{"id":9068,"date":"2024-01-11T10:12:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T10:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=9068"},"modified":"2024-01-15T10:32:37","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T10:32:37","slug":"half-term-report-are-we-making-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=9068","title":{"rendered":"Half-term Report: Are We Making Progress?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I never enjoyed getting half-term reports at school. Being the subject of intense scrutiny and evaluation of performance was not as common when I was a schoolboy as it is now and the recipients of the report were very heavily invested in my progress emotionally and financially and their expectations were high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That might describe most Arsenal supporters. They have a huge emotional investment, many pay a fortune to follow the side and their expectations after last season are very high. Let us try to assess if we are living up to those expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results and Performances <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The season began at Wembley in early August, a good place to start, with the Community Shield and our first trophy of the season. It came after a penalty shootout which was necessary after a goal by Cole Palmer was cancelled out in injury time by a deflected Trossard effort. Our most notable performer on the day was Jurrien Timber who looked a terrific acquisition at left back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The league  season began at home against Forest. The team set-up looked ultra-complicated with Partey at right back but a fine early start saw a 2-0 lead at the break. Sadly just before the break, Timber was stricken with what looked a serious knee injury. He reappeared after the interval only to break down immediately and a breakaway Forest goal made the last ten minutes much less comfortable than they should have been. Timber was later confirmed to have sustained a severe ACL injury and the rest of his campaign was immediately thrown into doubt. A GHF celebratory meal was also hit by late withdrawals due to a combination of car problems and illness (thankfully neither of the latter proved serious).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We moved on to Palace where we triumphed 1-0 with an \u00d8degaard penalty. Our superiority was compromised by a ridiculous sending-off for Tomayisu whose second yellow came for \u2018delaying a throw-in\u2019 when he had only just picked up the ball. The next home game saw a stumble against Fulham as we conceded a goal in the first minute which Ramsdale might have prevented. After getting control and moving into a 2-1 lead after Bassey was red-carded we conceded a late equaliser from a corner to drop two valuable points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our next home game was against Manchester United. Rashford opened the scoring with his obligatory goal against us only for \u00d8degaard to equalise immediately. A Garnacho strike was ruled out for offside with a few minutes to go and late goals by Rice and Jes\u00fas gave us a deserved victory. Rice had settled seamlessly into the team looking every inch the top-class midfielder we had craved. We then won at Everton despite the best efforts of VAR who found a way to rule a fine Martinelli goal offside. A Trossard strike in the second half gave us the points. The big talking-point was the introduction of David Raya, a loan signing from Brentford, in place of Aaron Ramsdale. A controversial move and one which many Gooners deemed unnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Champions League football returned to N5 in mid- September and saw us crush a PSV side on a long  unbeaten run in Holland. We celebrated our return to the big time with a sparkling 4-0 win. Sadly in the next game, the North London Derby, we were much more profligate squandering the lead twice to enable Son to notch a brace in a 2-2 draw. A Carabao Cup win at Brentford followed where Reiss Nelson celebrated a rare start with the only goal of the game. We then travelled to the Vitality to crush Bournemouth 4-0 with Kai Havertz being given the chance to open his Arsenal account with a penalty. Havertz\u2019s progress was almost exactly the opposite of Rice\u2019s whose assured entry continued. Havertz appeared overawed by the move and made little impact in his early games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We suffered our first defeat of the season at Lens in our second CL game. Jes\u00fas had given us the lead but a Raya error let them back into the game and we finished looking a little naive in the ways of top European football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our next game saw us welcome last year\u2019s Nemesis, Manchester City. A tight, attritional game followed but we grew increasingly assured as the game wore on and with a few  minutes to go a deflected Martinelli effort earned us a well-merited and momentous victory. We moved on to Stamford Bridge expecting to overcome a very inconsistent Chelsea side but found ourselves 2-0 down after a ridiculous penalty decision against Saliba and a mishit Mudryk cross gave them the lead. We found a way back into the game when Rice scored from distance after a Sanchez error in goal for Chelsea and then Trossard popped up at the far post to touch home a Saka cross meaning the points were shared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our next European away-day saw a very much more mature performance in Seville where we triumphed 2-1. The win owed much to a superb performance from Jes\u00fas who clearly relishes CL football. He scored one and laid on another for Martinelli with a sumptuous assist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our next GHF gathering preceded a very comfortable 5-0 triumph over Sheffield United who looked every inch relegation candidates. A Nketiah hat-trick was an encouraging feature of the match but he was unable to help us progress in the  Carabao Cup in the next game, where a heavily rotated side lost 3-1 to West Ham at their place. Many Arsenal fans were appalled by the clumsiness and intrusiveness of the security arrangements in the Hammers\u2019 rented home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having tasted defeat domestically for the first time we moved on to Newcastle who were threatening to  become serious title rivals. The game turned on a multiple controversy when Newcastle were credited with the only goal of the game. Was the ball out? Was Joelinton fouling Gabriel? Did Joelinton handball it and was Gordon offside when he scored from a few feet out? I was incredulous when the goal was awarded and it highlighted both the amateurishness of the VAR regime and the degree of anti-Arsenal prejudice that exists around the game.  