It's a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad Arsenal world

Well, well, well. So much to cover from an afternoon of drama, pathos and black comedy at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Some of which actually left me wondering why I bother to make the journey to watch my team, I'm sorry to say.

I've got a lot to cover in this article; from the Palace game there's team selection and tactics, Martin Atkinson and VAR, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil and Unai Emery. Outside of that I am going to touch on Thursday night's fortunate Europa League victory, racism and even rugby union. Bear with me, please:

Firstly, I was delighted to see Kieran Tierney's name finally in the starting line-up. To my mind, one of several personnel changes I'd like to see made to the team (which would also see Bellerin, Holding and Torreira starting). However, I was somewhat bemused by the tactics when the game started. Guendouzi and Ceballos were split wide in front of Xhaka, which a) left gaps in central midfield and b) inhibited the forward runs of the full backs, who often found the space they wanted to move into already occupied. With Palace sitting deep, we also saw how difficult it was for any of the forwards to find space - and especially, how little decent ball they received all afternoon. I'll come back to that.

Despite the normal sluggish start (why this should be I simply do not know, as for a man who loves a video Emery never seems quite prepared for the opposition and Arsenal should, of course, be taking the game to the likes of Crystal Palace), everything in the garden looked rosy as both centre backs scored from successive corners - 2-0 after just 10 minutes and we thought/hoped that we could relax a bit. But the game settled down into the normal turgid routine to which we are becoming used - slow passing between the centre backs and midfield, often followed by a long diagonal. Agonising to watch, frankly, as it sucks all the ingenuity out of the players. But at least we were two up, so we could live with it.

Then followed the first Atkinson howler. He booked Zaha for an apparent dive over Chambers' outstretched leg - couldn't wait to get his card out, in fact - but VAR overturned that decision and awarded the penalty. Quite rightly, now we've seen the replays, but here the flaws in the system are revealed.

Firstly, let's be clear that it was a(nother) appalling call by Atkinson. Secondly, there are remarkable similarities between this incident and one in the Bournemouth game a couple of weeks ago for which Pepe ought to have been awarded a penalty and following which Anthony Taylor, on VAR duty that day, is reported to have said that he felt that it was a penalty but didn't want to overrule the match official (who was, by the way, Martin Atkinson). Now if that's the case, what the hell is VAR there for if not to overrule a clearly wrong decision?

Let's also not forget the incident on Monday evening when Sokratis had his shirt pulled whilst jumping to head the ball at a corner, in full view of referee Mike Dean (fast now becoming only our second least favourite referee) and which the VAR official chose not to review.

What's hard for the supporters in the ground is that we are unable to see what is being looked at, which makes spontaneous celebration well-nigh impossible and which frankly makes it advantageous to watch the game on tv instead. And this was clearly illustrated with the chalking off of Sokratis' late winner (the images below illustrate the incorrect reason it was disallowed - legs tripping him up, hands on his back, Cahill falling over him):

So firstly, if anything it is Chambers, surrounded by three defenders, who is being fouled so it could in fact have been a penalty. Secondly, not a single Palace player complained when the ball crashed into the back of the net. Thirdly, VAR is supposed to overrule clearly incorrect, objective decisions, and this one is as subjective as it gets. And finally, it took over a minute before the VAR review started and a further half a minute for it to be disallowed.

There's a screen sitting on the side of the pitch for referees to look at incidents such as this. I understand that this has not been utilised even once in the Premier League this season. Contrast this with the NFL, which uses it all the time and whilst NFL officials get some subjective decisions wrong they at least get the final say on them; not one man sitting in a darkened room 100 miles away. And contrast the difference with the way that rugby union deals with such incidents.

And here's the most extraordinary thing. I left my seat soon after the goal was chalked off, as it was very late in the game and I have to collect my disabled son from his seat 4 blocks down and get him out of the ground before the crowd piles out. And whilst I was walking through the concourse, tv screens were showing the reason why the goal was disallowed; something that the crowd were denied and who therefore had no clue as to the reason. What's to stop that being shown on the big screens inside the ground, I simply do not know.

