Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video

Holy fucking shit. An opening to this blog that will ensure it gets filtered out of NewsNow for profanity, but after 20+ years of writing about this football team, having seen plenty along the way, I feel that is the best way to start.

How to start? Where to start? Even after some sleep – although it’s always patchy and weird when a game finishes late and finishes like that – it’s hard to know how to put it all into words. Just keep typing, I guess, and see what comes out.

Beforehand, Mikel Arteta said he’d told his players about the occasion, the small stadium, and what the atmosphere was going to be like. It’s fair to say Luton were up for this one. The tone was set early on when Gabriel Martinelli took a knee to the back, and it was clear the home side were going to be physical. And look, it felt a bit Stoke to me, but at the same time when you’re facing a newly promoted side down the wrong end of the table, you have to expect a bit of that.

We took advantage of a mistake to go ahead, a quick throw saw Bukayo Saka provide an assist for Martinelli who made it 1-0. It ought to have settled us and given us some control, but there was a sloppiness about our play for a large part of this game. Perhaps it was the schedule, this being our fourth game in twelve days, but there were things we could have done better. Their equaliser stemmed from Gabriel Jesus failing to control a ball in midfield, they won a corner, our defending of the set-piece wasn’t good enough, and it was 1-1.

Saka and Martinelli forced saves from Thomas Kaminski, and just before the break we got ourselves ahead again. A lovely pass from Saka sent Ben White in behind, he dinked a nice cross into the mixer, Kai Havertz’s run took a couple of defenders to the near post allowing Jesus to run onto it and head home. 2-1, and scoring that close to half-time is usually a kick in the teeth for the opposition.

Again though, we were not at the right level. They got another corner early in the second half, Declan Rice was out-jumped, but all eyes were on David Raya who came, didn’t get near the ball, and it was 2-2. The goalkeeper was poor for Luton’s third too, I’m not sure trying to get down and save with your hands is the right choice when it’s fired in that close to the body, and it looked bad for the Spaniard – even if Ross Barkley was given too much space by White to get his shot off. 3-2 down, and if Kenilworth Road was rocking, so too were Arsenal.

It was a game characterised by sloppy moments on both sides. Luton will surely feel they could have defended better just three minutes later when Saka hooked the ball forward, but Jesus was tigerish up top, securing possession, and playing in Havertz who scored again – not dissimilar from the one against Lens where he timed his arrival perfectly to finish from close range. It felt somewhat chaotic, the three goals coming in an 11 minute period of that second half.

Mikel Arteta’s reaction was to withdraw Jakub Kiwior at left-back for Oleksandr Zinchenko, and replace Martinelli with Trossard. The impact was obvious. Game-state might allow for some of it, with Luton sitting off to defend a lead, but we went from having 50% possession to 75% possession. They had 3 attempts on goal in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, they had just 1 after we made those changes. Arsenal, chasing the game and chasing a winner, had 11.

We had corners. We should have had a penalty when Gabriel was clearly being pulled in the box. Not just a light tug either, but literally pulled out of the way of the ball when he was jumping for a header. When you think about the penalty Man City got a few weeks ago in the Manchester derby, this ought to have been given, but VAR looked and VAR thought it wasn’t a penalty. I’m at a loss to explain why beyond the continued incompetence of the officials, but thankfully that’s not a discussion we need to get into again.

The pressure was mounting. We had more corners. Odegaard became more and more influential, forcing a save from the keeper with a shot from distance. Trossard had chances. Havertz headed one which the keeper tipped over. 6 minutes of injury time were signalled. Luton had a throw and took their time. The ref tapped his watch to tell them he’d just add that time on too. And thank goodness he did.

With 96+ on the clock, Zinchenko whacked a free kick forward from halfway line. It came to White, who gave it to Odegaard. He played it to Zinchenko who had sprinted forward. I thought he’d cross it, but he gave it back to the captain whose first time ball was superbly headed into the net by Declan Rice.

4-3!

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Luton’s players slumped to the ground, knowing they’d lost it. Arsenal’s players went wild, as you would imagine, knowing they’d won it. Mikel Arteta celebrated the goal on the sideline with his staff and absurdly picked up a booking, one that means he is suspended from the touchline for our game against Aston Villa at the weekend. He said afterwards:

I could not be seated in my seat, unfortunately. I left there, I had no special awareness at all. It was pure emotion. If that’s a yellow…okay, that’s a yellow.

I’m sure it will vex him a bit in the next couple of days, but in the moment, a small price to pay for three points. He’d have swapped a yellow for a goal if it had been offered, but I don’t even know what they expect from managers when something like that happens. And where is there to go at a ground as small as Kenilworth Road? From what we saw on the TV pictures, it’s hard to understand why he was booked, but it’s something we have to just deal with now.

His reaction to the result:

I really enjoyed it, especially the end. The incredible thing about football, the emotions and the moments that you live together with a lot of people. It was a special night. Credit to Luton for the incredible atmosphere they created, the way they played, the way they were coached, they made life really difficult for us, but we found a win. The resilience, the character and quality that the team showed, and how much we wanted it, it was great.

When you try and analyse something like this, you have to acknowledge that conceding three goals – even away from home – against a team like Luton, is a concern. It’s the first time this season they’ve scored three times in the league, and you can look at the way we allowed those goals and see very clearly what we could and should have done better. It doesn’t do any good to ignore that just because we ended up winning.

At the same time though, this team’s ability to score late goals is second to none. It’s not just a fluke that we keep doing it. It’s part of our armoury, and the frequency with which it happens tells you that. Ideally, you don’t want to keep leaving it that late, but such is the level of competition we face from good teams, it’s just part and parcel of what we have to do.

Whether you put it down to character, resilience, never-say-die spirit, or whatever else, the fact that we can do it is invaluable. The other aspect is that the opposition know we can do it, and I think that plays a part too. Pressure takes a toll in football games, and if you’re sitting deep and defending against a team that never scores late goals, I think that’s a very different job than when you’re facing a team that scores them as often as Arsenal. It must be in the back of your mind that we’re capable of it, and all it takes is one tiny lapse in concentration, in organisation, and you can be punished.

I don’t suppose it’s coincidence either that this was Declan Rice’s second late winner of the season. As much as this is a collective thing, I think he embodies that character as much as anyone – not just in the late stages of a game, but in how he plays from first whistle to last. I also think Martin Odegaard is a key part of how we pile on pressure in the closing stages of games, the ability to find passes others can’t is fundamental, and he really took control in the final 20 minutes or so.

In the end, three points that were the order of the day, but ones which we won in a way that says a lot about what this team wants to do this season. Should it have been more straightforward? Perhaps. But football isn’t always about control, as much as you might try. Sometimes it’s chaotic and random and turbulent, as we saw last night. And if you can adjust and cope with that as well as we did, you stand a better chance of going the distance over a league campaign.

And breathe.

—

We are recording an etra Arsecast Extra for you today, so keep an eye out for the call for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re on Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.

Podcast should be out around lunchtime. Until then.