We defended well but looked very blunt in an attacking sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We returned to London and to the Champions League with the return fixture against Seville. Again, we played with authority and class and recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory. We followed this up with a 3-1 defeat of Burnley at home. Vieira was sent off just after coming on but we won comfortably with Zinchenko notching a spectacular strike. We then travelled back to Brentford with a clearly nervous Ramsdale replacing Raya against his parent club. The game was notable only for a very valuable late winner by Havertz who headed in at the far post a few minutes after coming on as a substitute to give us a 1-0 win. This kickstarted a change in fortunes for the German who at last began to look like a quality player. A few days later we entertained Lens at the Home of Football and produced an extraordinary first half performance where we were 5-0 up by half-time. Havertz started the scoring and we looked as fluent and exciting as we have looked all season. That put us top of the group with a game to play, a very satisfactory resumption of Champions League hostilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We then beat Wolves, but not without some alarms. 2-0 up after Saka and \u00d8degaard scored within the first quarter of an hour, we conceded with ten minutes to go to a team we had outplayed until then. It was reminiscent of the Forest opener back in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our away trip to Luton then proved much more taxing than we anticipated although Luton are finding their form and proving a tough nut to crack. They certainly were on this occasion. 2-1 up at half-time, we conceded twice in the early minutes of the second half with Raya looking very unconvincing. However, Havertz equalised and then deep into injury time Declan Rice produced a decisive header to win us the game 4-3. Opinion was split between those who worried about our defensive fragility against a pretty ordinary team and those heartened by the fighting spirit of the side. A big test awaited next at Villa Park against a Villa team revitalised by Unai Emery. McGinn gave them the lead after seven minutes. We dominated the game, had two goals chalked off by VAR and were denied a stonewall penalty when Jes\u00fas was fouled by Luiz. It was difficult not to feel hard done by but the fact remains that we were toothless in another big away game against a rival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our trip to PSV in the Champions League was the ultimate dead rubber but Arteta sent a strong side to Eindhoven to play a team who had carried all before them other than on their trip to London in September. The  need to risk Saliba and the failure to blood promising youngsters underlined the lack of trust Arteta has in parts of the squad. A creditable 1-1 draw saw us emerge top of our group  and we now face Porto in the last 16. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brighton were next up at the Emirates and we produced an excellent performance of authority, creativity and teamwork which saw us emerge 2-0 winners. Jes\u00fas and Havertz scored and we moved on to Anfield for a crucial clash just before Christmas. An early Gabriel header was cancelled out by some Salah magic facilitated by slack defending by Zinchenko. That 1-1 draw saw us top at Christmas but unfortunately we have hit a mini-slump in our last two league matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against West Ham we had a huge share of possession, an incredible number  of touches in their penalty area and countless shots on goal. Yet Areola barely had a serious shot to save in ninety minutes. It was Artetaball at its most frustrating and that 2-0 loss was our first home defeat this season.  Any hope that we would bounce back away to Fulham on News Years Eve was dashed after a promising start when Saka scored an early bobbler. A modest Fulham side that we had outclassed at the Cottage eight months ago won deservedly 2-1 against a very leggy looking Arsenal team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FA Cup defeat at home to Liverpool, added to the current prevailing disappointment among supporters because it was such an unnecessary defeat. We dominated the first half but just couldn\u2019t score and we also seem to have developed a fallibility at set pieces which led to Kiwior\u2019s own goal. Our own set pieces are becoming increasingly frustrating and a late Diaz goal gave an unrealistic score-line to a game we could and should have won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, we enter the league break in downbeat mood after leading the table at Christmas, and after being well worth a hard fought draw at Anfield. What conclusions can we draw?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared with last season\u2019s (exceptional) form we are some way behind the curve:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 Juego de Posicion<\/em> – the salvation of Arsenal or over-complication ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I met a couple of mates for a drink at the ground before the first game of the season. We spent most of the time trying to figure out what the formation might be. Nobody really believed Partey would play as a  conventional right back and we waited to see how Havertz interpreted the left 8 role. I spent the first half admiring the football and being bewildered by the incredibly complex positions that Arteta demands his players take up. He is a slavish disciple of Juego de Posicion<\/em>, a coaching concept that divides the pitch into zones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The players have specific tasks and responsibilities within these zones depending on the phase of the game.  The options are predetermined by the position of the ball. If the ball is on the left wing in midfield,  the zones that must be occupied are entirely different than if the ball is on the right half of our penalty area or by the opposition\u2019s left corner flag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team must use continuous ball-oriented formations  when in possession. These must be coordinated to give the team as many passing options and running lanes as possible. Still with me? (I raided a coaching manual.) The days of on-field spontaneity are largely over but it seems this season that every team is both heavily coached and highly organised.  