In short, Arsenal are getting a rough deal on VAR, with the only goal decision overturned in their favour so far this season the one at Old Trafford when Aubameyang, three yards onside, was inexplicably flagged off by a linesman who had clearly taken leave of his senses. And in short, yesterday Arsenal were robbed of victory by an incorrect, subjective VAR call. And lest we forget the extraordinary decisions that have gone against Watford and Everton this season too. VAR is already broken.

OK; I think I've done that to death, so I shall move on - to only the second most contentious issue of the afternoon.

Following Palace's equaliser, Emery decided to change things and chose to bring on 18-year-old winger Bukayo Saka for our esteemed captain, Granit Xhaka. Now, Xhaka's substitution on Monday night was apparently greeted by plenty of cheers by the travelling Arsenal fans, but that was nothing to the crowd reaction yesterday as it felt like 30,000 people cheered the sight of the number 34 going up (not me, however - I do, nonetheless, own up to having booed Emmanuel Eboue once, but I think you'd all agree that that's understandable).

However, what followed was a soap opera rolled up into a single minute. I honestly feel for Xhaka. He's struggling to have a big positive impact on matches and he didn't give himself the arm band. But he didn't help himself by dawdling his way off, arms outstretched, and thus pushing up the decibel levels as cheers turned to boos. He should have got off the pitch as soon as he could - those few seconds could have made a difference at the end - and that's what started the booing.

He threw the arm band in the direction of Aubameyang, refused a handshake from Emery, allegedly swore at the crowd and tore off his shirt before disappearing directly down the tunnel. He was quite rightly distraught, as were many of the squad (particularly Torreira, whose place he is taking up), and I have to say that I totally condemn the behaviour of those Arsenal fans who behaved in the way they did. I understand that the players have rallied around Xhaka, and that's good to hear. For all our views on whether Xhaka should be in the side, let alone captain, the actions of the crowd were indefensible.

Where this leaves Xhaka going forward, or indeed Emery whose choice as captain he is, is another matter. And I'll now turn my attentions to the Manager. Arsenal social media is becoming more and more vociferous in its criticism of Emery, and as I've said before I no longer believe that he is the man to take the club forward, and with still no discernable style of play, forwards being starved of service by the formation, and little sign of any of this changing, his position is clearly becoming more and more uncomfortable. And for a side going for Top Four, a total of one point gleaned from matches against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace is unacceptable.

I understand that Josh Kroenke was at the game, whilst Stan was also in London yesterday (albeit to watch his beloved LA Rams at Wembley). Clearly, Xhaka-gate turns the spotlight further onto Emery too.

It's also worth noting that as Arsenal huffed and puffed in the search for a winner, the few hundred voices that had been singing the Ozil song on Thursday were joined by thousands more on Sunday. The decision to leave him out of all these matchday squads is apparently a club decision, not Emery's, but it's simply bonkers in my view. The team is crying out for something different, and Ozil is best placed to deliver different - if not from the start then certainly in the last 20 minutes of a game.

Just a quick mention of a few other things that probably deserved more attention. Firstly, the dreadful performance on Thursday evening that ended with those two moments of magic from Pepe that'll hopefully ignite his Arsenal career. Again, Emery's selction has to come under scrutiny as a lightweight midfield of Torreria, Willock and Maitland-Niles was overrun in the first half. The latter two have probably taken a step back as a result of that, and I supect that AMN could do with a loan after Christmas.

Secondly, racism in football as highlighted in Bulgaria last week. This sort of thing is a sign that humanity needs to take a good look at itself, and England is by no means clear of it - as we saw with Yeovil, of all places, the following weekend. As the stench of antisemitism rises, society needs to take a good look at itself and football is a microcosm of that.

And finally, I've had a couple of excellent Saturday mornings these past two weeks watching England's rugby union team reach the final of their World Cup, culminating in a pulsating defeat of the mighty All Blacks. So come on boys - bring it home!

Until next time.

Plot lost

I sit here, head in hands, at my keyboard following another shambolic Arsenal performance, this time resulting in a soul-destroying defeat at the hands of newly-promoted Sheffield United. As those who know me are aware, I usually like to be proved right, but when I wrote in my last piece that I could see Arsenal dropping points they should not do in the very near future I rather hoped that it would not be immediate!