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Join us for live blog coverage of our Premier League clash with Luton, kick-off 20.15

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CLICK TO LAUNCH Luton v Arsenal – LIVE BLOG

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Morning. A very quick blog for you, as we look forward to tonight’s encounter with Luton at Kenilworth Road.

There isn’t much time between Saturday’s game and this one, and in terms of team news, we have to wait and see if Takehiro Tomiyasu will be available having come off late in the win over Wolves. Mikel Arteta says he hopes the Japan international will be an option, but it feels to me like this is the kind of game we could potentially show a bit of caution and make sure he’s ready for Villa at the weekend, for example.

That should mean Ben White coming back in at right-back, which is a very nice deputy when you say it out loud, and we’ll have to wait and see if the manager makes any other changes. It would make sense to me that we might give Gabriel Jesus a rest, he’s played a lot since coming back from his hamstring injury, and if it was Leandro Trossard or Eddie Nketiah up front I wouldn’t be at all surprised. I could see Kai Havertz coming back into the team for this one too, and with a big game at the weekend some rotation feels inevitable.

Tonight will be tricky, not least because of playing away in a small stadium with a crowd that will be well and truly up for it. Arteta says he’s made his players aware of the challenge they’ll face, saying:

They know. We have already warned them, they know what to expect. They know about the atmosphere and they know about the access. They know everything, and especially they have to know about the team that they have to face tomorrow and the difficulties we are going to have to play against them, and as well what the opportunities are for us to win the game.

It’s a potential banana skin, but let’s hope it’s one we can deal with, and three points tonight would extend our lead at the top again with those behind us not playing until tomorrow.

—

Finally for this morning, I’d just like to say thank you to all of you who listen to the Arsecast, and those who took the time to vote for us in the FSA Awards. We are very proud to have won Club Podcast of the Year at last night’s event, in the face of excellent competition from The Anfield Wrap, Fulhamish, 1912 Exiles, The Square Ball, and Under the Abbey Stand.

It means a lot to be recognised by our listeners, and the wider football community, even if my head is a bit wobbly this morning. To be able to do what we do is a real privilege, not one we take for granted for one second, and and ‘working’ with James, Andrew, Tim and the rest of the crew is just a lot of fun.

Thank you again.

—

Right. I’m gonna get my arse in gear, get some coffee, and head back to Dublin. Please join us later for live blog coverage of the game, and all the usual bits on Arseblog News after.

Have a good one.

The post Luton preview: Manage the atmosphere appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Morning all.

It was quite the day in the Premier League yesterday. For a while it looked as if Liverpool were going to drop some points, but late goals saw them come back to beat Fulham 4-3. They’re clearly not great defensively, but so far this season they’ve been able to offset that with sheer firepower. Whether that’s a sustainable way to go through a league campaign we’ll have to wait and see, but it’s working for them so far.

Then there was Man City’s 3-3 draw with Spurs. Obviously City dropping any points at all is good for our title ambitions, and I’m very happy that they did. However, I never want to see that lot do anything that makes them happy, so you have this weird sensation of being pleased at the result but upset by it at the same time. I guess I can live with it, but I don’t care for it one bit.

At the end of the game, there was an incident when the referee appeared to wave play on, Erling Haaland played Jack Grealish through, and then the whistle went, provoking some fury from the City players – the Norwegian in particular. I get the frustration, and no doubt Howard Webb will have his apology template fired up in Microsoft Word this morning, but this image will haunt my nightmares.

I am running through a forest, desperately trying to escape something. I don’t know what, but it is large and terrifying. I can hear its mighty hooves behind me, getting closer. Hammering off the earth. Faster, and faster. I take a look behind me, and there is a mighty moose with Erling Haaland’s ‘REF!’ face, his eyes like furious lava, his antlers are glistening cutlasses ready to slice me into tiny pieces, his blonde mane flowing behind him like vicious eels. I know moose don’t have manes, but this is a nightmare, all sorts of shit can happen. What if a ferocious human Haaland, head to toe in his fighting gear like the Night King, sat astride moose Haaland, relentlessly pursuing me to murder me because he thinks I’m Simon Hooper? I need to wake up immediately, and start wearing a wig.

Now he’s in your dreams too. I’m sorry, that’s just how it has to be. Afterwards, Pep Guardiola was asked about it and said, “Next question. I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment.”

Which is a bit weird, but then Guardiola is a weird little guy, so I don’t know why anyone would be surprised. So, so weird. It wasn’t even delivered with any real kind of humour, which makes it even more odd given the relationship between them. Perhaps it’s even calculated, designed to try and put some focus on Arteta rather than the behaviour of his player which ought to come under as much scrutiny as our manager’s comments post-Newcastle.

I’m all for grown men being allowed to express themselves honestly, but if what Arteta said is worthy of an FA charge, I guess screaming into the face of the referee – even if you are frustrated in the heat of the moment – is something they’ll look at. And in the end, perhaps Man City should be more unhappy about conceding three goals to Spurs than anything else.

Still, the weekend’s action leaves us top of the table, two points clear of Liverpool, and three of City. There’s a round of games this week too, and we’re in action tomorrow night against Luton. City are away at Villa, which is an interesting one, because they have been very good at home, and we travel there on Saturday evening. Might it be a good time to go there after they face a very tough game against the Champions? With an extra day’s rest too, although that means playing on Tuesday is just a bit more challenging.

Plenty to keep us going throughout the week, that’s for sure. Attention will turn to Luton in tomorrow’s blog, and in the meantime there’s a new Arsecast Extra for you to listen to if you haven’t had a chance yet. All the links you need are below, for now, have a good one!

Download – iTunes – Spotify – Acast – RSS

The post Terrifying Premier League drama appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog.

In this episode we look back on the 2-1 win over Wolves, a scoreline that doesn’t really reflect the way the game went, but one which we sort of inflicted upon ourselves. We chat about the bright start, goals from Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard setting us on our way, but how we didn’t have quite the same attacking efficiency as the midweek game against Lens. There’s discussion of the yin and yang of Oleksandr Zinchenko, opportunities to score more goals, plus questions about a return to form for the captain and his influence on our attack, how this season is different by design, Arsenal picking up fewer yellow cards, a left-field (8) question about Gabriel Jesus and lots more.

Get extra bonus content and help support Arseblog by becoming an Arseblog Member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arseblog

Remember, you can send us questions via which we’ll try and get to each week. Send them to either @arseblog or @Gunnerblog (or both) using the hashtag #arsecastextra. Best to send them Monday morning so they get noticed more easily.

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You can listen without leaving this page by using the player below, download the Acast app for iOS or Android, or download the MP3 directly using the link below.

Also, if you’re a fan of the show, please leave us a rating/review on iTunes, it’d be greatly appreciated.

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The post Arsecast Extra Episode 556 – 03.12.2023 appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video

Arsenal went four points clear at the top of the Premier League with a win over Wolves that was very comfortable … until it wasn’t. We were dominant but had to face a nervous final 15 minutes after a mistake at the back allowed the visitors a goal out of nothing.

The old adage about 2-0 being the most dangerous scoreline in football might be a bit of a cliche, but ask any Arsenal fan and they’ll back it right up. We’ve seen it more than once, and it was hard not to worry we weren’t going to let a couple of points slip on a day when all three should have been secured long before that error let them back into it.

