Waka Waka Eh Eh Eh

Well, that's what prospective champions do, isn't it? Not a season goes by without the team that ends up on top walking away with three points from a game or two where they haven't played particularly well, have had to ride their luck, and have notched a late winner at a time when everybody is resigned to a single point. And that's precisely what Arsenal did at Brentford on Saturday evening.

Make no mistake; for all that Brentford have been missing their best player all season, and have a few injuries to boot (hasn't every side?), they're an extremely difficult side to beat at their own ground. This was only their third home loss in a year, and two of those three have been inflicted by Arsenal. So there's no getting away from this being a decent result.

Whilst this was a bit of a turgid affair for the neutral, there was no shortage of interest for Arsenal supporters. Several lines of intrigue, in fact. And we'll start with the starting line-up. 

With no less than 10 matches facing the team between last weekend and December 31st (36 days), and a number of long-term injuries within the squad, this is going to be a test of Arteta's ingenuity. The biggest tests, outside of this one, are likely to be Villa away and - especially - Liverpool away just before Christmas. So perhaps he needs to work his way around those. But with Timber, Partey and Smith Rowe all out until at least the New Year, and Vieira suspended domestically, there's plenty of juggling to be done.

Arteta must have agonised over whether to start Jesus - just back from injury and also from Brazil (along with the other Gabriels, of course) - or let him sit on the bench until required. But he went with him. Also, interestingly, with a really attacking midfield/forward line-up that put pretty much all the defensive onus on the Atlas-like shoulders of Declan Rice. No Havertz (fresh from his run outs on the left side of the Germany defence!), but this meant that Trossard could maintain his place. This meant no place for Jorginho, whilst Tomiyasu kept his spot at right-back over Ben White, who is possibly still a bit short of fitness following his illness. 

The most interesting focus was, however, Aaron Ramsdale; back in goal as David Raya was ineligible against his parent club. Back in goal, and under both scrutiny and pressure.

I'd been wondering (as you may have read over the past few weeks) quite how much of an upgrade Raya is on Ramsdale, but - and this is even leaving aside the two howlers committed by the latter in the first half - the difference was plain to see. For all that Ramsdale's confidence has clearly been affected by the situation, one could see that the quality of distribution of the two players is like 'chalk and cheese'. Yes, it was probably sensible - for the sake of the entire team - for Ramsdale to be advised to go long continually following his first mistake. But that's been his default move for a couple of years now; whereas Raya - for all that he gives the supporters palpitations at times - seems more controlled and far more able to play any type of pass. 

Two massive howlers from Ramsdale, as we saw; and both (particularly the first one; such incredibly swift thinking from Declan Rice by the way) leaving him very fotunate not to concede. Both borne of nerves and a desperate desire to impress. The first with the ball at his feet, and the second - under zero pressure - with ball in hand. Not a good look.

And for all that his second half was a vast improvement on his first, this is surely the end of the debate. Normally, Ramsdale would thrive and feed off of home supporters' chants of 'You're just a sh*t David Raya!' and 'England's England's Number 4!.' But it was clear that he didn't have it in him to respond to that as he would have done last year. He'd done little wrong, frankly, to lose his place, and I truly feel sorry for him; but a fresh challenge - although I hope that he'll hang around until the summer - appears to be in order. I wouldn't expect Arteta to stand in his way, anyway.

Look, we all love Aaron Ramsdale, for the vibes and energy - as well as some of the outstanding work that he did last season - that he's brought to the team. But it's clear that he's failed this test. There have been times when I've thought that Arsenal Football Club are maybe too big for Raya to handle, and he has also made mistakes, but I'd assume that this will be now a boost to the Spaniard's confidence. He knows that he's got the position nailed down now.

Aside from those two self-inflicted opportunities for Brentford, the home side had nothing to really get excited about beyond a late opportunity that saw a fantastic goal line clearance from Zinchenko. But that was really all they had to show for their efforts. If any side was going to win the game, it was definitely going to be Arsenal. 