I make a point of not looking at punditry and social media straight after a match, as I prefer to make up my own mind and not regurgitate other peoples' views. However, having now taken a peek I have to say that the jury very much appears to have reached its verdict over Unai Emery, and at a much bigger majority than the Brexit decision was made. 

Whilst some will argue that chopping and changing the Manager is a bad formula and cite Manchester United's post-Ferguson woes, I'd suggest that if you have the wrong man, you have the wrong man. He has won the Europa League a few times, and won loads of titles with PSG - I could do that, frankly! - but he didn't set La Liga alight and I'm becoming increasingly convinced that he won't do that in the Premier League either (as it happens, this piece from Arseblog spells this out more eloquently than I could - https://arseblog.com/2019/10/did-arsenal-give-unai-emery-a-job-he-cant-do/)

Alarm bells sounded for me as soon as I saw the team sheet. Surprised not to see Holding in the line-up. Shocked to see Kolasinac retain his place at the expense of a fit again Tierney. Annoyed to see Xhaka in the side, and not Torreira. Angry that Ozil hadn't even travelled! Now I'm not the Manager, of course, and I'm not privy to what goes on at London Colney, but that's not close to the side I'd have chosen.

And whilst Arsenal started OK, were denied a blatant penalty (well done, Mike Dean - and if I may add; what precisely is VAR for?) and Pepe missed a game-changing sitter (there are guys in my weekly football game who would have buried that with no difficulty), but from the moment Sheffield scored things looked bad as they pressed high and put everyone behind the ball. For all the possession stats, Arsenal barely created another decent chance, Aubameyang was starved of the ball (for the second game in a row), and cross after cross rained into a jam-packed penalty area and was cleared with little fuss. Ceballos barely made a difference when he was introduced (Lacazette's introduction did help, to be fair), and where was Mesut Ozil, the can-opener? Back home in Golders Green, of course!

So 69% possession but just 9 shots, and only three of those on target. Unacceptable on any level, and something must be done about this. Either by Emery, or if not it should be taken out of his hands. I've been increasingly concerned that he is not up to this level, and this type of performance only serves to reinforce that feeling.

And as for the goal that was conceded; basic and obvious defending. Just look at this still; the centre forward left unmarked, and right in front of Leno, and nobody on the posts. Schoolboy stuff:

So a thoroughly deflating performance, when the opportunity to cement third place in the league was right there to be taken up. And in the first of a series of eminently winnable matches. This, barring a change in the mindset of both Manager and players, does not bode well. Thank goodness for the opportunity to see the kids on Thursday.

I've got plenty more I want to cover - e.g. Arsene Wenger's autobiography, VAR and even England's Rugby Union team, but that's going to have to wait until next time. I'm too wound up. 

Until next time.

Gotta love Twitter...

So, Arsenal got back on the winning track in the Premier League with a laboured 1-0 victory at home to Bournemouth on Sunday.  But the most important thing is that victory was secured in a weekend when traditional Top 4 rivals Spurs (oh dear!), Manchester United (they're in disarray) and Manchester City (wow - what a shocker!) lost, along with this season's hopefuls Leicester City and West Ham United.

Arsenal fans should be very happy to move up to third place - a single point behind City - and to put a bit of daylight between themselves and those mentioned above. However if you looked at Arsenal social media in the aftermath of the game you'd get a different flavour. So before I go over what I took from the game, I want to cover this sense of disappointment and 'entitlement' that I saw all over social media. A sense of which I both understand and share.

You see, Arsenal fans been spoilt recently. No, seriously... Because if we're trying to compare what we're seeing now with the peak Wengers years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when we saw some of the very best football we could ever imagine, we are going to be very disappointed. But lest we forget before Wenger's arrival we witnessed the George Graham years of 'Boring Boring Arsenal' and 'One Nil to the Arsenal' - and one could therefore say that these days we're merely reverting to the norm.