We started brilliantly, Bukayo Saka combing with Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu to put us ahead in the 6th minute. Mikel Arteta has spoken recently about players needing to be efficient in tight spaces, and while Wolves might feel they could have defended better, Saka’s movement is just so sharp, and he made no mistake with the finish.

Seven minutes later and the lead was doubled. Saka’s cross from the right was just too heavy, but we recycled possession, Zinchenko’s give and go with Jesus was superb – the cushioned return from the Brazilian was inch perfect – and the Ukrainian pulled it back for Martin Odegaard to sweep the ball home for 2-0. It wasn’t an easy finish either, but he made it look that way.

Early goals change the complexion of games, and after sticking five past Lens in the first half on Wednesday, you hoped we were on course to at least add another before the break. A brilliant take from an Odegaard pass saw a chance for Leandro Trossard but the keeper made a good save, Rice had a good effort deflect wide, and Gabriel Martinelli hit the post – the rebound squirting the wrong way for both Saka and Jesus.

A Zinchenko mistake required excellent defending from Martinelli who did so well to bail his teammate out, which is part of why he drew praise from his manager afterwards. It was a sign all wasn’t right defensively with the left-back though. Late in the half it should have been 3-0 when Jesus was in behind, his finish was tame – a bit like Eddie’s last weekend – but he ought to have looked up to see Rice arriving for what would have been a tap-in, and it wasn’t a difficult pass to make either.

Hesitation between William Saliba and Zinchenko caused us a major problem just before half-time, but David Raya stood up well to deny Hwang Hee-chan. Again, it was the left-back mostly at fault, he under-cooked the pass back to his keeper and we were fortunate not to have been punished.

The second half began with a penalty shout when Jesus’ arm was clearly pulled in the box as he was trying to connect with a cross. Here’s my thinking on this one: if that foul is sufficient for a Leandro Trossard goal to be chalked off by VAR when Ben White did the same thing to a goalkeeper, it’s enough for a penalty when it happens to a forward. But VAR looked and decided it wasn’t enough. What can you do?

The second half was, as I said above, comfortable. We were in control, and while I don’t think we were absolutely busting a gut to score more, I don’t think the team was as casual as some people have made out. If they felt secure with the defensive record/ability we have, I understand that. Wolves, let’s be honest, offered little in attack. We dealt with everything, Raya had one save to make early in the half and that was it. It was, for most of that half, a demonstration of Arteta’s desire to kill a game with 300,000 passes.

Let’s also not overlook the chances we had to score more. Saka curled one just over the far post. Trossard really should have done better when put through by Odegaard, and even after Mattheus Cunha got that goal back, there was a chance for Eddie Nketiah to immediately make the game safe, but he hit the post when he should have scored. When a striker is clean through like that, missing the target is bad, even if you come very close.

So, it wasn’t a collective casualness, it was mostly a casual moment from a player who had too many of them yesterday. Would Zinchenko even have been on the pitch at that point if Tomiyasu hadn’t had to go off? He’s not a player I have a lot of faith in in the late stages of a game anyway, but that mistake was in the post all day. Afterwards, Arteta said of him:

You have to love him, how he is, every player as well. He has strengths and weaknesses and Alex has got many more strengths. This happened, it can happen to any player, we have to learn from it, because in those areas it’s a big no to play especially after certain things on the previous phrase and that’s it, we will get better.

Sometimes, even if you’re playing for a manager like Mikel Arteta who demands you keep the ball, you just need to put your foot through it in defensive areas, and that was one of those moments. It made the last few minutes, with all the added time, more tense than they needed to be. Overall though, I think the performance was good, just missing some of the attacking efficiency we saw in midweek. Had it finished 4-0, I don’t think Wolves could have complained, but perhaps a reminder that you have to be more clinical and be smarter at the back isn’t a bad thing in a game when you still take all three points.

A quick word to finish for the captain who I thought was outstanding yesterday. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two games in which we could have scored a load of goals featured him back at something close to his best. He made 6 key passes yesterday on top of the goal he scored, and he should have had a couple of assists to his name but for wayward finishing. It’s great to see that the bit of rest/time-off has recharged his batteries so well.

Right, let’s hope for mayhem in the Premier League today, although I suspect we might see Man City rack up a record win in their game later on and close the gap back to a point.

We are recording the Arsecast Extra for you early today, so keep an eye out for the call for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re on Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.

Podcast should be out before midday. Until then.

The post Arsenal 2-1 Wolves: Tighter than it should have been appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Join us for live blog coverage of our Premier League clash with Wolves, kick-off 15.00

We’ve got up to the second live text commentary, updates, goal clips, observations and occasionally witty asides. If you want to join the chat, register an Arseblog Live account.

To do that, go to Arseblog Live – click login on the top right, and then choose ‘sign up’ to complete the process with your username/password via email.

Note: Due to the dumpster fire that is Twitter these days, we can no longer provide real time updates via the @arseblog_live account. That account is now dormant.

CLICK TO LAUNCH Arsenal v Wolves – LIVE BLOG

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It’s Wolves today at home, and with the sides immediately behind us not playing until tomorrow, it’s a chance to put just a bit of pressure on with three points today.

After the midweek rout of Lens, what is there to say except ‘More of the same, please?’. The question is how much Wolves approach will be distinct from what we saw from the French side? If you’re Gary O’Neil, you surely watched it and thought giving Arsenal space to run into is a very bad idea indeed, so we might well face another low block, and a team who will sit deep.

We were ruthless on Wednesday night, and it’s not as if Lens were pressing high up the pitch all the time, we just made the absolute maximum from the opportunities we had. The way we might play could dictate how the opposition react too. Even if Wolves don’t necessarily want to defend their own box with 10 men behind the ball, our domination of possession and territory could see it play out like that anyway.

They’re missing their two main starting central midfielders, so they’re weaker than usual in an important area of the pitch, so that might be something Mikel Arteta looks to take advantage of. I’d go with the same trio that started in the Champions League. Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard both got on the scoresheet, while Declan Rice was perhaps overshadowed a bit by the scoreline and the goalscorers, but was outstanding again.

Beyond that, the half-time changes of the full-backs suggests we might see a bit of rotation there, with Ben White ready to start again on the right, and it could be one of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko or even Jakub Kiwior on the left. Up top, if Gabriel Jesus can manage the load, he’s our best option up front, but Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah provide options with the two main men on the wings.

I thought the manager was interesting when he was asked about attacking fluidity in reference to last season, replying:

It will be different, it won’t be the same, and we cannot expect the same. This team is going to be different to last season and hopefully very different to next season, and that’s part of the evolution by leaving some things in the past to make way for the new things, it’s a transition. We want to still be competitive and win matches and I think the team is competing really well.

It’s Arteta 2.0, or something. Last season was its own thing. This time around he’s made it very clear it’s different by design, and that’s something we’re going to have to come to terms with. The idea that we’ll just turn up one weekend and it will all be like last season (performance, atmosphere) etc is one we need to put aside. This is a new boat.