Indeed, Arsenal had had the ball in the net late in the first half; Trossard with another brave header after Jesus's effort was ruled out for offside. 'Offside' was my reaction as I watched it live, but on replay I honestly thought that he was on. But the lines were drawn, and that was that. Far from me to suggest that the lines were drawn at the wrong time, and that there's a conspiracy against Arsenal. Heaven forbid! But the original TNT Sports freeze frame gave a different and more favourable look to the situation before the dreaded lines appeared.

In truth, nobody was having a particularly noteworthy game in luminous yellow. Rice put in his standard 8/10 - we're used to it by now - and the Saliba/Gabriel partnership was as solid as could be. Neither of them put too many feet wrong, and if they do the other one usually bails him out. What a pairing! 

And as for this; what a photograph!

Further forward, it was hard work. Like most sides, Brentford put up a 'low block' and made life difficult for Arsenal. Saying that, I was once more disappointed at the speed that Arsenal circulated the ball. It wasn't until the final 10 minutes or so, as everyone was tiring, that Arsenal speeded things up - and from there the goal came.

But before then came the substitutions. This is an area in which we've seen great improvement from Arteta this season; something to do with the size of the squad, I'm sure, but nonetheless it's becoming a far more effective weapon. The pattern of play was crying out for more of a target man, and Arteta spotted this, whipped a tiring Jesus off and introduced Nketiah, which made an immediate difference. Maybe I'm imagining it, but do Jesus's forays towards each wing inadvertently close up space for Saka and Martinelli? Anyway, Nketiah through the middle concentrated Brentford minds differently.

But the key move was the introduction of Havertz. He was immediately involved, progressing the ball in the left 8 channel and getting into the box late. And finally we saw the breakthrough we'd been craving, as with increased tempo Rice switched the ball from left to right to Odegaard, he flicked the ball out to Saka and for once - almost for the first time - Starboy had a little bit of space in which to operate. A shimmy inside, and the sight of a big overload at the far post. An exquisite curling cross, and Havertz notched his first Arsenal goal from open play with a decisive header. Cue delirium in the ranks; on the field, on the bench, and in the crowd as the Away Boyz' version of Shakira's 'This Time For Africa' was heard once more: 'Sixty million down the drain? Kai Havertz's scored again!' I believe they call it an 'earworm'; and I haven't stopped singing it since then. We've got the best and most imaginative away supporters in the land; there is no doubt about that.

And that was that. Ramsdale had somehow notched up another clean sheet, and Declan Rice yet another Player of the Match award. And with City and Liverpool having drawn their match-up earlier in the day, Arsenal are 'back where we belong'. Without reaching anything like the heights of last season, let's face it. Which bodes well as we move forward.

Great to see the players rallying around the immensely likeable Ramsdale, by the way.

There's a lot being said about Arsenal's incredible solidity this season - just 10 league goals conceded in 13 matches -  but I'm looking forward to what is my ideal central midfield. And I'm willing to wait for it, because we're most likely to see it towards the end of the season. And it's this: Partey, Rice, Odegaard. For me, the different type of ball progression and swifter, vertical passing that an on-song Partey can offer could make all the difference for Arsenal. Theoretically, he'll only be fit to jet off to AFCON, but we ought to see him back and fully match-fit from February onwards. Judicious use of the Ghanaian on the run-in will be, for me, the X Factor that could take Arsenal over the line in front. What do you think?

Anyway, for the moment we move on serenely. Lens at home, a slightly awkward but eminently winnable game with Wolves at the weekend, and then to Kenilworth Road. Three tidy wins, please.

Just before I go, a quick mention of other matters. Firstly, what a goal that was from Garnacho on Sunday! Up there with the very best overhead kick goals I've ever seen. And secondly, I want to draw your attention to Tottenham... if you can find them in the table, that is… Three defeats in a row to follow their 10-game unbeaten start. Spursy... and such fun. It's Manchester City away for them next up - oh my!