Now I'm not saying that this is good, or right. But the prime consideration is always the win. However - and this is where I find myself agreeing with some of what's being written - football pitches are pristine, players are more skilful and more athletic than ever before; and of course Arsenal attract some of the very best players in the world. So why is it all so painful to watch?

I actually think that this game sums up all that is lacking as regards the tactical mind of Unai Emery. A decent start and almost total first half domination, and a half-time lead. But something happened at half time, and it can only be what Emery said to the players in those 15 minutes. Because the second half was an entirely different game. Arsenal made Bournemouth look really ordinary for 45 minutes, but then seemed to sit back and invite them on after the break, showing a distinct lack of both energy and ambition. It's OK to go by the motto of 'what we have, we hold' if up against a team at the same level, but surely not against Bournemouth? They were absolutely there for the taking, but were allowed to make much of the second half running.

And I have to blame the manager. We're seeing a continued lack of ambition. Midfield - the engine room of any side - remains a mystery. And on top of that you'd really have to start to question the in-game decision-making. So yes, we'll take the win, but the warning signs are there and I really can't see that a club with the ambition of Arsenal, and with the sort of money that's started to be spent, is going to reach the heights under him. He is in the second year of his initial two -year contract, and whilst if we look forward really optimistically to a Top Four finish and winning the Europa League - all a bit far away in October I grant you - I would not be confident for next seaason were he to still be in charge. For all that it would be very difficult indeed not to roll the contract on.

The problems of early in the season are simply not being addressed, and they stem from the midfield where I truly feel that Xhaka is the problem (have I said this before?). He is simply not quick enough, not athletic enough, not dynamic enough to give the team what it needs; which is cover for the defence and the ability to transition quickly to attack. If, as I suspect, Emery is trying to turn Arsenal into a counter-attacking team that soaks up pressure and hits hard and fast on the break - although I can't think of any reason why he is happy to give up the initiative so often during games - then I don't see that Xhaka can help him deliver that (but despite all my criticism, I'd nonetheless like to congratulate him on becoming a father earlier today).

And whilst upgrading the defensive personnel should certainly help, it's not the only answer to the defence's inherent shakiness. Yesterday Sokratis was nowhere near his best, but Kolasinac performed better - funny what competition does for you! - Luiz played well and Chambers impressed again in an unfamiliar role.

Of the others, I'll single out Ceballos who I think we can see why Real Madrid sent him out on loan - he lacks presence and consistency to my eyes; Aubameyang who, almost starved of service, had a quiet game - notwithstanding that he missed an outstanding chance in injury time; and Pepe who started brightly including one dazzling dribble past three players, should have had a penalty and began to look a little bit more like the player we're hoping to see until he faded badly in the second half. Of the rest, Leno made some critical saves (as usual), Guendouzi was his typical dynamic self and Saka had another solid game, with added flashes of brilliance.

I suspect that we'll see some drastic changes to the side after the international break, with Tierney and Holding coming in and Bellerin soon after, Lacazette returning after injury, and hopefully more of the dynamic Joe Willock. But if the midfield issues are not addressed, Arsenal are going to drop points that they should not in the near future.

Just four more small things.

Firstly, I enjoyed Thursday night's performance and thumping win over an admittedly dire Standard Liege far more than the Bournemough game. There was plenty to be excited about going forward - provided Emery gets over his Xhaka fixation, that is.

Secondly, this is an Ozil-free zone. I think, sadly, that the fat lady is clearing her throat as regards his Arsenal career.

Next, Tottenham and United are in a right mess. They looked disinterested and not prepared to fight at Brighton/Newcastle respectively. Long may that continue.

And finally; Sadio Mane. If that was a penalty, I'm the Pope! I'm sorry, but that he had that awarded and Pepe didn't when he tumbled over Rico's outstretched leg is something I simply cannot understand. Can somebody please beat Liverpool ASAP!

No game until October 21st. I'll be back after that. Have a good one.

Glass half empty?

A couple of days late due to circumstances beyond my control, here's my take on the Manchester United game on Monday. But to make up for the delay I promise to devote a paragraph or two to anything of interest or amusement that may have occurred in the Champions League this week...