Which doesn’t mean it can’t be fun or enjoyable, Wednesday certainly was. 4-0 wins over PSV and Bournemouth were. I think he’s looking for a maximum fun return in May though, rather than great larks throughout the campaign. Today, it’s about three points, about final third efficiency against a team who have been hard done by this week (and not for the first time this season), and who are going to make it tough for us. If those points come with a kind of Terminator ruthlessness rather than a bit of LEEEROOOOY JENKINS then so be it.

Fingers crossed!

—

Join us later for live blog coverage of the match, and all the post-game stuff on Arseblog News. There’s also our preview podcast on Patreon to help pass a bit of the time.

Until later.

The post Wolves preview: More of the same, but different … appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Morning all, happy Friday to you all.

Let’s start with news via David Ornstein that Arsenal are in talks with Takehiro Tomiyasu over a new contract. He says in The Athletic (£):

The Premier League club have made an offer to the Japan international with the two parties expected to reach an agreement in due course.

Good news, and if you’re a regular reader you’ll know just how highly I rate Tomiyasu. We’ve come to accept his versatility quite easily, without really thinking too much about how incredible it is that we have a player who you can deploy in either full-back position, or either centre-half position, and not worry for a single second about any drop off in his ability to do the job. There really aren’t too many players out there who can do that as well as he can.

When we signed Jurrien Timber, we thought we were getting a right-back who can operate at centre-half, but in pre-season – perhaps more out of necessity than invention – he played at left-back, and did well. Nevertheless, had he not picked up that injury on his Premier League debut, we’d now have two players who can operate comfortably all the way across the back-line. His absence though makes Tomiyasu an even more important member of the squad, and the Japan international is someone who gives you a real sense of defensive security when you think about the team when he’s in it.

Unfortunately, we’re going to miss him for a while in January because of the Asian Cup taking place in Qatar. Japan play Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam between the 14th and the 24th, with the knock-out rounds running all the way to February 10th. Even with the break in January after the FA Cup third round, he could potentially miss Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, and West Ham – and if Japan go the distance, there will probably be a need to give him some time off to recharge his batteries after the pressures of an international tournament.

I know we have some Japanese readers so I won’t say I hope the tournament goes badly for them, but if it does, it might alleviate the January headache the manager will have about Tomiyasu’s absence. Let’s also not forget that Thomas Partey could be gone that month too. The manager spoke about his fitness before the Lens game, saying it was possible he could return before the end of the year, but if he does, Ghana will surely call him up for AFCON which takes place in Ivory Coast between January 14th and February 11th.

I suppose you could say, given the fact we’re top of the league and have come through our Champions League group in impressive fashion, that we’re not really missing Partey. He played a bit at the start of the season at right-back, not in midfield, and since then has been absent/injured. I do think it’s encouraging that we have coped without him, and in some ways I’m pleased the team is evolving beyond him, but we’re only an injury or suspension away from really needing a player of his quality again. So there is a touch of good fortune, if you want to call it that. Perhaps though, it’s evidence to Mikel Arteta and Edu that it’s not so much Partey himself we need, but someone of similar quality for that position.

In previous seasons the team suffered in his absence, and while I certainly think he’d have contributed plenty had he been fit, it shows our reliance on him has diminished. Maybe it just makes the decision to move on and find a younger player to refit that position a bit easier. Let’s see. As for whether anything will happen in January, the market itself dictates a lot, but dealing without Tomiyasu, Partey, and Timber (who at least is making progress but still remains some distance from a comeback), may dictate more.

Right, I’ll leave it there for now. We’ll have a Wolves preview podcast for you a bit later on Patreon, until then, have a good one.

The post A new deal for Tomi ahead of a January headache for Arteta appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

“I feel like a lot of games I’m facing a double team with two guys on me and it’s the same for Gabi. It’s happening in every game. I keep watching all my games back trying to find a solution, what I can do better.

“In the end I just feel like I need to understand that this is how it’s going to be this season and I just need to deal with it and keep finding a way like I did today. That’s what I need to keep doing.” These were the words of Bukayo Saka after the late 1-0 win over Brentford on Saturday.

Arsenal’s attack is heavily reliant on Saka and Martinelli, partially because both are world class performers, partially because, for all his qualities, Gabriel Jesus is not a regular killer in front of goal and also, because Arsenal don’t have much in reserve on the flanks.

Leandro Trossard is an excellent player but has a very different profile to Saka and Martinelli, while Reiss Nelson is trusted for little more than dead minutes. Arsenal tend to need Martinelli and Saka on the pitch for close to every minute when a game is still alive.

Of course, when teams double up on a player, logic dictates that he will have a colleague free elsewhere. Arsenal’s task this season has been to find that spare player. Kai Havertz was bought, in part, to provide that undetected threat. Because what Arsenal are finding is that the spare man is often in the penalty area.

Following his late back post header against Brentford, Kai Havertz revealed that working the ball to him at the far post is something that Arsenal work on a lot. “We train this routine quite a lot in training. I know Bukayo (Saka) or Martin (Odegaard), love to play these balls.”

The far post is proving to be a bountiful avenue for Arsenal, as Ahmed Walid analyses in-depth in this piece in The Athletic. In his analysis of the Brentford victory on Arsenal.com, Adrian Clarke points out that Havertz’s eventual winner and Leo Trossard’s first half strike narrowly ruled out for offside came from near identical situations at the GTech.

Saka finding that slip of space on the corner of the penalty area is very much a worked move for Arsenal and while there are two defenders trying to stop him from finding it, that leaves a spare man and often that spare man is in the penalty area. When you sift through Arsenal’s goals this season, this pattern repeats. Here is Leandro Trossard’s late equaliser at Stamford Bridge.

As Saka shapes up, there are two Chelsea players in close attendance but that creates a defensive imbalance that sees Trossard free on the far post and he takes full advantage. Trossard has struck up an excellent understanding with Saka, all of his Arsenal goals have been teed up by Saka and a big part of that is because Trossard is good at finding himself as the spare man.

“It’s not that I ignore passes from other players, it’s just a coincidence, but I always try to get in the right positions and it’s B who sets up my goals,” Trossard said recently. The aspiration for Arsenal has to be that Havertz and Martinelli appreciate some of those attacking spaces on the far side as well as Trossard has when Saka is doubled up on.

There are burgeoning signs that Havertz is cottoning on. Shortly before his goal against RC Lens on Wednesday evening, he gets a free header on the back post from a Tomiyasu cross which drifts just wide. A few minutes later, he is on hand to latch onto a Gabriel Jesus knockdown from another Tomiyasu cross. There are signs that Havertz and Arsenal are beginning to understand one another.

While Saka talked about the close attention he receives with a hint of lament, his numbers remain peerless in the team. Nine assists and seven goals in 17 starts this season is a very impressive rate of production. His opposite wingman, Gabriel Martinelli, is probably suffering more in this climate of opposition caution.

The Brazilian has two goals and an assist in three Champions League games this season where attention has not nearly been as intense. His performance in the home game against Sevilla was a clinic in what he can do with one-on-one situations. He has had precious few of those in the Premier League and it has impacted him more than Saka.

