Newcastle Dealt With, But Bigger Tests Await

Newcastle at home. As anticipated, it was comfortable, but certainly not spectacular. But three points, some more promise for the future, and consolidation in fifth place ahead of two tough away trips. 

68% possession. 24 shots. As the crowd very eloquently put it: 'You're rich; and you're f*cking sh~t!'. More goals would have been nice, but let's just bank the win and move on.

There were a few talking points, nonetheless. The first of which was the continued selection of Tavares over Kieran Tierney at left back. Personally, it's not something I agreed with. But on the other hand, Tierney had not been at his best this season (in keeping with the rest of the team) before he got injured, and barring his big mistake at Anfield the young Portuguese has done little wrong (saying that, some of his shooting was quite comical against Newcastle!). But he's been essentially solid defensively, and does love to get forward at pace; so I can understand Arteta's decision, even if I don't agree with it. In fact Tavares has done enough, I feel, to keep his place at Old Trafford - although Jadon Sancho is something of an upgrade on the ponderous Joelinton.

The second talking point was the complaetely unsurprising decision to reinstate Odegaard in the number 10 role in place of Alex Lacazette. Harsh, perhaps, on the Frenchman, who made a big difference on the team's link-up play since he got back into the side. But he's off in the summer at the very latest; so with a win a high probability on Saturday it was probably sensible to look at younger alternatives. 

It was probably unfair to judge and single Laca out following the defeat at Anfield, but Arteta didn't change any other personnel. And to be frank I thought that Arsenal looked extremely lethargic and disjointed for the first half hour against a strictly limited Newcastle side - whether that was something of a 'hangover' is debatable, but if you had to hand pick a fixture after Liverpool away it would probably be this one. 

Nonetheless, there's very little action to report on from the first half as it took a while for Arsenal to get up to speed. Lokonga's cross found Saka racing in at the back post, but he could only poke it wide on the stretch. There was Dubravka's routine save from Odegaard's free kick, and Ramsdale's superb tipping of a Shelvey effort onto and over the bar.

Followed by a moment that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will want to forget as he managed to merely hit the post from two yards after the Newcastle goalkeeper had pushed out Smith Rowe's header to his feet. 

And nothing much else to report in a somewhat turgid first 45 minutes.

This certainly wasn't our skipper's day. Again, one might say... and to be frank, whilst he's been laudably 'leading the press' over the past few weeks, he's not been at his best in and around the penalty box, has he? But I honestly don't think that it's lack of effort that's doing for him; for me, he's simply past his peak. And combine that with Laca's age etc. we do have a looming problem up top.

Whereas we have either experience or potential in depth in other areas of the pitch, centre forward is an area that needs to be addressed in one of the next two transfer windows. Lacazette won't be here next season, Auba will be gone the season after at the very latest, and the alternatives are all youngsters (Nketiah; unfortunately not going to make it at the club - Balogun; needs a loan to toughen him up - Martinelli; super cameo on Saturday, but questions remain as to whether he can consistently deliver). I'd suggest that Arsenal need a 24-26 year old proven performer to fill that gap. Names are being bandied around, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I also note that some people are moaning about Partey's contribution. And whilst it's not been spectacular, and not what we might have hoped for from a £45m player, he's a DM, and it's fair to say that injuries have meant a year or more of truncated runs in the team. So let's look to judge him in May. I, for one, am happier with him in the side that when he is not.

And so to the second half, when it was clear that Arteta had demanded his team raise the tempo. And from the moment the second period kicked off a goal was coming. And on 56 minutes it arrived. Neat interplay involving Lokonga and Smith Rowe, and then Tavares' clever reverse ball to Saka, who had overloaded the left hand side, who crashed the ball home from the angle. And so we could relax.

Saka limped off after 66 minutes (it looked bad, but apparently is not) and was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli - a man with very little game time so far this season, and a point to prove. And so he did - a run bent around the disjointed Newcastle defence, and a brave and spectacular volley as he met Tomiyasu's exquisite chip whilst facing being flattened by the onrushing goalkeeper. With just his second touch, and a mere 90 seconds of getting onto the pitch. Sumptuous.

And he should have had a penalty late on, as Lascelles left his mark on him with a clumsy, badly-timed barge.

