A Tale Of Two Dispossessions

First of all; a disclaimer. I am fortunate to have a season ticket. My blogs are based on what I observe at the ground from block 17. I do not read blogs, listen to podcasts or even watch match analysis on television before writing these pieces. My thoughts are all arrived at independently of whatever is being said elsewhere. 

The only thing I will do before I write these posts is watch the 5-minute highlight reel on arsenal.com. I wouldn't want anybody to think that I'm merely re-hashing what other people may be saying. Saying that; this piece is out a day later than I'd like - my computer does not get used on Yom Kippur, as my time is spent either in Synagogue or in quiet reflection. But anyway; here we go:

I've got a few headlines to run through on the back of what on the face of it was a disappointing 2-2 draw with The Old Enemy. They are as follows:

• Tottenham are a lot better than I thought they were
• For once, I disagreed strongly with Arteta's choice of starting XI
• The Raya/Ramsdale debate
• Injuries played a distinct part in the result of this match
• Taking chances - do Arsenal need a centre forward?
• Giving away sloppy goals at home; this has to stop!

Along with Paul Merson, I was expecting Arsenal to win this game. However, a number of factors started to change my thinking as game time approached. Firstly, the news that the in-form Leandro Trossard had suffered a training injury, meaning that Arteta's first choice replacement for Gabriel Martinelli was also unavailable. Secondly, the slightly depressing news that both Cedric and Elneny had made it to the Arsenal bench; lack of depth and it appeared that Arsenal were already getting perilously close to an injury crisis in mid-September! 

And then there was Arteta's starting XI. After Wednesday, I'd been hoping/expecting to see Gabriel Jesus restored up top in place of Nketiah, with Vieira posted out wide left and Havertz at left 8. The key, for me, was to hope to see the chaos that Jesus might inflict on the rash Romero and the raw Van Der Ven. It was something of a surprise and disappointment to see both Jesus and Nketiah named in the starting XI, and no Havertz. 

Now I've got nothing against Eddie Nketiah. He has done a good job - in shortish bursts - for the team, and scored some crucial goals, but his effectiveness does tend to wane after maybe 5 or 6 starts. He's not of sufficient quality to be making consistent starts for a title-challenging squad. He's Premier League level, for sure, but he's not elite; and I just felt that there were better alternatives available to Arteta for this particular game. As it turned out, Eddie was a little on his heels throughout the game, and was fortunate to last the 90 minutes; firstly by somehow not being substituted, but also for a late, reckless challenge on the goalkeeper that could easily have seen worse punishment than a yellow card.

And so to the game itself. And it's clear that their new Manager has made Tottenham a considerably better side almost immediately. For starters, he's actually letting them play some football! They have some decent players, and are clearly an entirely different proposition to the past few years. Which is, in its way, quite amusing. Just imagine if Levy had have employed a Manager who got them playing like this whilst Harry Kane was still with them. What a missed opportunity!

But it was still clear to me that Arsenal remain ahead on a level playing field in any direct comparison. The chances that were created early on were in the Tottenham box, and with a bit of fortune it could have been 2-0 before Arsenal did finally take the lead. Jesus's effort from a tight angle (from a glorious ball from Saka) was well saved by Vicario and then Eddie, set free by a Tottenham mistake, would have done better to pull the ball back to Vieira than shoot directly at the keeper from, again, a tight angle.

When Arsenal did take the lead, it was well-deserved as they were on top. Saka had already forced Udogie onto a booking, so the defender had to try to manage the situation as Starboy picked the ball up on the right. White's overlapping run drew another defender, and Saka cut in to shoot. As it turned out, the ball would have gone wide, but for the intervention of a stray Tottenham knee which sent the ball flying in the opposite direction to that the goalkeeper was diving in. 1-0, and me jumping up and down saying: 'I really hope that was Romero!' Because I don't like him at all - and it was indeed the violent little Argentine who was responsible; so almost double the pleasure for me!

And now we can move on to the goalkeeper debate. Because Tottenham finally created a decent chance, and frankly Johnson should have done better with his attempt on goal. But his somewhat tentative effort was in the only place that Raya, flying back across his goal from near towards far post, could have saved it. It looked really spectacular, and indeed it was. If just a tad on the lucky side.