Martinelli has a goal and two assists in 11 Premier League appearances (though the goal he scored, the late winner against Manchester City, was the most important of the season so far). His XG is down from 0.30 per game last season to 0.13 this. Expected assists are down from 0.29 to 0.18. That has cut his overall expected end product almost in half from 0.59 per game to 0.31.

There are reasons for this, of course. Saka has a network around him on the right side in the shape of Odegaard and Ben White that gives him options and decoy options. Martinelli has less of a networks. Arsenal’s left-back doesn’t overlap but instead tucks into midfield while it has taken Kai Havertz a little while to get the hang of the left eight role.

Martinelli’s game is less about accuracy and more about volume because the plan is to get him into isolated situations against full-backs but those scenarios are becoming increasingly rare. Saka is also a better crosser of the ball and crosses are where Arsenal are finding some of these superiorities.

At Brentford, Martinelli was substituted and Trossard was moved to the left wing and this was, in my view, because Trossard is better at that clipped cross from the corner of the area to the back post. We are seeing Zinchenko do more of this this season too. He is averaging 2.67 crosses per 90 this season compared to 1.57 in 2022-23.

Crossing and combining is not really what Arsenal ask Martinelli to do. The good news for him is that once teams start to detect Zinchenko’s increased crossing prowess, they will have to commit a man to stop him from clipping those deliveries in. If Kai Havertz and Arsenal starts to become a more fruitful marriage too, then suddenly the left side of the attack suddenly looks more like a team effort than Martinelli on an island. (Saka’s goal against Lens emanates from Martinelli and Havertz combining on the left).

It is also well established that Martinelli and Jesus have a strong partnership and Jesus does a lot to take markers away from Martinelli, certainly more than Nketiah does and, in Premier League terms, it’s a combination we have not been able to see enough of thus far. Teams are doubling up on Saka and Martinelli and there are nascent signs that the team are finding the spare players in the penalty area more often.

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Welcome to another episode of the Arsecast – the Arsenal podcast.

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The post Episode 761 – Those are some sixy boys … appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video

Arsenal ensured top spot in Group B with a game to spare last night, hammering Lens 6-0.

For all the talk of tactics, low blocks, attacking fluency and all the rest, football can be a very uncomplicated game sometimes. Obviously that goes hand in hand with scoring lots of goals, and this morning all we can do is enjoy the way we went about our business with such efficiency.

Kai Havertz, who was given the nod in midfield after his goal against Brentford, got things going in the 13th minute. It wasn’t the prettiest goal you’ll ever see, but he anticipated a Gabriel Jesus knock-down better than any Lens defender, and poked it home from close range.

Bukayo Saka created the second with a driving run into their box, and even when their defenders thought they’d done enough, he stuck a foot out to guide the ball to Jesus. His fake, touch, and shot were excellent, although perhaps the goalkeeper was beaten a little too easily. Never mind that though, Arsenal were cooking at that point.

The third came when David Raya went long, as he did with most of his kicking last night, aiming it towards Gabriel Martinelli. Havertz, who had his best game in red and white, won it well in midfield and passed it to the Brazilian. His shot was saved, but the ball rebounded off Saka and in to make it 3-0. On the fifth anniversary of his Arsenal debut, and on just his 5th Champions League appearance, he made it 7 goal contributions in this competition so far with one he didn’t know that much about. But you have to be in the right place, and he was rewarded for his endeavour.

Some people will try and tell you that Takehiro Tomiyasu didn’t mean that pass to Martinelli which led to the fourth, but pay them no mind. When you train with him every day, you know what he can do with his pace, but credit to the winger for what he did next. He took it on, drove into their box, checked, and then curled a shot beyond the keeper for 4-0. That made it three goals in six minutes and Lens were toast at that point.

They had a spell of possession, and hit the post with a good effort from distance, but before the break it was five. Saka broke upfield, Tomiyasu made a bursting run to overlap, and his cross was met by Martin Odegaard who volleyed home into the bottom corner to make it 5-0. What a finish, but the way Saka and Tomi showed that much ambition in first half injury time at 4-0 up already was so impressive.

At the break Mikel Arteta changed his fullbacks, bringing on Ben White and Jakub Kiwior for Tomi and Oleksandr Zinchenko, and those were understandable changes. The two going off have been injury-adjacent this season, and the other two – especially Kiwior – needed minutes. And as you would expect, the transition was relatively seamless, I was impressed again with the Polish international’s technical ability and desire to get involved.

The other changes made sense in the context of the season too. I know there were people calling for Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly to come on, but Arteta had to think more about who needed to come off, and who might benefit more from minutes as we head into a busy part of the season. Taking Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka off made sense, so Reiss Nelson and Jorginho went on. Taking Gabriel Jesus off was obvious, and it was either Eddie or Trossard with the former getting the nod.

For those young guys, the PSV game might represent a better chance. We’ve won the group, and while I don’t think there’s any way they’re going to start in the Netherlands, they might get off the bench for that one. The reality is that a 16 and a 17 year-old who are still developing probably aren’t going to feature much this season, and if these minutes help Nelson, for example, make a contribution in an upcoming game, that’s the more sensible change to make, but I understand the romanticism of chucking on a couple of Academy kids.

The sixth came from the spot when a Lens player was adjudged to have handled the ball as he whacked Martinelli in the face. Odegaard looked like he was going to take it, but he handed it to Jorginho who slotted home normally, i.e – without that skippity-hoppity run he often does when taking penalties.

So, in our three home games in the Champions League this season, we’ve scored 12 goals, conceded none, and taken maximum points. Afterwards, Mikel Arteta said:

We had the chance to qualify today and become top of the group and we’ve done it in a really convincing way against a really good side and I think the team right from the beginning showed a lot of aggression and determination to go for the game, everything happened in the right way especially in the first 30 minutes and that was really helpful to win the game.

I think consistently we have shown at home not to concede any goals, and score a lot of goals, that’s a really positive factor, those players need to have those experiences, and believe that we can do it against big opponents, now let’s wait, we have to park it and in February we will know who we are facing and let’s see how we are in that moment.

It does leave room for manoeuvre in the PSV game, and it’ll be nice to go there with zero jeopardy in terms of what the result means. It doesn’t mean we won’t be out to win it, we know what Arteta’s demands are, but that lack of pressure could make for a fun game. All in all, despite that defeat in France, our first group stage back in the Champions League after so long has gone really well, and it’s something to build on for the knock-out stages when we get to that point.

—

Right, that it’s for now. We will be recording a post-game Arsecast for you this morning, so join us for that – it should be out around midday.

Have a good one.

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Join us for live blog coverage of our Champions League clash with Lens, kick-off 20.00

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CLICK TO LAUNCH Arsenal v Lens – LIVE BLOG

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We are in Champions League action this evening as we face Lens at home, seeking some revenge, if you can call it that, for the 2-1 defeat in France back in October.