We seem much more formulaic and much less willing to see our players demonstrating the individual flair that so excited us for most of last season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, there have still  been real  positives . Declan Rice has proved a superb signing and justified every penny of his huge fee. William Saliba is a superb centre half who is improving still further from a very high base. He has a great partnership with Gabriel.  In his briefest of cameos, Jurrien Timber looked a marvellous acquisition and, lest we forget, the team up until Christmas had lost only twice in the league and both defeats occurred in the most unfortunate of circumstances. However, the last two defeats were different, were worrying and have affected the belief levels of most Gooners going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are significant questions to be answered and I will touch on a few of the most obvious as  I conclude this half-term report <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Why are we finding it significantly harder to  score or to create chances this season?<\/em> Are we seeing football with the handbrake on and if so why? Is it because of a change of style, attitude or have Arsenal, to an extent, been worked out?<\/li>
  • Did we really need to replace Ramsdale with someone who,  so  far, doesn\u2019t look remotely an upgrade and who has absorbed quite a bit of our available transfer budget?<\/em> We are told Edu has already agreed to conclude the transfer at the end of the loan period which will inevitably force Ramsdale out of the club. Is the ability to play out with feet surpassing the traditional and basic goalkeeping skills that have served us as a club well for a very long time?<\/li>
  • Recent transfer dealings appear questionable.<\/em> Raya has been mentioned, Kiwior does not impress me, Jorginho is a place holder, Vieira has yet to remotely look capable of challenging \u00d8degaard and even Trossard after a great start has become becalmed. Our two Citeh recruits are talented but one can also see why Citeh let them go!  Add that to P\u00e9p\u00e9, Willian, Tavares, Lokonga, C\u00e9dric, Runarsson, Marquinhos and Mari and maybe we haven\u2019t invested with quite the acumen often attributed to us. Particularly, is Havertz a good acquisition? Has he adequately replaced Xhaka who was so effective as a left 8 last season. And most importantly has he come close to justifying an eye-watering fee of \u00a360 million? He can\u2019t be classified as a failure yet but he certainly hasn\u2019t proved a success either. Our left side just isn\u2019t working like it did last season.<\/li>
  • What will become of ESR, a bright shining hope of the club two years ago but a peripheral figure nowadays?<\/em> Will he be with us at the end of this transfer window? Similarly does Arteta give enough chances to emerging talent or is he distrustful of  emerging talent from the youth programme?  Note how Klopp was prepared to bring in youngsters into the heat of an even and  goalless FA Cup tie. <\/li>
  • Should we retain Partey given his injury record and with rumours circulating around alternative explanation for his absence?<\/em>  I think we\u2019ve missed him terribly this season but his fragility is increasing to a worrying degree. Zinchenko, Jes\u00fas and Vieira are similarly fragile and have missed several matches this season. One is tempted to wonder  about the due diligence of the medical input to our recruitment team. <\/li>
  • What would constitute progress this season?<\/em> Is it realistic to target the title this season or did we overachieve last season? Is the Champions League, where we have looked so comfortable this season a feasible target? <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    As I write this, there are strong undercurrents of discontent circulating around the Goonerverse (one of the most entitled places in football) with Arteta\u2019s performance. Let me say that I personally find this quite extraordinary. Whatever the relative shortcomings of the team this season (j which was quite amazing) and despite two poor performances over the holiday period, Arteta has rebuilt this club almost from its foundations upwards. He has turned us from a mediocre mid-table side (and one which under Emery was flirting with the relegation zone) to one that is considered one of the finest in the country and one that the PSV manager, carrying all before him domestically this season, considers among the very  finest in Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Arsenal is a very hard club to manage. Graham and especially Wenger made us habitual winners and in Wenger\u2019s case, winners in an incomparable style. But look what Arteta inherited – a dysfunctional club, a very torn dressing room and a fan base that had ceased to believe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In Charles  Watts\u2019  recent book he opens with a press conference in which Arteta underlines that his first big aim was to rebuild the connection between the fans and the team. He did this emphatically last year. It is undoubtedly less vibrant this year but might that be because the fan base has started to develop expectations that are unsustainable for a club working to be self-financing? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I believe in Arteta. He is not the Messiah and sometimes he is a very naughty boy. (Just ask Richard Keys!) I do think that he has a stubbornness that works against him and it seems from the outside that he is a very difficult manager to impress once you\u2019ve lost his confidence – reference ESR in this respect. Yet Arteta is the very best hope we have of returning Arsenal to the very top table of European football. Give the man a chance and accept that his way may not be yours but that he deserves our unwavering support at this time. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I never enjoyed getting half-term reports at school. Being the subject of intense scrutiny and evaluation of performance was not as common when I was a schoolboy as it is now and the recipients of the report were very heavily invested in my progress emotionally and financially and their expectations were high. That might describe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9068"}],"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=9068"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11327,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9068\/revisions\/11327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}