So what's your take? Is your glass half empty or half full? Personally, I was somewhat disappointed by both team selection and then by the amount of respect shown to what is by any stretch of the imagination one of the poorest United sides of the last 25 years.

Yet again, in selecting Xhaka, Torreira and Guendouzi, Emery's inherent conservatism shone through. That combination stifles the ability to move quickly in transition, and more importantly with his insistence on playing Xhaka at the base means that Torreira - in my opinion Arsenal's best defensive midfielder - is being asked to play a role to which he is not suited.

Xhaka himself had a perfectly adequate game, and Guendouzi was a dynamo as usual, but Torreira is not a box-to-box midfielder and it is not fair to him to play him as one. For me, I'd like to see the triangle inverted and (and this is if Emery insists on selecting Xhaka) I'd prefer to see two midfielders at the base - select two from the three names mentioned above - and Ceballos or preferably the more dynamic Joe Willock further forward.

And United were there for the taking. They're not very good, but the way the team were set up meant that Arsenal were unable to take advantage of that. And please, I don't want to hear that we're well placed in fourth spot after seven games and three of them have been against Top 6 rivals - we could have beaten Spurs and United, we should definitely have beaten Watford, and I'm still inclined to blame the Manager for not having done so. It's he who sets the team out, and thereby sets the tone. Until proved otherwise, I'll maintain that Unai Emery is not the man to take Arsenal to the next level.

And so to the incidents that framed the game; the two goals that were amongst very few moments of excitement in the entire 90 minutes.

There's this photograph, which has led to Xhaka being pilloried by many supporters, but it's somewhat unfair on him. I'm not his biggest fan, as you must know, but the still is misleading. He isn't ducking out of the way, but was attempting to head the ball clear. Unfortunately, the ball took a glancing deflection off of Sokratis, and without that Xhaka would have got his head to it (and it would have hurt!). For me, I'm pinning almost all of the blame for the goal onto Sokratis, who didn't get out fast enough and who then compounded that error by going to ground and turning away from the ball. If he stands up, the ball hits him flush in the stomach or chest, and does not threaten the goal. Instead, the deflection off his hip gives neither Xhaka or Leno the chance to react.

As for the equaliser... well, the first question one has to ask is what precisely caused the linesman to flag. The still quite clearly shows that it is nowhere near offside, and from the moment we saw that on the television we knew - long before the supporters in the ground - that the goal was going to be given. I mean, it's not even close!

Aubameyang took the chance with aplomb, as one has come to expect, but questions need to be asked. What if the referee had blown his whistle on seeing the flag? It was a game-changing moment, and for all the semantics of arguing the toss over a centimetre or two (as we have done over the past few weeks) this wasn't open to any sort of interpretation.

Anyway, a point at OT is not to be sneezed at - for all that it could have been three - and we move on. I hope that we're moving to a point where we have our first-choice full backs available, and Holding forces his way into the side at the expense, I suspect, of Sokratis. 

But midfield is still a major issue. It is badly organised, decision-making is poor, and the structure isn't right. The heart of the team is what is holding progress back. I've suggested a solution above, and that would perhaps address issues going forward, but it's the lack of protection for the back four that is the major problem. I've written before that in being continually exposed the defence is leaving itself open to ridicule, but it's not really their fault. It's freestyle and gung-ho, and will continue to mean that stupid goals are given away. If supporters and pundits can see this, then why can Emery and his obsession with video analysis not do the same?

So we move on to a massively rotated side against Standard Liege, and then a hopefully more controlled performance in what promises to be an entertaining game against Bournemouth on Sunday. I expect two wins.

And as promised, I return to the matter to which I alluded in the very first paragraph. To what could I be referring? I'm sorry, but it needs to be done - let's all laugh at Tottenham while we have the chance. Who knows (or cares) what's going on in that dressing room but it looks like they're going to reach a major watershed at some point this season. As per the Bayern result, they deserve all the ridicule they are getting, and some of those memes are hysterical. But to put things into perspective, they are still very likely to qualify from that group, as the other two sides are not very good. Still, one has to take one's chance to have a good laugh whilst one can.

Until next week.