In terms of team news, there’s not much to report. Ben White is available, according to Mikel Arteta, despite the fact he began yesterday’s training session away from the main group. The main news is that Fabio Vieira, who was suspended for the game against Brentford due to his red card against Burnley, has undergone surgery and will be out until the new year. Arteta said:

We’ve got a problem with him. He’s been having some discomfort. We sent him to see a specialist and the advice was to have an operation in his groin. He did that yesterday. We don’t expect him back this side of the winter break.

While he has been fairly peripheral this season, with Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe still sidelined and a little way from making their comebacks, it’s not ideal. Midfield feels a bit light at the moment, so it’s something we could have done without. Tonight though, Arteta can stick with Leandro Trossard in there after he did fine against Brentford; he could move Declan Rice forward and play with Jorginho at the base of the midfield; or there’s the option to start Kai Havertz there, perhaps to try and make the most of the confidence boosting goal he got at the weekend.

What happens in midfield might have an impact on who plays up front. I was not expecting Gabriel Jesus to start against Brentford, so on the one hand that shows they didn’t feel it was a risk to do that. Nevertheless, after a month out, and with transatlantic travel in the mix too, is starting him for the third time in seven days sensible? The manager and the medical team will have more info than I do obviously, but I do wonder. If it’s Havertz in midfield, Trossard up top would be my preference, but there’s also Eddie Nketiah for the manager to choose from.

A win or a draw tonight would see us win the group, but Arteta is only thinking about the three points, saying:

Yeah, we do want to win the game, that’s for sure. We want to be top of the group and the opportunity is there for us tomorrow, against a team that causes problems, and that we’ve already experienced against them, so we have the right motivation to do that tomorrow.

Let’s hope we can achieve that with minimum fuss, meaning the final group game against PSV is one in which we can rotate/rest players – coming as it does ahead of a tricky game against Brighton.

—

The manager was also asked about his team’s attack, and was quite interesting on the differences between this season and last. He talked about how game-state played a big part last time out, due to the amount of early goals we scored. As Lewis pointed out in our Patreon preview podcast, we scored 14 goals in the first 15 minutes of games last season – this time around, we’ve yet to bag one in that time period. The earliest we’ve scored in the Premier League was the 17th minute against Bournemouth; and in the Champions League it was the 8th minute against PSV. Both scored by Bukayo Saka, by the way, and on both occasions we won those games 4-0.

The reality of how the opposition are setting up to ensure they don’t give anything away early on is clearly a reaction to what we did last season, and as for attacking fluency, the manager said:

It’s not going to be as fluent, it’s not going to be as hectic, because there is no space to run. When you are sitting in traffic, I want to go 100 miles an hour, but I have three buses and 55 taxis and motorbikes around me, so it’s tricky.

The solution, to his mind is ‘practice’:

There are certain things that we are insisting a lot to do, to create more issues for opponents. The more we practice, the better we will be. Sometimes we don’t want to provoke that but we will because the team wants to do it. It’s about finding the right key to unlock the doors in relation to what the team wants to do.

Whether we’ll see that kind of deep approach from Lens this evening remains to be seen, but we know we’re going to face it often in the Premier League, so it’s something we’re going to have work on getting on top of.

—

Right, let’s leave it there for now. Join us later for live blog coverage of the match, and all the post-game stuff on Arseblog News.

Until then.

The post Lens preview: A chance to top the group appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

When you talk about refereeing and officiating this season, it’s easy for people to dismiss legitimate complaints by talking about club bias.

“Of course you think that, it’s for the benefit of your team!”.

And look, as much as I try and be objective, it’s impossible to argue that there isn’t an element of truth in that from time to time. Not always, but it can seep in. I think that’s true of most football fans. Our frustration and sense of injustice can lead us to believe that something that’s on the borderline of being correct or not is actually something much more egregious.

But what about when it’s not your team? There can’t be any bias there, so let me have a go. This morning I don’t know how Gary O’Neil hasn’t driven to PGMOL HQ to set up camp there, demanding something be done about these officials. Already this season the victims of two of the worst penalty decisions you will ever see, they were once again robbed of precious points by garbage decisions which once again highlight the abject standard of officiating in the Premier League.

Fulham’s first penalty was soft, to say the least, and the Wolves player got something on the ball too. VAR checked but decided the referee hadn’t made a clear and obvious error. Which, by the way, is a definition that provides a get-out clause for officials, and no clarity for the rest of us. Can the referee in real time actually see that touch? Probably not, but is it a ‘clear and obvious’ error? Perhaps not, because how could he be expected to see something which we need super slow-mo replays for. Which is why it’s useless terminology.

Wolves got a penalty of their own, and the foul by Tim Ream, already on a yellow card, was worthy of a second. Hwang Hee-chan is going through, it’s subtle but deliberate, and it should be a red card. Not given, although the officials admitted afterwards it should have been. As for the second Fulham penalty in injury time, the one which saw Wolves come away with nothing, Harry Wilson went down and the referee rightly waved play on. But VAR decided he’d made a clear and obvious error, made him go check it, and Michael Salisbury buckled under the pressure and gave it. Nonsense. It’s a dive, anyone can see that. Nor was it clear and obvious.

On top of that, there was a ‘headbutt’ incident in which Carlo Vinicius caught Max Kilman, and the referee actually described that to Gary O’Neil as a ‘soft headbutt’, and deemed it not worthy of a red card. There wasn’t much contact, but we’ve seen them given before, when you do that with your head you are asking for trouble. There are shades of Bruno Guimaraes on Jorginho in that decision making. “Yes it was violent conduct, but not violent enough”, as if that’s in the rules somewhere.

O’Neil said:

We discussed the headbutt, which it was, but he debated that a little bit with me as well and he said that it was a soft headbutt. Which I just said that that’s crazy. He’s absolutely crazy. So we can headbutt people as long as it’s deemed soft or not hard enough? So my son at home watching that — millions of children watching that — we’re telling them that you can headbutt people on a football pitch, as long as it’s not too hard?

Perfectly reasonable. He went on to say:

You can phone me and tell me I’m wrong. You can phone me and apologise, you can send me flowers if you like, but the difference from 22 points to 15 is huge. I’m managing a big football club here and the difference that you’re making to my reputation, to the club’s progression up the league, to people’s livelihoods, it’s huge.

It can’t be like this with all the technology and all the time in the biggest league in the world that we’re getting so many wrong. It can’t be ok. We should discuss the game, but, unfortunately, we have to discuss these because they’re such big decisions.

The reality is what he said here is very much in the same ballpark as what Mikel Arteta said after Newcastle. The focus then was on his immediate post-game comments, because they make the most headlines and generate the most clicks, but his more measured comments a couple of days later echo what Gary O’Neil is saying here – that for the good of the game, shutting down reasonable discussion of refereeing standards doesn’t benefit anyone. Especially when it dressed up with a veneer of respectability in the guise of the Daily Mail’s absurd, hypocritical campaign around respecting refs, as if we can’t all see that’s been bought and paid for by Howard Webb.

You have a problem and you put it there in a drawer, the problem is that the drawer is going to stink at some moment. If we have a problem, let’s talk about it, let’s try to improve it and let’s try to in a very constructive way, try to improve it. That’s it. That’s what we are trying to do. Nothing else.

