Arsenal put in an ultimately disappointing and thoroughly below par performance in the Carabao Cup Final, as they succumbed to a resurgent Manchester City, who probably played as well as they have done all season. They're a Big Game team... whereas that is something that Arsenal need to learn to be. Let's have a look at what went wrong:
Rumours started flying around from mid-morning that Ebere Eze was going to miss out due to the calf injury he suffered in the latter stages of the Leverkusen game on Tuesday evening. Clearly, this was going to have a knock-on effect for the whole side, and was likely to badly mess with the manager's plans. Ideally, a fit Martin Odegaard would have replaced him (Mikel Merino could have done a job there too); but the alternatives were to either move Bukayo Saka inside and select Noni Madueke on the right, or go with Kai Havertz behind Viktor Gyokeres.
I honestly believe that Arteta chose the wrong option; Havertz's best performances for Arsenal have been as a striker, and whilst he does link up play well it's more in a striker's style - dropping short and bringing others into play - and not, as a genuine number 10 will tend to do, turn and carry the ball from deeper positions. That is Odegaard's super power, and is something that the tricky feet of Saka could have delivered. As it was, Havertz still looked some way off of full fitness, and he failed to influence the game in any meaningful way.
The other big decision that Arteta had to make was who to select in goal. Now, we don't know the ins and outs of the situation, nor what may or may not have been promised to Kepa when he signed, but whilst we probably all suspected that Mikel would plump for the ex-Chelsea man we all hoped that the decision to do so would not backfire on the manager. Which it unfortunately did.
It's something of a Catch-22 situation for Arteta. He needed to attract a better second choice goalkeeper than he has had at his disposal for the past few years (Neto, anyone?), but the issue is that any goalkeeper prepared to be second choice is always going to be quite a severe downgrade on the world-class David Raya. Rock - Hard Place. With hindsight, many are saying that he didn't owe Kepa anything - promise or no promise - and that the need to select as strong as possible a team for the final should have overridden any personal promises. After all, Christian Norgaard had also started all the previous Carabao Cup matches, but was relegated to the bench for the final. What's so special about the goalkeeping position in comparison?
As it turned out, the decision to go with Kepa backfired massively. Having already made an error of judgment earlier in the second half, when he misjudged the flight of the ball out to the right hand side and felt obliged to make a grab at Doku - resulting in a booking that could actually easily have been a red card, it was his horrendous and basic error that led to the decisive opening goal, as he tried to catch a Cherki cross that he should probably have punched away - it was a little too far above his head - only for the ball to drop into the 6-yard box where O'Reilly was there to knock home the loose ball.
As if those two errors weren't bad enough, the sight of him standing on a number of ocassions for up to 10 seconds at a time with the ball at his feet, unsure or unable to find a suitable pass out, was unedifying - and extremely irritating for the Arsenal supporters around me in the stadium. Make no mistake, I sometimes get annoyed with Raya when he does that, but somehow this looked and felt worse; like he was devoid of ideas. Although we ought to give City credit for blocking off the passing lanes so effectively, I guess.
It would be wrong, however, to make Kepa the scapegoat for the defeat. Because despite the first half being fairly even, Arsenal barely created a decent opportunity to score. In the seventh minute, a clever pass from Zubimendi found Havertz in space and looking into the whites of Trafford's eyes, but the German delayed a split second too long and the keeper blocked. Not only that attempt, but two immediate follow-ups from Saka too. And apart from that there was a single opportunity for Gyokeres, on probably the one occasion he had Khusanov where he wanted him; but he hesitated and failed to get his shot away where an elite level striker would have made the goalkeeper work.
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Apart from those two moments, Arsenal created almost nothing until they were 2-0 down. And by then it was too late. To be fair, City barely created anything themselves in a cagey and somewhat sterile first half in which the two sides virtually cancelled each other out. Although from where I was stood there was a distinct contrast in styles, with the Gunners often looking to go early and long when they could; whereas in typical Pep style City looked to dominate possession and probe.
