Back To Reality

This is a bit late posting. Sorry; I was travelling all day yesterday...

And so we Arsenal fans come back to earth. 

Whilst it’s clear that progress has been made under Mikel Arteta, this match revealed the gulf in class between the very top sides - and I don’t think that there can be much doubt that this Liverpool are one of the best club sides that there has ever been - and where Arsenal are at the moment.

Of course, Klopp’s Liverpool project is 5 years (and the best part of £350m) old now, and Arteta is only just starting out and is only part way into his first transfer window, but there is a huge amount of ground to make up. While there seems no reason why Arsenal cannot compete for a Champions League spot this year, my feeling is that a title challenge is going to remain out of reach for at least another three seasons.

If anything, however, it gets people’s feet back on terra firma, and reinforces Arteta’s need for... er... squad reinforcements with the ownership.

It is clear that Liverpool have better players than Arsenal in every single position - I’m not sure that even Aubameyang gets into their side (it would be harsh on Firmino) - and they dominated Arsenal pretty much from start to finish. 

Which we expected, of course; and whilst Arsenal took the lead it was totally against the run of play and merely a blip - that Liverpool would score more than once was frankly inevitable.

And so to the game, when before it started Arteta sprang a couple of selection surprises. I suspected that AMN would start, but wasn’t expecting Holding to keep his place and Gabriel to be dropped to the bench. And I’m not sure that anyone could have expected Elneny to start alongside Xhaka. 

The thing about the midfield selection is that this is where Arsenal are most in need of reinforcements; where apart from Ceballos there is a distinct lack of both creativity and the ability to move the ball quickly in transition. Long balls from Luiz or Xhaka cannot be the solution, and what Arsenal do here in the next week is crucial to the development of the squad.

And so to the match itself; and the first and most obvious thing to note was the hyper-aggression shown by Sadio Mane early on. In the second minute he went in hard and completely unnecessarily from behind on Bellerin (to my eyes an immediate yellow card, irrespective of the fact that it was so early in proceedings), and a mere minute later fended off Tierney with what looked to the naked eye - confirmed by the replays - to be a hand/fist to the face. Immediately booked by referee Pawson, but not reviewed by VAR and if it had been would surely have meant a straight red instead. 

The infuriating thing for Arsenal fans was not just the failure of VAR here, but the fact that Sky also failed to highlight it. And far be it from me to ever agree with Jose Mourinho, but his pointed comments the previous afternoon about the most ‘titled’ clubs getting the rub of the green more than others could be seen to be borne out by this incident.

Whether playing with 10 against Arsenal’s 11 would have made the difference by the end is moot, considering Liverpool’s domination, but it would certainly have helped! 

Of course, Arteta’s game plan against the top sides is weIl-known now, and to counteract it Liverpool pressed Arsenal hard, fast and deep throughout. Out balls were at a premium, as a red tide swarmed all over Arsenal’s continued efforts to play out from the back. All the way to minute 90 and beyond. And for them to be able to do that so early in the season is testament to their fitness and the fact that every single player knows his job so well; plus they’re all so very good. 

I’d particularly like to mention Salah - a world-class talent - who at times was completely unplayable. But he’s just one of several absolutely outstanding individuals on the Liverpool side. (The fortunate to be on the pitch) Mane and Alexander-Arnold were also superb, and Fabinho dominated in midfield.

Yet, miraculously, Arsenal took the lead just before the half hour mark, on one of the few occasions when playing out from the back actually worked. A swift break, and Lacazette had the benefit of a sliced Robertson clearance from Aubameyang’s cross that dropped at his feet inside the six yard box. 

Totally, totally against the run of play, and it was disappointing - but no surprise - that Liverpool got back into the game almost immediately. The strength, determination and skill of Salah leading to a shot that Leno failed to deal with sufficiently, and it dropped at the feet of the unmarked Mane two yards out. As much as anything, too many Arsenal defenders were attracted to the ball and that was what left Mane on his own. Less than three minutes. Hey ho.

And for 2-1, Willian failed to see or track Robertson’s late and clever run to the far post. A lovely dinked finish, and Liverpool were ahead, but an Arsenal mistake nonetheless.

And so to the second half, where Arsenal came out early with more aggression and - for a short while - pushed Liverpool back a bit. But it was short-lived, and it was thereafter only the introduction of Ceballos that helped to stem the continuous red tide for a short while. 