Questions are now being asked as to whether Gabi has done enough to replace Auba in the starting line-up. And whilst I can understand that his cameo, allied to Auba's drop-off, might get people thinking that way, Arteta would be a brave man to do that at Old Trafford. I wouldn't like to be making that call; one way or the other. 

It would be remiss of me to fail to mention T*ttenham's humiliating defeat in Slovenia last Thurday, so I shall do so now. Suffice to say that I was still laughing out loud a good 5 minutes after the game had ended. Glory Glory!

And so to the traditional 8.15pm on a Thursday kick-off time for Manchester United away, live on the freely accessible Amazon Prime. The travelling fans will be cursing those who have arranged this. Nonetheless, I wish them a safe and happy journey home. I'll be back to report on it on Friday. COYG!

Perspective Required After Anfield Wake-up Call

It didn't take long, did it? One defeat and #ArtetaOut is trending again. I've honestly no idea what's wrong with our fanbase.

I'm not sure quite what we were expecting at Anfield. Sure, I'd have taken a draw before kick-off, and a win would have been extremely surprising, for all of Liverpool's apparent slight recent drop off in form. And whilst a 4-0 defeat fitted perfectly with Sky's narrative - for starters - for all that it was emphatic it didn't feel like some of the others have felt. We've been there in the past and been two or three down in 20 minutes, but some form of resilience was shown, and the goals were down to either sublime play or self-inflicted wounds.

But let's make it clear; if you regard the success of a football team as a cycle (or at least something circular, like a clock face), then Liverpool are somewhere around 12 o'clock - they are one of the very best sides in Europe, have played together for a good 4 years now, have a well-established way of playing and half a dozen players who are the envy of the rest of the Premier League. Whereas Arsenal are just starting to move on from 6 o'clock - where one felt they could barely go any lower - and this side have played less than a dozen games as a unit. So give them a break!

Arsenal's season will not be defined by how they do against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City. Any points gained against these sides should be regarded as a bonus (and yes, there are those who say: 'We're Arsenal; we should expect to beat everyone', but this isn't peak Arsenal 2004; it's trough Arsenal 2020/21). Those three afore-mentioned sides are streets ahead of the rest of the division, but 4th place is very much up for grabs. West Ham lost at the weekend, as did Manchester United (in freefall), Everton and Leicester, and for Arsenal to maintain 5th spot after the start they had is in fact nothing short of remarkable. Arteta out? You must be mad!

Of course, I'm not absolving the manager for Saturday. Not by a long chalk. Captain Hindsight might tell you that he should have picked a different team or even formation, and should have had a different game plan. But he's trying to establish a style of play and that only comes with strings of matches. And let's not forget that this is the youngest team in the Premier League - it's inevitable that disappointing performances and results will come along the way. But as long as the trajectory is up, then that's all we can hope for.

Captain Hindsight told me that Arteta should have played three central defenders, including Tierney, on Saturday, in order to help combat the irresistible threat of TAA and Salah on their right hand side. This would also have helped even out the numbers in midfield (where Arsenal were continually engulfed). And he told me that they should have abandoned playing out from the back and trying to beat the press. But Captain Hindsight is merely playing with my mental health. And whilst Liverpool are bloody good at the press we actually got through it on several occasions, but were unable to take advantage. Although, to be frank and honest here, essentially Arsenal couldn't cope with it, mistakes were continually forced, and the pressure was almost incessant.

I'm not saying that Arsenal could have won - by no means! - but a little less misfortune might have changed the narrative slightly. Sure, Liverpool were on top almost throughout (without Ramsdale, it would/could have been much worse) but, as I say, what did you really expect?

Just a couple of things that I particularly wanted to draw your attention to:

1.    The Arteta/Klopp 'bust-up', and how it 'changed the game'. This is a red herring; if anyone thinks that Klopp wouldn't have got hold of his team at half-time if the score had still been 0-0 and revved them up for the second half, then they'd be wrong. All the incident may have done is started the process a dozen minutes earlier. But - and see below - Arteta was 100% correct. Because...

2.    Sadio Mane is a snide, niggly piece of sh*t footballer (for all his talent). He continually dishes it out, but then goes down at the slightest contact. A modern day Drogba or van Nistelrooy. In the very first minute, he threw an arm into White's face. Should have been booked. He went through both White and Tomiyasu in the period before he clothes-lined the full-back (again no booking), and booted White into the air with the ball off the pitch - all before half-time - whilst at the same time also managing to win free kicks by throwing himself to the turf on maybe three occasions. But it's Anfield, and it's Michael Oliver, so we don't expect justice to be meted out. 

