the time and constantly looking for the most efficient option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norwich City 0 \u2013 Arsenal 3 (Saka 6\u2019, Tierney 44\u2019, Saka 66\u2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elneny replaced Partey around 75th<\/sup> minute and soon after P\u00e9p\u00e9 came on for Saka. Ignoring the travelling supporters\u2019 musical plea of \u201cCharlie Patino\u201d Mikel brought on super-sub Emile Smith-Rowe \u2013 but jokes aside, I think Mikel deserves credit in how he has been handling Emile\u2019s return, keeping him fresh for the latter period, though the brilliant form of Martinelli & \u00d8degaard definitely have helped \u2013 for Gabi with less than ten minutes of regular time to go. ESR was involved in a flowing move immediately after entering the field, and with a delightful reverse pass into the penalty box set up Lacazette, who was then clattered for an Arsenal penalty. Bucking our recent trend, Laca made no mistake from the spot.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norwich City 0 \u2013 Arsenal 4 (Saka 6\u2019, Tierney 44\u2019, Saka 66\u2019, Lacazette 84\u2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the injury time Arsenal managed to score once more, as Emile inevitably found the net following some good work by Martin and P\u00e9p\u00e9 on our right side, smartly finishing from P\u00e9p\u00e9\u2019s deflected goal bound shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norwich City 0 \u2013 Arsenal 5 (Saka 6\u2019, Tierney 44\u2019, Saka 66\u2019, Lacazette 84\u2019, ESR 91\u2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was Arsenal\u2019s 4th<\/sup> consecutive win in Premier League, scoring 14 and conceding only once in that time period, playing energetic, enjoyable football without jettisoning the basics of defensive solidity. There is a pleasing degree of cohesiveness and unity of purpose in the on-field demeanor of the players, and we head into the new year \u2013 as of the time of writing this review the home match against Wolves has been postponed, so our next match would be on the New Year\u2019s Day, against the champions and league leaders Manchester City \u2013 with a renewed sense of optimism about the squad. Before the season ends there will of course be a few jitters along the way, especially given how young most of these players are. But the planned evolution of the squad is more tangible now to us the supporters, and the clarity of purpose in the football we play more relatable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My favorite moment in this Boxing Day away fixture against Norwich came just before the half-time around 44th minute, when despite their dominance on the ball and being in complete control of the game Arsenal was winning by a slender 1-0 lead.  And entirely hapless even though the Canaries were, they had by then decided […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"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\/4516"}],"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=4516"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4537,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4516\/revisions\/4537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}