But that was by far the most impressive thing Raya did all day. For the first equaliser, his was one of several mistakes that Arsenal made to concede. I must, however, heap praise on that annoying little toe rag Maddison - who I've not forgiven for diving and getting Ainsley Maitland-Niles sent off a few years ago - for a lovely clipped ball - with back spin! - over the top to free Kulucevski. Raya merely flapped at Sarr's deep cross instead of dealing with it properly, Rice's clearing header wasn't decisive enough, Toe Rag turned Saka the wrong way and crossed from the by-line where Son somehow got a deft flick to the ball somewhere between the despairing efforts of no less than three defenders. Annoying! And especially just before half time. Although it had, to be fair, been coming.

In between the two goals, however, came the moment that defined the match for me. Maddison (aka Toe Rag) dallied on the ball on the edge of his own area and was robbed by Jesus. Having done the difficult bit, the Brazilian could only blaze a shot over the bar. A bad miss, in any game and under any circumstances, having created the chance for himself, and I reckon that at 2-0 that would have been Game Over. But when Tottenham had a similar opportunity in the second half, they took it. A tale of two dispossessions... and yet another sloppy goal given away at a time of vulnerability. This has to be excised from the psyche of the Arsenal players immediately. Enough now!

And so to the question that's once more going to be rearing its ugly head yet again. With Jesus not as clinical as we'd hope - for all his other attributes - and Nketiah not good enough to succeed in the upper echelons of the Premier League, do Arsenal need to buy a centre forward? The talk is once again of Ivan Toney. Here's somebody who I believe has the right characteristics to do well for us. But whether his chequered history will put Arteta off remains to be seen. He's certainly likely to be the most available PL centre forward in January. Maybe Eddie could go the other way? Otherwise, we'll be wating until the summer and for somebody like Ohsimen? It's sooner rather than later for me...

As for the rest of Raya's game; well, the narrative has been that the reason that Arteta may prefer him to Ramsdale is because his kicking is of a higher standard. Well, it hadn't really been so on Wednesday and there was evidence here that, under pressure and in the cauldron of an NLD, he couldn't cope. His distribution was no better, and probably worse than, that of Ramsdale. I, for one, was very disappointed at his failure to live up to the hype. Ramsdale will surely be back on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup. On Saturday, we shall see...

1-1 at half time. And then the shock news of two Arsenal substitutions. One, that of Vieira, came as no surprise, as he'd be knocked from pillar to post in the heart of a competitive midfield battle. But the second change, that of Jorginho for Rice, did not bode well. Rice has a back injury, apparently, although it's supposedly not serious. Let's hope not, because with Partey also out I don't fancy the thought of Jorginho playing the full 90 minutes in back to back games twice a week.

But, before the Jorginho mistake that turned the game on its head, Arsenal re-took the lead from the penalty spot. For me, despite all the discussion around the VAR check for handball, it was an absolute no-brainer for any referee. The ball strikes the hand of Romero (yes - excellent news - him again) from White's shot and irrespective of whether his hand and arm are in a natural position or not the ball is heading for the back of the net without the interruption. Stone bonk for me. And Saka chipped the ball down the recently vacated centre of Vicario's goal for 2-1. There was also the question of whether Romero could have been sent off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity. But that got lost in the euphoria, I think.

But, barely had we sat down, when the scores were level again. Jorginho dwelt on the ball 25 yards out - directly from the kick-off - tried a trick in order to escape the twin threats of Toe Rag and Son, and the former robbed him before feeding the latter, whose finish was quite sublime. Heads in hands all over the stadium...

Look, it can happen to anybody - but for me if Rice - who had straddled the midfield like a colossus in the first half - had played the entire game there is little doubt that Arsenal would have won the game comfortably. And as it happens, Arsenal had much the best of the rest of the encounter without creating too much - one decent chance for Havertz which he blasted high, wide and not very handsome being the best opportunity, perhaps - and Tottenham created little in the last half hour. 

One of two of the substitutions took me by surprise. Big Ange took off Son and Maddison and replaced them with Richarlison and Hojbjerg - very much settling for the draw - but the choice of Jesus to be replaced by Nelson, and not Nketiah, was not greeted warmly by the supporters. I can only assume that the Brazilian is still not deemed fit to last a full 90 minutes.