We’re still waiting for the decision on Arteta’s FA charge to be released, by the way. It may well be a case that as Wolves come to visit this weekend, he could be in the stands. I don’t think what he said merits a touchline ban, but it wouldn’t surprise me either. It’s probably just par for the course that the comments from an Arsenal manager get a bit more traction than those of his counterpart at Wolves, but neither of them have done anything more than reasonably raise legitimate questions about the refs, VAR, and some of the awful decisions we’ve seen this season. Not just for their own team but so that standards across the Premier League are improved.

Gary O’Neil has more reason than most to be fuming with what has been done to his team this season, so let’s hope his words resonate beyond the tabloid headlines which have obscured what Arteta said after Newcastle. Ultimately, if it’s deemed unacceptable to even raise the idea of talking about officiating standards, nothing will ever improve. And that drawer will stink for evermore.

—

There’s some Premier League listening for you over on Patreon, in a new episode of The 30, recorded yesterday so we obviously don’t have last night’s game. However, we’ll also have a bit of a Champions League preview podcast for you later on too, so we might have a little chat about it. You can sign up to our Patreon for instant access to everything for just over a fiver a month here – patreon.com/arseblog

Till tomorrow, when we can preview the Lens game, and all the rest.

The post Officials rob Wolves again … appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog.

In this episode we look back on the 1-0 win over Brentford on Saturday. We discuss Arsenal’s control versus cutting edge, the perception of our attack this season, the team selection and Brentford’s approach, Aaron Ramsdale’s horror moment and Declan Rice’s incredible recovery. We obviously chat about the late winner scored by Kai Havertz, what it means for him (at last), and what it meant to take three points and go top of the table. We then have listener questions about the way Mikel Arteta deal with post-game questions about Ramsdale, Leandro Trossard in the left 8 position, reporters trying (badly) to get Thomas Frank to criticise Arsenal’s celebrations, the offside rule, and lots more.

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The post Arsecast Extra Episode 555 – 27.11.2023 appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Morning, welcome to a new week.

It turned out to be mostly a good weekend in terms of other results in the Premier League. Aston Villa beat Spurs, mate, which is always funny, but it also showed that we are going to have to be good when we go there in December, mate. There was a very Unai Emery chaos to some of their play yesterday, but they definitely have some attacking threat to be mindful of. Mate.

In the other game on Sunday, it’s a shame that Everton continue to field a goalkeeper with velociraptor arms, otherwise he might have saved that first goal. A decent hit from the lad, I suppose, but I resent giving him or Man Utd any credit. So I won’t.

There’s some interesting stuff in the Evening Standard from Bukayo Saka who talks about the difficulty he, and Gabriel Martinelli, are facing in terms of how teams defend against them. It’s been a feature of the season that in almost every game, as soon as they get on the ball, there are two defenders on them. Saka says:

I feel like a lot of games I’m facing a double team with two guys on me and it’s the same for Gabi. It’s happening in every game. I keep watching all my games back trying to find a solution, what I can do better.

In the end I just feel like I need to understand that this is how it’s going to be this season and I just need to deal with it and keep finding a way like I did today. That’s what I need to keep doing.

It is certainly a challenge, and when you try and picture Saka going beyond his full back and attacking from there, it’s not one we’ve seen that much of during this campaign. Even when Ben White plays, the overlaps aren’t as frequent – and again that comes down to how teams are playing against us. Facing a low block almost every weekend has an impact on that aspect of our game too.

The thing is though, it requires complete concentration and commitment from the defenders for 90 minutes, and while it makes life difficult for our wingers, it also provides opportunity. If there are two men on on Arsenal man, it means there’s another Arsenal man potentially free. We saw a couple of weeks ago that our opening goal against Burnley came when they doubled-up on Martinelli, allowing Oleksandr Zinchenko the space to cross – which allowed Saka to provide the assist for Leandro Trossard.

On Saturday, late in the game, Brentford’s structure was obvious, but they didn’t get quite tight enough. It might have been tiredness, just a tiny lapse, but when you have a high quality player like Saka, that’s all he needs.

No doubt the discussion about how to be more effective in attack will continue through the season. The reality is we are going to face a lot of low blocks, and a lot of teams who will make life difficult for our creative players. When Arteta talks about being efficient in tight spaces, this shows he understands the challenge we’re facing, and I do think any conversation about our attack this season needs to have this context.

At the same time, can we do more? Like I said, doubling-up means there should be space for someone else, so can we move the ball a bit quicker to make the most of that? I think that might well be something we can improve on, and that could help us change games. Scoring early, if possible, has to change the opposition’s approach at some point as they seek a way back into the game. It’s often easier said than done, I realise, but if this season isn’t as ‘fun’ as the last one, it’s not just down to the way we’re playing. It’s what the opposition are doing too. We’re not a surprise package anymore.

As for Saka, he has 15 goal contributions in 18 games this season. Which shows that even when teams pay close attention to him, he can still produce the goods. If he can find a way through these various watch-backs of his games to unlock even a couple of percentage points more from his own game, his numbers come the end of the season could be sensational. Fingers crossed.

Right, let’s leave it there for now. We will be recording an Arsecast Extra for you later on. Keep an eye out for the call for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re on Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.

Podcast should be out around lunchtime. Until then.

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Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video

After the 1-1 draw between Man City and Liverpool earlier in the day, Arsenal had a chance to go top of the Premier League by taking three points against Brentford. That’s where we sit this morning, but boy did we leave it late. More on that anon.

As I watched the game yesterday, I found myself quite surprised by the way Brentford approached this one. It’s not that I expected them to be completely gung-ho, but they’re a good side with dangerous players, and I thought we’d see a bit more attacking intent from them. Instead, the game settled down very quickly into an obvious pattern. We had the ball, they played with an extremely low block, which made it very difficult for us.

In hindsight, perhaps Mikel Arteta’s team selection told us that was exactly what he was expecting. Martin Odegaard returned, Gabriel Jesus started despite playing 90 minutes for Brazil in midweek after an injury lay-off, and Leandro Trossard was in the left 8 position. With Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the flanks, it meant we had a front five full of craft, movement, and goalscoring ability, which suggests the manager knew we were going to face a side that would pack their final third. It was going to be a game of very tight spaces, particularly as we got close to their box.

That said, the home side should have gone ahead in the 14th minute when Aaron Ramsdale faltered, caught in two minds and caught on the ball, and but for a sensational clearance off the line by Declan Rice we would have been 1-0 down. His iffy throw a little while later was more evidence that what has happened since David Raya arrived at the club has sapped Ramsdale of the confidence you need to play the way Arteta wants his keepers to play, and in truth it’s sad to see it. Football is ruthless etc etc, but you’d need a heart of stone not to feel for him a bit.

The fact that Brentford’s only real chance of the half came from that aberration told you plenty though. Arsenal had control. That word that now seems to define the way we play, and I think there are similarities between this game the one against Newcastle. This time, thankfully, we were on the right side of the fine margin, but the control versus cutting edge discussion is one that will continue after this game.