But despite the home side’s domination, Arsenal had their chances. Lacazette was offside for the first, but fluffed his finish, and for the second - created by a wondrous through ball from Ceballos - he again showed the gulf in class between a very good striker and a great one. Credit the keeper, but had that been Aubameyang he would probably have scored. However, our star striker was stranded out on the left wing all night. I’m not sure if it is going to be a priority in this transfer window, but getting Aubameyang playing down the middle is critical for me. 

When he was substituted with a quarter of an hour left, the Frenchman hid his face in his shirt. He knew how key that missed chance was. And his replacement Nketiah missed a decent half chance late on. But here’s the difference - Eddie is a callow youth compared to the Liverpool strikers, and they had the luxury of bringing on Diogo Jota. Who duly scored late on to give the score line a more realistic feel.

However - and whilst the score line was identical to last season’s - Arteta and Arsenal can take pride in the resilience that has been instilled in the past few months. They were still in the game until very late on, and that’s progress. This is a Liverpool side that is almost unbeatable anywhere - and even more so at home - so we can take heart that our club is moving in the right direction. But the road is long (with many a winding turn)... - I keep slipping in song lyrics, don’t I?!?

And so to an important week. Mainly centred around the transfer window that closes next Tuesday, but there are a couple of matches too. Firstly, a Carabao Cup game (again at Anfield, and there’ll be lots of changes to both sides but this is a tough one) and then a Premier League game at home to a woefully out of form Sheffield United. An opportunity to get back on track.

Just a quick mention for the new handball rule and VAR here. The rule needs to be changed - because when Arsenal fans have sympathy (sort of) for Tottenham Hotspur it must be serious. And when VAR can miss obvious things like the Chelsea handball that led to their late winner, that only goes to indicate its continued shortfalls. Come on IFAB/Premier League; get a grip.

Until next Monday, then. #COYG

Getting Away With It

Well, when compared to last week's romp at Craven Cottage this was an entirely different experience. 

Of course, coming up against a somewhat callow, naive and inexperienced Fulham manager and team is chalk to the cheese of West Ham (for all that they were dreadful in their first game) and their craggy, experienced Manager, David Moyes. And, frankly, Arsenal were extremely fortunate to come away with all three points.

So what did I take from the game? Firstly, that Arsenal still have plenty to do in order to compete at, or even near, the top of the table. For all that Arteta has found, and drilled into the side, a way to play against the top sides - who will carry the game to Arsenal - there is still some way to go to solve the puzzzle of how to deal with hard-working sides who are prepared to sit deep and hit on the break. And West Ham can rightly feel somewhat aggrieved to have left The Emirates with nothing on Saturday, having dominated for considerable parts of the game. The major difference between the sides was clearly the finishing capabilities of the respective strikers.

Secondly, that plenty of work still needs to be done on the squad, with players needing to be moved on and replaced. And brought to the fore here, because of his sub-standard performance in this match, was Kolasinac. He only started because Kieran Tierney went down with a hip injury (not serious it transpires), and clearly Arteta did not feel that David Luiz was fit to play 90 minutes, nor that he wanted to blood William Saliba against such a rugged outfit as West Ham. But Kolasinac is simply not up to playing on the left hand side of a three, and has been overtaken by not only Tierney, but also Maitland-Niles and Saka for the left wing back position. So in this window we ought to see Kolasinac leave, as well as Sokratis. With likely three further centre backs to be moved on in the next year. The West Ham goal came about because the Serb failed to read Fredericks' run, and then Holding - also sub-standard in this game - found himself on the wrong side of Antonio.

There is also something lacking in midfield; which we all know of course. Seeing Arsenal overrun in there for long periods - sometimes losing possession due to inexcusable over-elaboration (complacency?) - is difficult to stomach. There's a shortage of numbers (with Torreira out of favour and surely on his way, lack of clarity on Elneny, and Willock needing further experience - and that's leaving aside all thoughts of Guendouzi). For all that Xhaka's numbers were tidy, and Caballos had the late assist, in general play there's an element of the light weight about the current setup. So whether it's Partey, or Aouar, or somebody of whom we are not aware, it needs to be made to happen by the time the window closes. Clarity on Guendouzi and Ozil would obviously also be helpful.

Up front Willian had a conspicuously quiet game, but the link play of Saka and the class of Aubameyang led to an easy opportunity for Lacazette for the opener (I thought that it was certain to be ruled out for offside)...