This, according to Klopp, was 'nothing'...

Finally booked for this, after the two previous 'nothings' and two tackles from behind. And lest we forget what he did to Kieran Tierney in last season's corresponding fixture...

People might tell me that all that is Sour Grapes - and no, it probably wouldn't have changed the result - but it's easier to play/hold out against 10 men than 11. And I stand by my opinion of Mane; an easy nomination into the Premier League Snide XI alongside the likes of Maupay, Marcos Alonso, James McArthur, Richarlison, Jonny Evans, Vardy, Almiron, Shane Long, plus of course Kane and Son - the ultimate snide double act.

Liverpool are a fine side, so defeat is no disgrace. They have players who I'd take in my side in a heartbeat. TAA, VVD, Salah (for all that he has the sort of face that you just want to punch!) and - especially - Fabinho. 

If there's one player in the league who I covet, it's the Brazilian. You can keep your De Bruynes, your Fodens and your Lukakus; here is one player who'd make a massive difference no matter what team he plays for. I think he's fantastic at what he does.

So, as Aaron Ramsdale said after the game, we put this to the side and move on to the considerably less formidable challenge of bottom-of-the-table Newcastle United on Saturday. Starting then, we will certainly have easier matches than the one we just had. In fact, just about every match we play will be easier than that one. COYG!

And just before I go, I'd like to complain about... Watford! Sure, you got your fabulous 4-1 win over Manchester United. But you've ruined the fun for the rest of us. Those two late goals are what finished Solskjaer off. If you'd have just held on to 2-1 he'd probably still be in charge. Disappointing...

I'll be back next week.

Kevin, You are Nobody's Friend!

Arsenal's 1-0 win over Watford - a scoreline that by no means tells the whole story - has been overshadowed by a little controversy. I'm not sure that even the most die-hard Watford fan can truly begrudge Arsenal the three points based on the pattern of the game, but the moments leading up to the winning goal left some questions to be answered; and I shall attempt to do so below.

A very good friend of mine is a Watford season ticket holder. And he likes to go on - a lot! - about the 'dark arts' allegedly perpetrated by the evil that is... AFC Bournemouth(!?!). I'm not sure that anyone else has noticed tbh. 

Anyway, I have advised him to take a look a little closer to home after Sunday's Ranieri-inspired performance by his team. 19 fouls committed during the course of the game, many of which went unaccountably unpunished by way of a card by the utterly ineffective Kevin Friend - who must, in my opinion, take much of the responsibility for the way the match panned out.

Friend failed to punish (the somewhat rotund these days) Danny Rose for a series of assaults on Arsenal players - the one on Lacazette for the penalty was perhaps in itself worthy of a red card, let alone a yellow - and also let Josh King get away with plenty after his first-minute booking for an elbow swung into Gabriel's face. Kucka, who finally received his marching orders late on, was another who had a somewhat 'robust' game, and it was clear that Watford were intent on roughing Arsenal up at every opportunity, and on a rotational basis - aided and abetted by the pathetic efforts of Friend to keep control (yet Arsenal 6 fouls committed; 4 bookings - need I say more?).

Here's a little montage of Rose's 'tackle' for the penalty - no card of any colour (and a 5 second delay before Friend awarded it!):

Friend's inability to stamp down on Watford's shithousery from early on merely encouraged them to keep at it, and prevented a free-flowing game of football from breaking out. Arsenal, admittedly, were not at their best by any means, and were frequently berated by the crowd for not moving the ball quickly enough. But they certainly had enough possession - and enough chances - to have won the game considerably more comfortably than they did.

And for that I'm afraid that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang must take a fair deal of responsibility. He worked very hard - as has been his wont for much of this season - but very little went right for him. It was his mis-control that led to the ball breaking to Bukayo Saka in the fifth minute to strike home from an offside position - he ought to have scored himself. He missed his second successive penalty - top save by Foster, who had a terrific game (he needed to, to be honest), to be fair - when the crowd were hoping that Laca would take it (although he was probably groggy after Rose's attack!). And he diverted a late goal-bound shot from Odegaard into the net from an offside position. He will assuredly have better days.

