{"id":8976,"date":"2023-12-17T21:58:04","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T21:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8976"},"modified":"2023-12-22T16:36:25","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T16:36:25","slug":"sixty-million-down-the-drain-kai-havertz-scores-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8976","title":{"rendered":"Sixty Million Down the Drain \u2026..Kai Havertz Scores Again!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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After last week\u2019s very unlucky defeat at Aston Villa there was a lot of debate in the bar about our title prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought there was a significant gap in quality between the sides last week and that we were clearly the stronger side. But there was a degree of pessimism given our upcoming fixtures which saw us playing Brighton before we go to Anfield. Last season\u2019s Brighton defeat at home saw possibly the worst performance of that season from Arsenal. The good news is that this season\u2019s fixture saw probably our best league performance of the campaign as we beat Brighton very comfortably by two goals to nil. A realistic score would have been 5-0 so marked was our superiority. Liverpool\u2019s subsequent failure to beat United at Anfield saw us return to  our rightful place at the  top of the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In truth, this was a hugely enjoyable game and it defies description that BBC in their website report claim that Arsenal \u2018edged\u2019 the game. If their reporter thinks this game was edged he needs an education in football. This was a very comprehensive win and to his great credit Roberts De Zerbi, the Brighton manager, affirmed exactly that and indeed claimed that in his opinion Arsenal are currently the best side in the Premier League. Praise indeed but it was a game that Arsenal dominated from start to finish. That they had a lower share of possession (49\/51%) was highly misleading. Arsenal had 26 shots during the game, I think Brighton had 6 and while our corner count got into double figures (10), they only  registered one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal began with a very heavy and high press and didn\u2019t relinquish it. Chances were created throughout a first half in which Brighton failed to register one clear chance and only had two touches in the Arsenal box. Arsenal had myriad chances. \u00d8degaard flashed a fierce shot wide, Saka miscued two right foot efforts, Jes\u00fas created major problems with his movement and control, Martinelli failed to finish off a superb move by spooning over from a Saka cutback and a goal regularly seemed just a touch away. Gabriel rose at the far post but headed straight at  Verbruggen in the Brighton goal and late in the half \u00d8degaard picked out Saka who flashed a fierce shot narrowly wide. The highlight of the first half for me was a brilliant stubbed \u00d8degaard pass with backspin to put Saka in only to see our young star thwarted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had failed to break through in the first 45 minutes but had completely controlled the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One extra frustration was the inadequate and inconsistent performance by referee Tim Robinson who allowed the heavy ritual fouling of Saka, especially by James Milner. These reducers devalue the modern game which normally does not tolerate them – except as far as Saka is concerned. Robinson kept his cards in his pocket until Ben White pulled back a Brighton attacker with a mild tug. Subsequently he took two Brighton names but allowed a similar tug by a Brighton midfielder on Saka to go unpunished. Inevitably Mikel Arteta voiced his disapproval and is now one third of his way to his  next touchline ban as Robinson flashed his yellow card. We see almost the same ritual enacted in every home game and one hopes Bukayo is being bought some extra strong shin pads for Christmas. With referees like Robinson around he will need them <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half-time Arsenal 0 Brighton 0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal  began the second half as they ended the first. \u00d8degaard fatally delayed shooting when he got into the Brighton box looking sure to score. From the resulting corner Brighton\u2019s defender Van Hecke flicked on Saka\u2019s delivery to Jes\u00fas beyond the far post who scored with a diving header.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 1 Brighton 0 – Gabriel Jes\u00fas, 53 mins <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brighton began to try to play more offensively and Hinshelwood looped a header towards Raya. \u00d8degaard\u2019s brilliant run saw him thwarted when Verbruggen touched his shot away and then a Martinelli cross was just too high for Havertz to control his header and the German headed over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One felt a team with Brighton\u2019s attacking quality would fashion a good chance and with eight minutes to go the tricky Mitoma slid across a low centre and Gross hit the side netting when he should really have scored. Despite our superiority our lead was fragile and we needed a bigger cushion to feel secure. Declan Rice nearly provided it with a fine run and shot saved at the near post. With three minutes left some deft movement and passing combinations in midfield involving Trossard and Nketiah saw Eddie slide Havertz through the inside left channel and he finished coolly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 2 Brighton 0 – Havertz, 87 mins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kai Havertz song ran out around a vibrant Ashburton Grove as our win was confirmed. Six minutes of stoppage time was easily negotiated and we had prevented Brighton from scoring for the first time in 32 games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final score – Arsenal 2 Brighton 0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the way to the game I was approached by an Arsenal fan at my local station who had been persuaded by his wife to attend \u2018 Jersey Boys\u2019 rather than follow the Arteta Boys. When I predicted a 2-0 win (honestly) he expressed huge relief claiming he was very nervous about today\u2019s game. Hopefully he is more relaxed now. It is interesting that he should express such nervousness about a team as accomplished as this Arsenal squad. We\u2019ve lost twice, both in very controversial circumstances in games where we were clearly the better side. We are very much in the title mix and today I think we saw why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our midfield trio, in very different ways, produced quite excellent performances. Every time I see Declan Rice play he gets better and better. He is one of the best all-purpose midfielders I have ever seen and he plays with a maturity and assurance that has hugely positive effects on his teammates. Today he was quite superb and when he missed a challenge in injury time it was the  first mistake of any kind he made all day, that I could  remember. \u00a3100 million and he seems a bargain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin \u00d8degaard has received criticism in some parts for going missing in big games. Well, he certainly didn\u2019t go missing today. His touch, his awareness and his incredible work rate were all highly visible and if he had been more willing to pull the trigger when in shooting positions (a criticism that applies to most of the team) he might have notched several goals today. He is a truly elite player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the biggest revelation was Kai Havertz. I was underwhelmed by his acquisition, astonished by the price we paid and felt he was a long way away from the answer to our need for an upgrade on Granit Xhaka . While recent performances have been more encouraging, today\u2019s was of a different quality altogether. He was always appearing in key spaces, passed with subtlety and guile and was an ever-present threat getting late into the box. He took his goal extremely well and this was far and away his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. If he plays like this on a consistent basis I must apologise for my scepticism and he will become an increasingly valuable cog in this Arsenal machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enjoyed the  game, the atmosphere and the result immensely and can see how, with a bit of luck and no ghastly VAR interventions that we are title material. We have issues – our squad is not the deepest, we don\u2019t  score the  goals our approach work  merits and Raya in goal still exudes a fragility under any sort of pressure that is a real concern. But these are brilliant times to be an Arsenal fan and we should enjoy what Arteta is creating at our club. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After last week\u2019s very unlucky defeat at Aston Villa there was a lot of debate in the bar about our title prospects. I thought there was a significant gap in quality between the sides last week and that we were clearly the stronger side. But there was a degree of pessimism given our upcoming fixtures […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"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\/8976"}],"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\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8976"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8979,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8976\/revisions\/8979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}