Arteta was asked afterwards if he’s still looking for more from the attack, and explained:

I hope I am, I hope we can be better and better, and adapt, because as well the reality is that we have lost a lot of players, a lot of attacking players in this first period of the league and the team continues to win, and find ways to win, and today I put on another attacking player as I suspected what they were going to do, and it’s what we needed.

I’d prefer to score three in the first half, we had some big chances and we got a goal disallowed, but if you don’t, the team needs that resilience, to find a way to win.

Which is fair enough, and I do think missing players have been a part of why we haven’t been as fluent. If your glass is half full – and why shouldn’t it be when we’re top of the table? – the ability to win games when not quite clicking up front is hugely important. There are games you have to grind out if you want to win a title. Then again, concerns that when margins are so tight, there’s a risk that you can’t find a way through are valid, but I’m sure that’s not something that has escaped his notice.

There were chances. Maybe Gabriel Jesus should score the header which led to the disallowed Trossard goal. The offside lines were drawn, and remember, it was whether or not the Belgian was ahead of the ball, not his teammate. Tight, but just off. It would have been such an interesting time to get a goal too, as it would have changed Brentford’s approach. As it was, it was more of the game in the second half. They sat deep. In total their trio of centre-halves made 24 clearances as we slung in corners and set-pieces.

Jesus tired and was replaced by Eddie Nketiah who had one good opportunity but his finish was tame. He needed to be much more ‘third goal against Sheffield United’, as it was it was a simple pass for their keeper to take. At the other end, Zinchenko gave the ball away which led to a chance for Neal Maupay, but the Ukrainian got back to make a brilliant block on the line before Maupay stabbed the rebound wide. This is what I mean by margins – we could be sitting here this morning festering over a defeat inflicted by that pesky irritant who has hurt us in the past.

Given the way we were playing, the introduction of Kai Havertz made sense. He’s 6’4, we found it very tough to break down a very well organised and committed Brentford defence, and if crosses and set-pieces were going to be part of our armoury, adding more height made sense. He got involved well from the time he came on, but with the clock ticking and two points looking like they were going to be lost, we found the moment.

Bukayo Saka, with 5 key passes on the night by the way (in a performance you’d probably categorise as tidy but relatively quiet by his highest standards), took a pass from Odegaard, whipped a cross to the back post, and Havertz was there to head down and between the keeper’s legs to make it 1-0. What a time for him to make a significant contribution, and once again Saka has a goal contribution to his name. It’s the kind of goal you would have envisaged the Germanb scoring before now, and Arteta even said afterwards that back post threat is part of why he was brought in. We haven’t seen enough of it, but this was timely, to say the least, and hopefully this open play goal will do him the world of good. You could see he knew it meant so much more than the penalty against Bournemouth, as nice as that moment was.

The scenes when the final whistle went were interesting. Ramsdale claimed the ball and breathed a massive sigh of relief. I think his second half was fine, he kept it simple and showed good hands when needed, but he knew he’d blotted his copybook in the first. I think it’s fair to say that Raya has had some moments like that too during his time here, but there’s a context that we all understand makes things different. It was lovely to see him surrounded by teammates, but his face told the real story.

At the other end Arteta dragged Havertz over to take the applause from the away fans, who were singing his song. Perhaps a little bit of ‘See, I was right about signing him!’, but you can understand why he wanted the player to feel the love after a difficult few months since his arrival from Chelsea. You might wonder if that desire to foster togetherness and team spirit could have also translated to his post-game comments about Ramsdale, but it feels like something has broken down there and I don’t know if or how it can be fixed at this point. Which, as I said above, is sad really.

Still, the main takeaway is that we found a way to win against a good team who made life really tough for us. I also think the reality of being able to win games in this way is going to inform the way lots of teams play against us this season. Bar the big boys, few are going to open up and just play. It’s not quite a vicious circle, but the more you show you can scrap out wins, the more I think other sides are going to say ‘Well, see if you can break us down’.

So plenty for Arteta to ponder, but he can do it with the luxury of another good win, and from exactly the place in the table he’d want to be.

Have a great Sunday folks, back tomorrow with more here and an Arsecast Extra. Until then.

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It’s Brentford away this evening as we return to Premier League action.

The manager will have some decisions to make with regards his team selection this evening. Obviously Gabriel Jesus’ availability was asked about, with Mikel Arteta saying:

He’s available. But He played 96 minutes in a really competitive match. We have another session. They had a long flight and I have to see the condition of every single player to make the final call on the lineup.

While I don’t think Jesus would ever have started this game anyway, and I think Leandro Trossard will get the nod up front, those international minutes and the long flight also impact Gabriel at the back, and Gabriel Martinelli. So, we’ll have to wait and see how ready they are.

Beyond that, there’s a question mark over Ben White, but that might just be Arteta giving nothing away ahead of a tricky game. If he’s available, I think I’d prefer to see Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back, as Brentford’s set-pieces and long throws require height in our box and he certainly gives us that.

In midfield, it could be Jorginho, Declan Rice and the returning Martin Odegaard, but we could also see Rice sit at the base, with the captain in his usual slot and Kai Havertz occupying the left 8 position. I wonder if the need to assert control early on, to quiet down the crowd the way we did at Newcastle by dominating possession etc, will see the first option deployed, but I’d be ok with both to be honest. As we discussed on our Patreon preview podcast, Ben White’s availability might have an impact here. If Tomiyasu is needed at right-back, that means Oleksandr Zinchenko on the left, and Arteta might prefer to go with Havertz rather than Jorginho to give us a bit more physical presence.

The other big change will be Aaron Ramsdale in goal with David Raya unavailable for this one due to the Premier League’s loan rules. As I said yesterday, it’s going to be a challenge for a few reasons. First, he hasn’t really played for a while, and doesn’t have the rhythm he’d normally have. Second, he’s got to have it in the back of his mind that this is probably going to be a one off. Third, he’ll no doubt have the home crowd on his back from the start, although I think that could actually be useful for him as he often thrives with that kind of stuff going on.

When asked if Ramsdale was ready for Brentford putting him under pressure with a lot of crosses and balls into the area, Arteta said:

Well, it’s their way of playing, you know. It’s the attack with a lot of numbers in the boxes. We know the threat they are on set plays, on direct play, when you allow them spaces to run, what they can do. Threats can come from different ways. They are a good side, extremely well coached and they are a real threat in the opponent’s box. Like everything, we will try to minimise their strength and highlight their weaknesses. That’s what we try to do.

Typically against the so-called ‘big’ sides this season, Brentford have played with a back three. They did it in the EFL Cup game earlier in the season, but they do have some injury issues, so it’ll be interesting to see if that’s the way they go today. And if they do, perhaps there might be a slight weakness or two we can look to exploit. Nevertheless, we know how dangerous they can be, particularly at home, and even without Ivan Toney they have some players at the top end of the pitch we need to be careful of.

Going away from home just after the break can always be a bit difficult, so let’s hope there’s no post-Interlull rustiness. Depending on what happens in early game today between Man City and Liverpool, a win could send us top of the table, but regardless of that, three points in any manner later on would be very welcome.

Don’t forget, you can join us for live blog coverage of the game, plus we’ll have all the post-game stuff, report, ratings etc on Arseblog News.

Until then.

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