So said Winston Churchill when once asked about Russian Foreign Policy. But what's that got to do with Arsenal Football Club? I'll come to that.
But firstly; I'm a blog post behind, for which I can only apologise. It's
been a difficult week or so for me personally, with a small health scare that
involved a couple of tests - thankfully all clear - followed by the death of a
family friend that hit us all very hard indeed. I've just not been in the
mood... and it does of course put football into perspective.
And so to a Compare and Contrast of the two Premier League matches so far, a
quick comment or two on the almost meaningless Carabao Cup romp, and then some
thoughts on the Transfer Window and a few extra titbits...
To compare and contrast I've broken my analysis down into topics:
Expectations, Preparation and Absentees, Tactics, Fortune and What Did We
Learn. So let's go:
Expectations
Two vastly different looking tasks here. First up, Brentford's first
match back in the top division in a lifetime, their new ground full of fans for
the first time. Comparisons in advance, perhaps, with the 3-0 opening day romp
against newly-promoted Fulham last season and with the hope and expectation of
some early points on the board - especially with matches against Chelsea and
Manchester City next up.
Against that, a frank acceptance that European Champions Chelsea are - under
Tuchel - way ahead of Arsenal in every way at this stage. And no more than the
outside hope of even a point, frankly.
Preparations and Absentees
With Thomas Partey - crocked by Ruben Loftus-Cheek in an unnecessarily
robust challenge two weeks prior - already ruled out along with long-term
injured Gabriel, and with England's Bukayo Saka three weeks behind the rest of
the squad in his preparations, the last thing Arsenal needed was to lose both
Aubameyang and Lacazette to positive Covid tests on the day of the game! So
that's the spine of the team - with the exception of Granit Xhaka - who we are
all rather surprised is still with us - missing. With Nketiah also out injured,
a front three of Pepe, Martinelli and Balogun looked lightweight. As did the
whole team on the night!
Nonetheless, I'm really not sure what Arteta had prepared for, because I
think we all knew what to expect from Brentford; yet Arsenal didn't look ready
for the onslaught - and paid the price on what was, on the night, something of
a 'perfect storm'.
And against Chelsea, I'm not sure what we really expected. For all the
additions to the squad, so many were still missing. Just a glance at the
Chelsea bench - let alone the team! - would make anyone tremble. And once more,
the loss of another player (in this instance new £50m (!) defender Ben White)
late to a positive Covid test would have sent any preparations into disarray. I
think that's it's safe to say that Arsenal's starting line-up in a month or so
will bear little or no resemblance to the one that began at Chelsea.
But yet again one could certainly query the tactics; but not the effort that
the players put in. I do wonder, however, whether losing Ben White so close to
the game meant that Arteta felt he had no choice but to stick with a back 4
instead of mirroring Chelsea's 3-4-2-1 formation - which ultimately (along with
Chelsea's superior personnel in almost every position) cost Arsenal the match,
of course.
Tactics
I've already alluded to this, but I feel that in both matches Arteta got it
wrong. Whether that was dictated by circumstances or not I don't know, but I
have grave concerns over his ability to change the direction of a match when
things are going badly. If we laymen can see the problems, I fail to understand
why he cannot see and react to them.
Everybody knows how Arsenal play, because there is a template, so it's easy
to plan. And Brentford's tactics were obvious from the start. Pass, pass, pass
in the Arsenal half, and press high when they lost the ball. And with no real
outlet up front - Balogun was mostly comfortably mastered by Brentford's trio
of centre-backs - there wasn't much that they could do to change things. The
huge reliance on Smith Rowe's ability to carry the ball to the opposition - in
the absence of Saka until late in the second half - was never going to be
enough.
There were one of two bright spots in the side. Lokonga had a promising
debut. Smith Rowe looked lively throughout. Tierney looked good going forward.
But elsewhere White and Chambers were outgunned by Toney, and the Brentford
centre backs had Balogun in their back pockets almost all day.
Against Chelsea, Arsenal already looked to be up against it based merely on
the difference in quality of the personnel. But - and despite the absence of
White - the failure to choose to match up with them formation-wise meant that
they were always going to find ways through. With Mount and Havertz often
dropping deep to receive the ball, Xhaka and Lokonga were continually
outnumbered - I also noted that at times they found themselves on entirely
different wavelengths; which didn't help.
Additionally, Lukaku had Mari 'pinned' all day - a total mismatch. Chelsea were
able to feed the ball in to the Belgian whenever they wanted, and he'd spring
the attack in whichever direction he fancied. And to see Tierney having to tuck
in to try to deal with that threat, and thus leaving James with the freedom of
Islington was painful to watch (whilst I am willing to forgive Saka almost
everything, by not tracking back he left Arsenal's left hand side utterly
exposed for both goals). And from 2-0, I sensed that despite Arsenal's better
second half showing they were merely managing the game.