Flowers For Nicolas Jover

Back to winning ways for Arsenal at Fortress Emirates. Burnley looked unlikely to be much of an obstacle, considering their poor start to the season, but one thing I can safely pronounce is that they're a better side than Sheffield United!

The afternoon got off to a cracking start before Arsenal had even kicked off. My party arrived at the ground just as Wolves were equalising at home to Tottenham, and those of us in the concourse watching the end of that match on the screens greeted their winner as loudly as if Arsenal themselves had scored a last-minute winner. It felt like a good omen for the day; plus of course it would mean that a victory would take us above The Old Enemy, despite them having had their best start to a PL season. Oh dear; oh dear; oh dear...

I've been saying to many people over the past few weeks that I actually quite like Big Ange - something of a breath of fresh air in my opinion - and that I was therefore waiting for his players to start letting him down. And it hasn't taken long. But anyway; that's quite enough about That Lot.

On to team selection, and further injury woes; No Ben White. He's quite possibly suffering from a bit of fatigue, so a couple of weeks off now - Southgate has again left him out of the latest England interlull squad - will be of great benefit I'm sure. Add him to the following list: Timber, Partey, Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Jesus. A squad that looked pretty complete (lack of a genuine target man notwithstanding) at the beginning of the season is starting to look a bit threadbare now. Hopefully White, Odegaard and Jesus will be back for Brentford in a fortnight. Nonetheless, the starting XI still looked more than good enough to handle Burnley.

Nonetheless, the away side started fairly brightly, but Arsenal were soon into their stride and dominating possession. However, there was a lot of 'umbrella' passing - back and across and in front of the packed defence - and chances were few and far between. I was particularly bemused by some of Trossard's positioning - ‘false 9’ is one thing, but the total lack of a focal point is another. It's probably too much to expect Declan Rice to rotate into the penalty area, but what confused me even more was what Havertz was doing. 

Where one might expect the German to use his height and physical presence to put pressure on the Burnley defence, he seemed typically meek and unwilling to get properly involved; often wandering out towards the right wing and into Saka's area of the pitch, and thus crowding it even further than the standard doubling up that Starboy always seems to be faced with. Havertz did have a couple of chances; one shot over which he dithered, and a free header from a corner which ought to have hit the target. But he otherwise looked unwilling to take responsibility; to take the game by the scruff of the neck, so to speak. I'm seeing slight improvement on a match-by-match basis, but for a £65m German international player, well used to the demands of this league, and with the physical attributes that he has, he's been really quite disappointing on the whole. Certainly, Arteta had seen enough before the hour, and saw fit to give him the hook. Must do better.

I guess that it was merely a matter of time before Arsenal took the lead. As I said to my wife after around about 15 minutes; 'they're starting to wobble'. But I'm not going to go into too much detail regarding the goals. Apart from to say the following:

Firstly, Trossard's opener was down as much to his bravery as to his eye for an opportunity. He was willing to put his body on the line, and reaped the rewards. At first, we thought he'd hit his head on the goal post. Thankfully, he'll be suffering from nothing more than a bruised shoulder. A 6th goal of the season for the Belgian. And all 6 assisted by Saka. Remarkable. For me, by the way, Saka is on the way back to his imperious best after a shaky week or three.

Secondly, some flowers need to be delivered to set-piece coach Nicolas Jover. He’d identified a Burnley weakness at corners, and Arsenal bombarded the near post at every opportunity. There had been decent chances for both Gabriel and Havertz before the footballing demi-god that is William Saliba delivered the coup de grace early in the second half; losing his marker with ease and rising imperiously above keeper Trafford to head home from fully two yards out. That - coming only a couple of minutes after Burnley's surprise and massively deflected equaliser (was Tomiyasu fouled in the build-up?) - frankly finished the game as a contest.

The final goal once more gets an 'assist' from Jover, but all the credit must go to Zinchenko for a sublime scissor kick finish, reminiscent of a famous Paolo Di Canio goal of yesteryear. Simply stunning.