And so we had to settle for 2-2. Judging by the noise coming out from the other end of the Seven Sisters Road, this 2-2 scoreline is the biggest 2-2 they've had since the one they achieved in 2004 when Arsenal won the league at the old ground! Bizarre. But it's fair to say that Tottenham are going to do better this season than we'd hope.

Here's the thing: (whisper this quietly) I quite like this Postecoglou guy. He seems a decent, grounded, sensible bloke, who wants his teams to play decent football. I can only hope that his players start to let him down on a consistent level in the very near future. But with no European football and not even the Carabao Cup to get in their way, and with Bentancur on his way back soon, I can see them challenging for a Top 4 spot throughout the season. Especially with Manchester United looking disjointed and Chelsea, hysterically, in complete and utter disarray.

This post has been long enough without me even mentioning - let alone going into any detail - Arsenal's Champions League return on Wednesday. Suffice it to say that it went exactly as we'd have hoped! And that's all I've time for on that without adding another 1000 words...

And so we move on. Blighted by injury - and let's hope that those to Rice, Vieira and, most worryingly, Bukayo Saka, are not too serious. Because it's two games a week for the foreseeable future. The big bright spot of the weekend was the sending-off of Rodri and his subsequent three-match ban which means he will miss the game at The Emirates on October 8th. No Rodri and no De Bruyne - perhaps this is our chance in what - now that Arsenal are already 4 points behind Manchester City - is a Must Win game.

COYG!

Trossard Winner Saves Us From Yet More VAR Controversy

1-0 to The Arsenal. The very least that they deserved from a match that they dominated pretty much from start to finish. But - and I'll cover this later on - 75% possession with an xG of barely over 1 is rather unsatisfactory. and I would hope and expect there to be plenty more to come from this team.

The headline news from Arteta's team selection was, of course, the choice of David Raya over Aaron Ramsdale. As yet, we cannot really know what this means going forward - there is a lot of football to be played. And this one is not as cut and dried as Ramsdale for Leno was. Raya's stats make for very impressive reading - certainly when compared to the bare figures that Ramsdale put up last season - but there's not that much between them. On the other hand, why spend £30m (as it will be by next summer) on a keeper when the guy who ought to be England's Number One is in possession of the jersey? Watch this space...

Personally, I get nervous whenever ANY Arsenal keeper plays out from the back. That will never go away. I suppose that all that Raya has to do is to keep everybody calm when he has the ball in hand or at his feet - some of his distribution was glorious in this match; one particular 50-yard drop kick to Saka was a thing of rare beauty - but it does seem harsh on Ramsdale. Further evidence of Arteta's ruthless streak, I guess.

Vieira for Havertz was perhaps a little more obvious. I did say that I was anticipating that change in my previous post. The Portuguese has made a good impact on several occasions as a substitute, so he'd earned his chance. And indeed he looked to have justified his inclusion early on with a sumptuous slide rule pass into the path of Martinelli, who finished it off with an Henry-like far post curler. Only for VAR to rule the goal out.

Here's what I don't get; the ambiguity of it all. Nketiah is, technically, in an offside position when the ball reaches him. However, Gabriel wasn't looking to pass to him - he was trying to play a square pass back to Saliba - and the interception from Beto is what sends the ball into Eddie's path. The Law states that the defender's touch has to be regarded as 'inadvertent' for offside to kick in. Was his touch inadvertent? No, it wasn't. Yes, he clearly wasn't looking to send the ball 20 yards backwards; but what he was doing was making a deliberate effort to block Gabriel's pass. 

I'm sorry; if that's City, or United, or Liverpool, the goal stands. Why is is always decisions involving Arsenal that cause such controversy? But fortunately later events prevented this decision from being the decisive moment of the game. Otherwise we'd all be looking at this game in an entirely different light. 

Martinelli looked to have injured himself in the act of scoring, and Arteta made the correct decision in introducing Trossard at this point. What this did do was make Arsenal less predictable down the left, with the Belgian interchanging with Vieira. A different challenge to the more direct Martinelli for the 'veteran' Ashley Young.

In truth, the game was like a siege. Everton are an absolutely terrible side. They're proabaly fortunate that the teams that came up look sub-standard. That just might get them out of trouble. But their fans are yet again due for a miserable season. 