There had been a relatively early - and somewhat harsh - booking for Hincapie that seemed to unsettle him. As if dealing with Semenyo is easy at the best of times! And with so many of his team-mates visibly performing below par it was a struggle throughout for Arsenal to keep tabs, as City finished the first half in the ascendancy. Ben White dealt fairly well with the incredibly nimble and tricky Doku, and Saliba had a typically solid game; marshalling Haaland as he usually does. But Gabriel - whilst his defensive work was good - really struggled with his distribution, and Hincapie himself appeared inhibited by his yellow card. Ahead of him both Rice and Zubimendi struggled to take up useful positions and impose themselves on the game, and none of the 4 players ahead of them did anything meaningful throughout, frankly.
By contrast, City looked really good all over the field. I'm going to single out just three of them here. Rodri was imperious, dominating the midfield and barely needing to get out of second gear as neither Rice nor Zubi appeared able to get anywhere close to him. Cherki had a tremendous game; continually looking inventive with the ball at his feet. And, whilst O'Reilly would take all the headlines and the MotM award for his two goals, for me the star of the show was Bernardo Silva.
Now don't get me wrong here - I can't stand the bloke. How he gets away with some of the snide challenges he puts in I'll never know (reminds me of Paul Scholes in that respect), but he has an instinct for knowing where the ball is going to go, and was continually popping up in spots that helped him influence the game. At one point I concentrated on merely watching him for 5 minutes - and I can tell you that lesser players can learn a lot from him. He knitted play all across the pitch, and his combinations with the wingers and underlapping full backs were breathtaking at times. Magnificent.
The initial goal - for all that it was down to Kepa's error - had already looked inevitable as City started the second half at a higher tempo than the first. It felt as if Pep had realised that he had Arsenal's measure, and wanted to turn the screw as soon as possible. It took around 10 minutes for that goal to arrive, but by then Arsenal were firmly on the back foot; penned back deep in a manner that they are used to doing to other sides. Every time they managed to pinch the ball, they panicked and hoofed it clear; squeezed into their final third as they had been. And there seemed to be no way out. And City kept their feet on the Gunners' necks even after taking the lead. The second followed quickly, with O'Reilly sneaking in with a perfectly timed run behind Saka's back to nod home another Cherki cross. Arteta was looking to change things, but took too long to react and it was too late. At that point we all know that the dream was over...
One moment that I did chuckle at - difficult as it was to do so - was folllowing Cherki's foolish keepie-uppyies with Ben White in front of him. If there's one Arsenal player you don't do that to... I had barely got the 'Ben White's not going to forget that in a hurry' comment out of my mouth to my daughter than the defender cut him in two with a WWE move. Well worth the booking... and Guardiola was equally annoyed with his player, as it happened.
For all that Arsenal did manage to create a few chances as the game moved towards its conclusion, City looked in little danger. The substitutes had a mixed range of impacts - Martinelli (for Trossard) did next to nothing. On the other side of the pitch Madueke (on for Havertz; with Saka moving to number 10) had one of 'those' games; in direct contrast to Doku, a club compared to the latter's spear-like qualities. Jesus had his moments, and hit the bar with a late looping header, but lost the ball too often. But Calafiori was the most effective of the 4, moving infield with purpose and getting a couple of decent efforts in on Trafford's goal. But City were in complete control from the moment they got to 2-0.
In truth, this was The Master exerting control over his Pupil. Arteta was absolutely schooled by Pep. But... look a the league table... if I were Pep I'd be asking his charges where had this performance been all season; whereas what Mikel has managed to get out of his players is a higher level of consistency and resilience. It's just that in this - the biggest game so far - everything failed. And we've got to go to their place in a few weeks...
Look, with the points as they are Arsenal can afford to lose that game and still win the title. But Arteta is going to need to come up with something different - and fast! - in order not to suffer a further blow. I just hope that this defeat - and the manner of it - does not affect confidence too badly. Perhaps this Interlull will be a godsend... However, if I were Barcelona manager Hansi Flick I'd be taking a heck of a lot of notice of this Arsenal performance!
I note that a number of Arsenal players have been withdrawn from their various international squads, as Arteta had gone 'full Sir Alex'. Saliba, Gabriel, Trossard and Eze. Very wise. Perhaps Rice and Zubimendi could join them... Good to see Ben White get a late callup for England, though.
And so we get a couple of weeks off now. I don't know about you, but I think we need it after getting so thoroughly outplayed. The wait for a trophy will be another couple of months, I guess/hope. But keep the faith - and if you feel a little low during this break I'd suggest a glance at the Premier League table ought to cheer you up.
Keep the faith. COYG!
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