...and when a team has such quality it can atone for a multitude of sins. And Nketiah very much did his job in substituting for the tiring Laca late on. With Pepe and Nelson - and later in the season Martinelli - to add to those numbers - I think that we're well enough stocked up top.

(Dani and Eddie have made it up...)

So I'm hoping for quite a bit of movement in the squad over the next couple of weeks.

The other main talking point was the penalty that West Ham were not awarded. II think that it should have been; especially in light of the ludicrous award at Old Trafford for a non-handball by Lindelof - two things to mention here are a) that's karma for Manchester United and b) have I not been complaining for months about Martin Atkinson?).

And finally, Leno. Not his finest showing in an Arsenal shirt and it did illustrate the concerns that some of us have about him. He made mistakes that we didn't see from Martinez whilst he was between the sticks, and it makes you wonder... but the die is cast, and we shall see.

And so to Carabao Cup action at Leicester in midweek (tricky, and especially with loads of personnel changes expected) and then to Anfield (where I suspect Maitland-Niles may well be back in the side). An acid test; and especially with the special talent that is Thiago Alcantara expected to start for Liverpool. I'll take a point right now.

Back next week. Thanks for reading; and stay safe, please.

Off and running

And so the new season kicked off on Saturday; with Arsenal adopting their rightful place on top of the table...

OK, I'm joking, and there won't be many 'easier' opponents in this season's Premier League than Fulham. However, there have been occasions in recent seasons when Arsenal have struggled against such opposition (I can think of quite a few last season) and you can only beat what's in front of you, so kudos for putting them away with the minimum of fuss.

There are a number of positives to take out of the game, and I'll just run through what I particularly enjoyed:

1.    Gabriel's debut. Apart from a very early mix-up in communication between himself and Leno, he had a solid game, leading the team in many stats, and got a debut goal - the first Arsenal centre-half to do since since Thomas Vermaelen

2.    Just how well-coached this side looks. Everyone seems to know their place - in or out of possession - and there is a solidity that we've not seen for a long time

3.    Aubameyang. Not much more to be said about him, as he started as if he's never been away. I'm sure that teams will learn how to deal with the movement that led to his goal - Willian's assist was remarkably similar to Saka's in the Community Shield - but he's a threat whether he starts down the middle or on the left. Let's just have the official announcement that he has 'signed da ting', please

4.    Willian. Of course, it can hardly be a surprise that he found it easy to integrate into a new side; he's a very good player. But to come away with three assists - and hit the post - in his first competitive game is very promising. Here's what Aubameyang already thinks of him

And now a few other bits and pieces:

1.    The squad still needs work:

a)     only Arsenal can find themselves with 8 central defenders on their books - and no less than 5 of them are injured! But ideally two or three need to go (although due to injury it may take a window or two). Saliba to chuck into the mix will of course be interesting

b)     if there is a hole that needs to be filled, it that of a midfielder. Numbers are fluid here, with Torreira likely to leave and Guendouzi's re-integration very much up in the air despite his attempts (finally) to repair the post-Brighton damage. So we're light in there, and the addition of a 'heavyweight' figure would be useful. Somebody who can help transition the side, and better than what we already have

c)     Competition for places. We now have that almost all over the pitch. This can only be good. But I can also see a number of younger players who would benefit from a loan to another Premier League club, and from playing regularly. We shall see how this develops over the next three weeks

2.    The Arteta Factor - our new First Team Manager (no longer Head Coach - good for him) continues to have a massive influence on way the team is playing and the direction the club is taking. At the moment I don't see a ceiling for him, and it's up to the club to show that it matches his ambitions

3.    Emi Martinez is off to Aston Villa and a guaranteed first team place. He did a fantastic job following Leno's injury, but Arsenal need to sell in order to buy, the German has considerably more experience, and pragmatism would suggest that Emi's value won't go much higher than it is right now.  I will not be alone in wishing him well

4.     It's too early to be too amused, but it was fun to see Tottenham get off to the start we'd hoped for yesterday. Long may that form continue; and I'll continue to enjoy All Or Nothing on Amazon Prime (spoiler - it's Nothing...). In the meantime, I think we might be able to find a stream somewhere for their 'key' Europa League qualifier in Plovdiv on Thursday...

And so to West Ham next weekend. They were poor in their first game, so that bodes well. After that, it gets harder.