Anyway, there can be no doubt that Arsenal deserved to win, but that it came about in the way it did was a little unfortunate. Watford's shithousery had just started to include going down and feigning injury - to add to the rotational fouling - and from one of those instances Rose played the ball into touch. However, by the time he had done that Tufan had 'struggled' to his feet (he'd barely been touched, by the way) and Arsenal decided not to return the ball. They would have done had he been actually injured, I'm sure. 15 seconds later, the ball was in the net - well-taken by ESR by the way; he's getting onto the score sheet as regularly as the best attacking midfielders have ever done. But not before Watford had one or two opportunities to clear - and no, that wasn't a foul, Watford fans; it was a 'coming together' (VAR agreed on that).

And to be fair, for all their gamesmanship throughout the game it's nothing less than Watford deserved. Because what they did deserve from the game was zero points. One shot on target - in the 83rd minute - under 40% possession - and a foul count to be ashamed of. Fortunately for them there are some really poor sides in the Premier League this season, and they may therefore survive. But they're not very good. They're certainly got a better chance of surviving under this manager than the previous one, but judging by the trigger-happy nature of their owners I can't envisage what might happen if - as all known form indicates - they lose their next 4 league games.

A word here for Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who was drafted into the side for the injured Thomas Partey and had a man-of-the-match performance. More grist to the mill, and reliable cover for January's AFCON departure nightmare. Good luck to him.

The other stand-out player for me was Ben(jamin) White, whose forays into the opponent's half are becoming a hallmark of his performances. It certainly helps to keep opponents guessing when we have someone who is capable of such play in the side.

Anyway, for Arsenal it's up to 5th spot, only two points off of fourth and a mere 6 off the very top. Who could possibly have imagined that at the end of August? There's a long way to go, of course, and it's Liverpool away next...

Talking of Liverpool, it was great to see them lose yesterday, as that meant the end of the last unbeaten run in the division. Happy Invincibles Day for yesterday, everybody. And to continue my alleged 'obsession’ with Tottenham, that's yet another game - Antonio Conte notwithstanding - that they failed to register a single shot on target. Ho hum...

Anyway, another Interlull beckons (congratulations to ESR for getting his first call-up to the senior squad earlier today), and then it's that big test at Anfield. And Liverpool could be in better form, so...

Back in a couple of weeks. COYG!

Ramsdale Epitomises New Found Character And Resilience

And so the Arsenal bandwagon rumbles determinedly onwards. And upwards. So much so that I think that we can safely put the horrendous start to the season firmly behind us now. The perfect storm that led to those three performances/results has now been replaced by a strong tailwind that continues to carry Arsenal back towards where we all know they belong.

The vast majority of supporters were seriously doubting 'the process' after those three games. And if nothing had changed, they'd have been right to do so. But the mass introduction of the 6 players signed in the summer has seen the resurgence that we'd all been wishing for, featuring a visible change of attitude and commitment from front to back. And now, with a settled side, I'm starting to feel that Arsenal are going to be a match for perhaps all but the best that the Premier League has to offer. There will be ups and downs, of course, because this is essentially a young side, but I think that we can all see that the direction of travel is firmly heading towards sunnier climes.

Of course, a major test of that will come on November 20th with a visit to Anfield. But results this weekend have shown that even the best sides have their issues and off-days. That game is sandwiched between home games with Watford and Newcastle, so I suspect that the Curse of November is rather less likely to strike this year.

And what is more important is that Arsenal are now starting to compete with - and beat - the sides they need to beat in order to push on towards a return to the fabled Top 4 spots. With Tottenham, Villa and Leicester all seen off in the space of 6 weeks, and a hard-fought point won at Brighton, we can definitely start to look up now. And it's incredible to think that Arsenal now find themselves just three points off of fourth, and 5 off of second (!), a mere 7 matches after failing to gain a single point from their first three.

And so to the game at the King Power on Saturday. Same starting XI as for Villa - meaning that White had recovered from whatever caused him to come off the pitch on Tuesday - and frankly there was no reason to change it. The central defensive pairing is looking solid, Tavares has proved a more than able deputy for the injured Tierney so far, and Lokonga is quickly learning what is expected of a Premier League central midfielder. Up the top of the pitch, Auba certainly seems a much happier performer with his mate Laca out there with him and is leading by example.