There only remains for me to discuss Fabio Vieira. Given half an hour by Arteta, he was neat and tidy, but unremarkable in his contributions, until the 83rd minute when a foolish mis-timed challenge saw him see red. It was late, high and studs up; for all that he apparently only had eyes for the ball. I initially thought yellow, but on seeing the replay I could offer no defence. As my good friend @mattkandela said on The Arsenal Opinion on-the-whistle podcast, Vieira 'managed to do something dangerous without looking vaguely threatening' - which made me chuckle. And with all the injuries in Arsenal's midfield this really doesn't help at all.

So that's three more points in the bag. Just one point behind leaders Manchester City (and what a titanic battle that was with Chelsea yesterday; the latter's second wild game in a week, in fact), and level but behind Liverpool on goal difference only going into the international break. Arsenal must take advantage, despite a tricky-looking visit to Brentford coming up - when those two sides face off in what is likely to be another titanic battle in their next fixture. 

Just before I go... during the first half, Bukayo Saka was penalised for a push in the back on a Burnley player; Arsenal very nearly scored at the end of that action, as it happens. It was a foul; of that there is no doubt. But it wasn't anything as blatant as the previous week's push by Joelinton on Gabriel. Anyone would think that the PGMOL have an agenda against Arsenal or something? Still; there's very little evidence of that - apart from the 400pp dossier sitting in Arteta's top drawer!

Wishing you all a pleasant and not too boring an interlull. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. COYG!

VAR. What Is It Good For?

For those unaware, the title of this piece is a variation on a very well-known song released by the late, great soul singer Edwin Starr (and was later covered by Frankie Goes To Hollywood on their seminal album Welcome To The Pleasuredome; but I digress)... Nonetheless, the title seems very apt, as refereeing and VAR once more take centre stage on a Premier League Saturday. And for those who don't know the song, I'll give you the answer to exactly what it's good for later on in this piece.

I'll return to VAR, as there are a few other matters to discuss before I get to what is quite clearly the main topic. And firstly to team selection; which frankly had me worried the moment I saw it. One doesn't want to go to a place like St James' Park looking quite so depleted in the midfield and forward areas. 

OK; we were expecting Partey and Jesus to be out. Also Smith Rowe. But to find Odegaard missing from the squad after his cameo on Wednesday was bad news. And, frankly, I'm often uncomfortable to see Jorginho in the side. The latter has, in the words of the Liam Neeson character Bryan Mills in 'Taken', 'a particular set of skills'. But I'm not sure that they are suited, these days, to such a challenge as Newcastle away. Chuck Havertz into that mix as well, and there looked to be an awful lot resting on the broad shoulders of Declan Rice.

Up front, the absence of Jesus meant Eddie continued in the side - for his 100th Premier League appearance! - and whilst he can be commended for a hat-trick at home to Sheffield United this, quite evidently, was a completely different challenge.

As for the game itself; well, it was tight, as could be expected, and chances were at a premium. Both sides looked to cancel each other out, and succeeded to a great extent. For Arsenal, the standout players were Rice - especially in the first half - and the imperious William Saliba. Elsewhere, Arsenal struggled going forwards. Nketiah pressed well, but did little with the ball; often looking lightweight against Newcastle's experienced defensive quartet. 

Newcastle's midfield trio cut off a lot of the passing lanes to Havertz and Eddie, sending Arsenal into wide areas where Saka and Martinelli continually found themselves doubled and even trebled up. Not that Saka, in particular, made much of an effort to beat a man as he was continually shepherded inside. White had difficulty getting forward, and Odegaard was missed. As, it turns out, was Zinchenko; not for his defending - I'm sure we'd all prefer to see Tomiyasu in there for that job - but for his ability to drift into space and link play.

To describe the match as 'combative' would sum it up nicely. Arsenal were on top, with their superior quality showing through; although they had little to show for their dominance in possession. And Newcastle did look dangerous on the break, with Jorginho's lack of pace continually exposed as the home team ran into the space left by Havertz and Rice's forays forwards. But, with Saliba marshalling, Arsenal's defence held firm

But things started to boil up when Havertz launched himself into Longstaff. 