Fortune
You always bemoan your luck when you're down. But Arsenal have been
unfortunate already this season. Balogun could have been awarded a penalty at
Brentford, having been caught by a trailing leg. And both of the Brentford
goals ought to have been disallowed; the first because the ball had gone off
the field and the second because Leno was clearly being held down in the box.
Thanks, VAR...
Against Chelsea, I don't suppose that it would have made much of a
difference in the long run but I felt that James brought Saka down in the
penalty area late in the first half. A body check, with no attempt to play the
ball.
So that's three debatable decisions already, in just two matches.
Disappointing.
Illness must also go down as misfortune. Losing Aubameyang AND Lacazette
hours before the first game of the season - Arteta apparently wanted the match
postponed - would have thrown plans into disarray. As would losing White the
day before the Chelsea match have done. The completely unnecessary injury
suffered by Partey wouldn't have helped either.
But one makes one's own luck too. Transfer business remains unfinished, I am
sure. And both Ramsdale and Odegaard have arrived late. A right back is needed
for sure. I've never understood why Arsenal continually put themselves on the
back foot by leaving their transfer business so late. Plus there must surely be
outgoings, as for a team not in Europe the squad remains completely bloated.
What Did We Learn?
Well, that until we see the shape of Arteta's first choice eleven the only
thing in evidence is that nothing much has changed over the summer. Arsenal are
easy to read tactics-wise, and still appear to have a soft centre that can be
exploited. I'm not expecting anything from the City game, which will mean no
points from 9; which is disastrous. But hopefully we'll see something more like
the reconstructed side on the field for Norwich.
I do see hope going forward. But to start so far on the back foot is very
unfortunate. And if we don't see results straight after the Interlull, then
surely Arteta's job will be in jeopardy.
On the other hand, I do see many glimpses of potential, so I still remain optimistic.
And I desperately wish that the doom mongers would back off - at least for the
moment!
But against that hope I felt that against Brentford Arsenal were
predictable, both physically and mentally weak, and simply didn’t look prepared
for the fight. And against Chelsea they were completely outgunned.
However, going forward I think that I can live with a line-up that looks
like this:
Ramsdale
New Signing - White - Gabriel -
Tierney
Partey - Lokonga
Pepe - Smith Rowe/Odegaard - Saka
Aubameyang
All of which makes this start to Arsenal's season a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. There is much to be revealed.
And so quickly to the Carabao Cup and the ritual slaughter of West Brom's
reserves. I'm simply not reading much into it at all, but I was delighted to
see Saka looking considerably sharper than he had on Sunday, and Aubameyang -
not just for his hat-trick - but the fact that he looked sharp; constantly
making good runs. Of course, Arsenal had the freedom of The Hawthorns due to
the West Brom high line, and so played right into Arsenal's hands. Good, and we
move on to a home tie with AFC Wimbledon (rubs hands with glee...).
So what do we expect from the rest of the Transfer Window? Well, hopefully a
new right back; three of our current right backs don't really look fit for
purpose, and Maitland-Niles doesn't seem to want to play there. And a load of
departures, I would have thought? Nketiah, Nelson, Bellerin, Kolasinac, and
Willian are names I can instantly recommend to depart. And whilst I'd
personally like to keep hold of the afore-mentioned Maitland-Niles, I suspect that
he may well be on his way too. At least there’ll be a little clarity to the
aquad once they - alongside Saliba and Torreira, who have already gone on loan
- are out of the picture. However, there's very little time to get all that
done. I hope that a lot of it is well-advanced.
A few little add-ons here:
1. Firstly, as I mentioned, I expect nothing but defeat at The Etihad. A draw would be a major achievement. Nothing else to add to that, really - except I'll be back with a post-mortem early next week
And now a couple of things to come out of the two Premier League games so far:
2. Brentford super-fan Woody; a Downs Syndrome boy who loves his football. Even as a thoroughly pissed off Arsenal fan, it warmed the cockles of my heart to see the pleasure he'd got out of the result.
3. Chelsea fans! It was great to be back at The Emirates on Sunday. However, I was also reminded about some of the unsavoury things there are about attending football matches, and the Chelsea fans brought it all back to me.
Now don't get me wrong; some of my best friends are Chelsea fans, and clearly individually there are some lovely people amongst them. But... firstly, I understand that they instigated a punch-up or three upon exiting Arsenal Station en masse, as they emerged singing 'Bukayo Saka - you let your country down'. I believe that they got what they deserved as a result of that.
And secondly, the massive gloating entitlement of them as a group. Clearly, the irony of the fact that the club is bankrolled by a billionaire who has written off the best part of £3bn since he took the ailing, mid-table club over in 2003 is lost on them. 'We know what we are; Champions of Europe' and 'Champions of Europe; you'll never sing that' were heard constantly from their little corner. Along with the tuneless 'Chelsea. Chelsea. Chelsea. Chelsea. Chelsea. Chelsea. Chelsea.' which passes for witty repartee down The Bridge. What an obnoxious bunch they are!
Anyway, I'm glad I've got all that off my chest.
Sorry that this has been such a long one. Next week, I'll be back to normal. COYG!