Ans then there's Aaron Ramsdale. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't sure about him - actually I was less sure about the size of the fee, I think, than about the man himself. But he blows us away week after week, does he not? Culminating in his quite brilliant save - an extra brilliant one amongst a slew of great blocks and saves on Saturday - from Maddison's free kick. Oh. My. Goodness!

Although, as my dearly departed and much-missed father would certainly have commented: 'He should've held it.'

As we have now come to expect, Arsenal started quickly, nearly taking the lead in the very first minute following a lovely run by Saka, but it wasn't long before our wonder boy's beautiful in-swinging corner was headed home by Gabriel. On Saka's 100th Arsenal appearance, I must mention. And on 18 minutes it was two, with a swift counter attack - started by Partey and followed by more trickery from Saka that led to some penalty area pinball - that was finished off, Lampard-like, by ESR.

Of course, we expected Leicester to find their feet in the game and to come back into it. And this they certainly did. But they met with firm resistance as the Arsenal defence held firm for the most part. And when they didn't... there was Ramsdale. Saves like the aforementioned one from Maddison, but also from Iheanacho (following a rare misplaced pass from The Staffordshire Ederson), from Evans on the follow-up from the Maddison free-kick, and also Lookman and Barnes (twice).

Some thoughts on this: Arsenal's fast starts and early goals are forcing opposition to change their plans. This is good, but there is still something of an element of Arsenal failing to react swiftly to these tactical changes (something Arteta needs to look at; but he's getting away with it at present), as they are forced onto the back foot for sometimes long periods of matches. Of course, it is unreasonable to expect any side to maintain that intensity for 90 minutes, but Arsenal as a team must continue to learn to manage matches better - and this will hopefully come with experience. 

It's OK to drop back into a 'low block' when under pressure, but there is also a need to look to find a way out of it and to try to press higher up the field. That threat must always be there - otherwise, it is inevitable that goals will be conceded. If the opposition see no threat - just that low block - that merely invites more and more pressure. A microcosm of that is pulling everybody back for a corner - I hate that! Leave one up, and they have to pull two or even three back. And in the same way it's not OK to just defend, defend, defend. There needs to always be an out ball - or at least the threat of one. Otherwise it's just a siege.

But again on Saturday, Arsenal's defence bent but did not break. A clean sheet and a win at a difficult venue. Thank you very much.

Another quick take on Ramsdale, and this is it:

and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkcLmp4r6hw. Bantered by the Leicester fans in the 'traditional' way, this response shows the character of the man. I cracked up with laughter at the time, and others noticed it too. What's not to love?

And so to Watford at home on Sunday. And the reasonable expectation of three points, which will hopefully continue to carry Arsenal upwards. If you can be bothered to look back, I did mention in this blog even whilst Arsenal were languishing in 20th place that 20 points going into the forthcoming international break was a reasonable expectation despite the awful start to the season. And we're on course for precisely that. 

Top 4? Well, it looked like a pipe dream two months ago, but that is no longer the case.

Just a quick mention on referees and VAR - aren't you sick of it all? Two weeks ago McArthur's assault on Saka was not reviewed by Mike Dean, despite him being invited to do so by the VAR ('punishment' from PMGOL followed, but that's not the point). Andre Marriner took an age to award Chambers' goal on Tuesday; it's almost as if he wanted to ignore the buzzing on his wrist. And on Saturday two almost identical incidents saw Laporte receive a red card for a foul on Zaha, but Evans just a yellow for doing the same to Auba. Conspiracy? Nah...

I cannot end without a word on our neighbours... another manager bites the dust, and I believe that it's now 7 managers since their last trophy, won in 2008 under Juande Ramos. And I'm finishing off this article on an auspicious day - because November 2nd 2021 is precisely 5000 days since they lifted their one and only trophy this century. Big club... it's all Glory Glory with them, isn't it?

And for all Arsenal fans concerned that 'winner' Antonio Conte is taking over at The Toilet Bowl - don't be. Even Jose Mourinho failed there. 

Lads; it's Tottenham. And no, I'm NOT obsessed with them - but they are the gift that keeps on giving. In any case, Conte is clearly the wrong choice. They should have gone with fish'n'chips entrepreneur Harry Ramsden. After all, Tottenham get battered everywhere they go!

I'll be back next week. COYG!