Yes, they can defend as others do; deep and with numbers. But that's asking for trouble and it was up to Arsenal to find the key. But the home side could barely keep the ball for more than a couple of seconds before giving it away again; They're pedestrian in midfield, and whilst Beto ran around a bit and tried to cause problems there was virtually nothing to worry about. 

This was illustrated when Saliba merely allowed Beto to run down a blind alley on the rare occasion when they were one on one. I know that we're used to it by now, and barely required comment, but Saliba is an absolute Rolls Royce of a defender; he cruises through matches, uses his pace effortlessly, and is silky smooth in possession. And he's only 22?!?

So still 0-0 at half time. Incredibly. But I felt that Arsenal were trying to play around Everton a bit too much, when more decisive balls into the feet of the forwards may have made a difference. With the opposition little or no threat, losing the ball occasionally - risk/reward - was probably worth the chance. But as it turned out a set piece did the trick.

A short corner - one of many - drew Everton out of shape, with not enough players out to the ball quickly enough. A sharp interchange between Odegaard and Saka, and Starboy found Trossard unmarked 12 yards out. In truth, there was plenty still to do, but the finish was sublime. And so Arsenal took a well-deserved lead.

And it could/should have been more. Pickford and a series of last ditch blocks kept the score at merely 1, when a three goal lead would not have flattered Arsenal. But I do feel that there's loads more to come from this side. Especially when Jesus comes in from the start, as he must surely be ready to do now. Eddie had one of his less effective games - a moment of indecision and an extra touch cost him his best opportunity - so I'd expect to see Jesus start, if not against PSV, then surely on Sunday against You Know Who.

Still, three points in the bag, and that's all that matters as we starting getting into the meat of the season. The long overdue return to Champions League action, and then Tottenham. Mouth-watering stuff. Tottenham, with a decent percentage of their supporters getting carried away by their start to the season, need to be taken down a peg or two. It would be fitting if Arsenal can be the team to do it. Stop Maddison; stop Tottenham. There'll be no customary Kane goal this time round. Time to put on a show. 3-1 yet again? Why not?

Just before I go, a word on Sky Sports' punditry. They had the B Team in, with the recently retired and completely biased Theo Walcott in with Karen Carney and  Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. And questions need to be asked of the latter's preparation for this game; especially when you hear nonsense like 'Odegaard needs to add more goals'. The guy scred 15 PL goals last season! Do your homework! Or go home after the Chelsea game. Bring back Graeme Souness!

Right. We move on. This week is what it's all about. COYG!

Rice Mullers United

After last week’s disappointment, a ‘statement’ win over one of our rivals was just the ticket. Alright; it wasn’t quite ‘statement’, but three points are three points, and that’s the most important thing.

The beauty of it, of course, was the way the match unravelled for United - from the moment that VAR chalked off Garnacho’s ‘goal’ (I called offside as he went through, but didn’t realise that it was THAT close!) with just two minutes of normal time remaining, until the end of the 56th(!) minute of the second half was the reason we go to matches - and the reason we should never, EVER leave early without very good reason.

Gary Neville gets on my nerves, obviously, but he made a very astute observation in commentary. With the extended injury time that gets played these days, it’s almost like there’s an extra half of football to come once you hit 90 minutes.

These days, Arsenal are getting pretty good at going right until the end, and for a second week in a row I must give credit to the Manager for his choices of substitutions (although to be fair I have to admit that I was moaning to everyone within earshot that they took him far too long to execute). Still, all’s well that ends well; maybe I was right, but he definitely was!

Let’s wind back, though. We had all the pre-match drama surrounding Partey’s injury - thanks, Ghanaian FA! - but if anything it would have given clarity to MA on how to set up. It made perfect sense to revert to last year’s back 4, with Zinchenko fit enough to take his place (note; Arsenal’s fourth different starting left back in as many matches!). Rice at 6, and Havertz kept his place even though Vieira must be starting to press him hard for that spot.

Look; it must be hard for Havertz. Coming from a nightmare scenario at Chelsea that would have knocked the confidence of every single player who played for them last season. Having to learn a complex new role. Trying to set up brand new links and alliances while having complete unfamiliarity with what’s going on behind him. It’s easy to criticise, but we must give him time. 