But this was not before Burn could count himself fortunate not to have been booked for two vindictive challenges on Saka within the space of a minute. And also not before Havertz himself was spotted on the floor holding his face - from a deliberate stiff arm from Guimaraes (you'll spot a theme here). 

So I'd suggest that Havertz was pretty annoyed when he flew in on Longstaff. It looked awful, frankly; one of those Wenger 'dark yellows'. And it was pretty daft to look to seek retribution (on the wrong player!) with 30 cameras in the ground. Foolish. Yellow for Havertz - the very least it deserved; but amusingly also yellows for three Newcastle players for protesting!

In injury time, another flashpoint as Guimaraes attempted revenge on Havertz, missed, and in his further rage immediately elbowed Jorginho in the head - late, and off the ball. Cleared - amazingly - by VAR; when it's as clear a red as... well, Havertz's challenge was. Clearer, frankly. VAR decided that as it was 'merely' a forearm, and not his elbow, that it wasn't dangerous enough to warrant a card. First egregious error.

So one can apparently get away with challenges on a football field that one can barely get away with in a wrestling ring! Still, if we thought that VAR Madley had failed to do his job here, just you wait until later!

Guimaraes followed that up by smashing a free kick straight at Declan Rice, who was no more than a couple of yards away. Fortunately for the Brazilian, it was very close to half-time. And so scores were level; both on goals and possible red cards. And if you're comparing the two at least Havertz can claim he was trying to get to/block the ball; whereas Guimaraes' challenge was nasty and cowardly.

On the hour, a couple of Newcastle changes, followed by a decent headed opportunity for Rice, who latched onto a clearance from Trippier and had Pope beaten if only he'd have been on target. And then...

I've not seen the like of it, frankly. And that's saying a lot bearing in mind what I have seen! 

We've all seen it, but I'll summarise. A long ball from Newcastle sent Joelinton in towards goal. He was crowded out, but Gabriel missed his attampted clearance and Murphy hit a cross shot well wide. So wide, in fact that it looked to have gone out for a goal kick very close to the corner flag. Arsenal stopped chasing (play to thre whistle, lads), and Willock rescued the ball. His deep cross went over Raya (yet another cross that bypassed the keeper at his near post; it's becoming a bit of a theme)...

Which reached Joelinton at the far post. The latter launched himself above Gabriel and bundled the ball back across goal, where Gordon turned it into the net.

I shouted for offside immediately. But there was so much more to unpick, as VAR revealed itself to be good for - as Edwin Starr sang - absolutely nothing! 

3, or perhaps 4 bones of contention here. Firstly, the ball looked to have gone out. Now, we cannot be sure if it did because if you haven't got a camera right above the ball, you cannot be sure (apparently, it had not; quite). And here's a question; if you've got goal-line technology, why can't it be used for ALL lines. To make sure. The curvature of a ball can make it look like it's out of play when it is in fact not; that much is obvious - it's round, after all. But in the same way as it annoys everyone to see players take stupid inches of advantage at corners and even penalty kicks, a Law needs to come in.

Secondly, there's a coming together between Joelinton and Gabriel. VAR decided that it's not a foul. But it clearly is. Just look at this, for a second time; two hands on Gabriel's neck/head. That's why the defender appears to be stooping, and that's why Joelinton has got above him. 

Then, at point of contact, the ball hit various parts of both players' bodies. A head, an arm, and finally a knee. Joelinton's arm, by the way...

And finally, the offside. And for me it's definitely offside. VAR said that there was no definitive angle for the last touch of the ball back to Gordon. Well, firstly I reckoned that there was; and secondly Gordon is ALREADY in front of Raya - and therefore offside! An absolute travesty of a decision! So...

Plus, I remember an incident 18 months ago when an Arsenal goal was disallowed because the VAR couldn't be sure that he was onside. Remember this? Arsenal vs Brighton; April 2022.