Admittedly, his complete mis-kick when presented with an early opportunity wouldn’t have helped get people off his back. 

And he was denied a big moment when the penalty awarded when he was brought down was chalked off (for me that’s a sure fire penalty, by the way. I’m convinced that the decision doesn’t get overturned at Old Trafford, and it does not fit into the ‘clear and obvious error’ bracket). 

Plus all the moaning that it was his misplaced pass in the final third let to United’s goal is really, really harsh. There was still plenty for United to do, and Ben White hardly covered himself in glory in trying to deal with Rashford.

We are in no position to question Arteta’s talent ID work. We must give Havertz time. We gave time to the likes of Bergkamp and Henry, did we not? On Sunday, Saka missed two presentable opportunities to score, yet nobody’s moaning about him.

The game was interesting from a tactical point of view, in that United saw an incredible amount of the ball throughout the first half, but did absolutely nothing with it. The goal; from a typical breakaway. Apart from that; a couple of hundred sideways passes in their own half as Arteta refused to allow them to play over a high press. Arsenal were comfortably the better side, and the first goal came as a shock. 

Fortunately, United rested on their laurels for under a minute as Arsenal tore into United from the restart, and Odegaard swept the ball home emphatically from Martinelli’s pass. Parity was the very least that Arsenal deserved.

It was strange to listen to Ten Haag’s press conference post-game, when he suggested that United had played well and to a plan, and were robbed by the officials. Hundreds of sideways passes within 30 yards of your own goal isn’t much of a plan, they were relying merely on turnovers and transitions, and he was simply wrong regarding the officiating. They dodged a bullet with the penalty over-rule, for starters.

United did improve for the introduction of Hojlund, but Arsenal had the right set of centre halves on the field to deal with him. Gabriel Maghaeles was the perfect man to put up against him. By contrast, United’s central defence was in utter disarray by the end of the game. A pre-match injury to Varane meant that Lindelof was drafted in, but they lost both he and the irritating Martinez (both were also booked, by the way) to injury, meaning that they ended up with Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans in there. You can’t hold out against the likes of Arsenal with those two in central defence.

But before the highly charged ending to the game came the biggest moment of the game, with Garnacho’s goal being chalked off. As I say, I called offside immediately, but as it turned out it was merely a whisker, and as a result of some brilliant split-second thinking by Big Gabby to lean his body in precisely the right way to catch the youngster offside. But what a relief - and from then on if there was going to be a winner it was only going to be Arsenal.

Time ticked on. Vieira, Nelson and Jesus arrived to add impetus and no little free styling to Arsenal’s attacks. The board went up - 8 minutes. And thus Gary Neville’s self-fulfilling nightmare started. 

Minute 96.  Corner hit by Saka all the way to the far post, and Declan Rice cast the first brick of his legacy with a deflected shot that beat Onana at his near post. In scenes reminiscent of last season’s Bournemouth comeback, the stadium exploded with noise. Cries of fouls for an obstruction by Big Gabby on Evans merely revealed that it was actually the United player who’d committed an offence. 

In their desperate attempts to equalise, United left themselves wide open at the back. Arsenal turned the tables on them with a swift breakaway - by now in the 101st minute. Vieira’s first time ball released Jesus, and what followed was a thing of beauty as he possibly ended Dalot’s career with a sensational drag back, and then wrong-footed Onana as he slid the ball home. Pandemonium ensued as the three points were cemented.

Another chapter in the stadium’s history written. Three important points tucked away. The team continues to make progress. But there remains a small minority of Arsenal fans who cannot be pleased. Every fan group I’m in has one or two. Nothing is ever good enough. It’s so difficult to refrain from engaging with these people!

And so we move on. An early Interlull, with no less than 16 players away with their countries. Everton away on their return - where Arsenal must not repeat last year’s disaster. And after that it’s Tottenham at home. 

Now, Spurs fans are getting a little too uppity for my liking. Some of them seem to think that they can actually challenge for the Premier League. Now this is obviously nonsense, and the sooner we knock these ludicrous ambitions on the head, the better. On the other side of the coin, however, is the thought that Harry Kane had been holding them back!!!

Anyway, time for a break, and to pray for 16 players to come back for and raring to go. COYG!