But here's the amazing thing. Diabolical a series of decisions as it was, it was probably not the most egregious VAR decision of the day. A penalty awarded against Wolves - for the second successive week, by the way - was an absolutely joke decision. That's 5 times, I believe, that Wolves have suffered at the hands of VAR - in just 11 matches. Manchester United have fallen victim once or twice. Let's not forget what happened in the Spurs/Liverpool game. And I could probably give you several other instances where Arsenal were on the wrong side of VAR already this season; the City (Kovacic) and Chelsea (Sanchez takes out Jesus) matches immediately spring to mind.

Every team gets dodgy VAR decisions, of course. And if they're relatively subjective then that's all well and good. And perhaps they do even themselves out over time. But egregious errors caused by either the technology or the officials themselves being unfit for purpose? Well, that's another matter entirely.

There's little doubt in my mind that the standard of refereeing has failed to improve since... well, since I've been watching football. Which is poor in itself.  Let's not forget that this particular referee once gave a goal when the ball didn't actually go into the net!

TV and now VAR highlight the incompetence more and more these days. And it's clear that the arrival of Howard Webb as Mike Riley's replacement has made little or no difference to standards. At least we sometimes get to hear the VAR audio; but that actually makes it worse!!! I can't wait until they release the audio for this one!

I'm not necessarily one for conspiracy theories, by the way. But it's worth mentioning here that Premier League referees often jet off to Saudi Arabia to officiate - and are paid to do so at a better rate than they are in England. Oh; and who own Newcastle United?... Still, I'm sure that we can read nothing into that...

Back to the game, I suppose. And very little to report, as Newcastle were able to hold Arsenal off with ease. Plenty of possession, and very little to show for it. Arteta's changes - Trossard and Vieira - hardly covered themselves in glory with a serious of poorly delivered free kicks and corners.The main incident to note is that Guimaraes was finally booked in the 88th minute for a hand to the throat of Vieira. His umpteenth such infringement of the match, and he actually had the gall to complain about it! 

Here's another montage:

That final one, by the way, was a barge in the back, off the ball - again! Booked in the 88th minute; his 5th of the season, so he's due a suspension. I'd be disappointed and annoyed if it doesn't become a longer one!

And that was that. And I'm not saying that Arsenal deserved to win the game. Far from it. Too many players underperformed, and a surfeit of chances was the result. But a draw? That would have been a fairer result.

But I've every sympathy for Mikel Arteta's words at his post-game interview. Which, if you haven't heard or seen them, were:

..."we lost the match because of the clear and obvious decisions... it's embarrassing... it's a disgrace. That's what it is. A disgrace. You cannot imagine the number of messages we've got that said that this cannot continue... it is not acceptable - there is too much at stake... Look at the images and, honestly, I don't know how to feel. I'm wasting my time. We are wasting our time. I don't want to be in the hands of people... it is difficult enough to compete against a really good team. There are other things that we cannot control. It affects results, momentum, confidence. The consequences are too big. Too, too big!"

Despite Arsenal putting out a message of support, I'm still expecting a disrepute charge tomorrow. Remember, Klopp wanted their game against Spurs replayed! 

And that's the thing. The costs of these egregious errors are far too big in a multi-million pound sport. Yet for the referees? A weekend off, and then back to work in the Premier League. It's incompetence, with little or no sanction t back it up, and it's simply not good enough.

I actually referee a game of Walking Football of a Tuesday evening. I find that difficult at times. We don't allow running, and we don't allow contact. The same people infringe on running every week, yet they don't learn. And every decision I make - bar the incontestable ones like ball going well over head height, or goal kicks and corners - is contested. Every. Single. One. Moan. Moan.Moan. I've been sworn at. Accused of all sorts. But I do this as an amateur, so I could easily walk away (and many times I've thought about it). But these people are properly trained, and are PAID to do it. When it actually means something! They MUST do better!!!

Anyway, we must move on. The games come thick and fast. Hopefully we'll see Odegaard back this week. Two home games - Sevilla and then a relatively easier game against Burnley. Time to bounce back. COYG!