Own Goal Again Ole Ole!

At around 3pm yesterday afternoon, my mate Sam who sits next to me at the ground messaged me to say that he wasn't feeling too well, and would I like his ticket. A quick question to my wife, and the answer was 'Yes please!'. And so Saturday night turned into Date Night! Although I can assure you that we've had we've had many more enjoyable Saturday evenings than the one we had to endure...

What ought to have been a formality, based on all known form and logic, turned into an agonising evening. Perhaps we'd simply expected to roll Wolves over - the players too I suspect - but this was a frankly shocking performance when considered in the round.

Team news first; and the good news that William Saliba was fit to start. Along with Timber and Rice. And so this made the starting XI look very strong; on paper at least; and even with Odegaard rested and Trossard only fit for the bench. What I didn't guess, however, was the way Arteta set up his defence - from right to left White, Timber, Saliba, Hincapie; too many people out of position. I (although what do I know?) would have gone White, Saliba Hincapie, Timber. Or even started MLS to be frank. There were first half changes... but I'll get to that.

It is worth noting, by the way, the frightening strength of the Arsenal bench. Even with Gabriel, Havertz and Mosquera injured, and Calafiori suspended, to see a bench of Kepa, MLS, Merino, Odegaard, Norgaard, Trossard, Nwaneri, Madueke and Jesus ought to really concern Arsenal's rivals. Although it doesn't matter how strong the squad is - they still have to get out there and do the business. 

Unsurprisingly, Arsenal dominated possession, but looked turgid throughout an interminably boring first half during which they created almost nothing, and Wolves goalkeeper Johnstone didn't have a solitary shot to save. It was clear to me and those around me that the formation wasn't working; Declan Rice, sitting a long way forward in the left 8 role, was unable to influence the game in the way he normally does - he's much more effective facing the opponent's goal from deeper. But the almost total ball domination meant that whenever he did receive the ball he was restricted in what he could do.

Additionally, the continual attacking tilt to the right hand side showed Saka and White in good light, but poor Gabriel Martinelli was often left completely out of the buildup. Whilst Saka played well, Gabi was barely involved. Arsenal must use the left hand side more! 

But the hardest part for me was to see the low quality of the attacking work in general, on the extremely low level of xG of the few chances that were being created. Wolves, in their extremely low block, were barely stretched; in a pattern that we have regrettably seen many times before. Eze was almost invisible, and Gyokeres managed a total of 5 touches and a single successful pass in the entire first half. It was horrible to witness.

There were headed opportunities for Timber, Rice and Martinelli (the latter ought to have done better with his chance at a Rice corner). And an opportunity from a low Saka cross that Gyokeres was typically just late to read, and Martinelli fired wide from beyond the far post. And a further difficult chance for Martinelli from another Rice corner. But that was it; nowhere near enough on either the quality nor quantity front.

The best chance of the half fell to Wolves. Chan received a clearance fully 60 yards from goal, but with every single Arsenal player ahead of him (how that could have been allowed to happen, I simply do not know). No less than 6 Arsenal players sprinted back to try to stop him, and whilst Ben White pulled up late on in his run with a muscular issue (hamstring - replaced by MLS and the defence reshuffled to how I thought it ought to have been at the start), Timber did a passable imitation of The Flash to get back and pressure the Korean enough for him to take his shot earlier than he wanted. Raya plunged down to his right to make a crucial save. 

Half time; and I felt that the crowd were close to booing the players off; it had been that poor. And, frankly the half time entertainment in my area of the concourse was far more interesting than anything we'd seen in the previous 45 minutes or so, with the brass band belting out Christmas tunes somewhere between blocks 14 and 15. 

We suspected half time changes from the manager - I myself had suggested Odegaard and Trossard for Eze and Martinelli - but the same eleven trotted out for the second half. And it was more of the same, frankly; a little bit more energy, but not much. It took 15 minutes for the changes to be made; those two changes plus Merino for Zubimendi. Martinelli's last action of the game had been to finally do something decisive - a turn away from his marker and a speedy run at goal that saw him attempt his typical far post finish, but overdo it - but it was too little; too late for him. 

Odegaard's presence made an immediate difference. He is a much busier player than Eze, and he was soon involved in knitting the play together. But the crucial change was actually the interchange of the two Spaniards. Whilst Merino didn't do much in his time on the pitch, the key was dropping Rice back into a role from where he could scan the field and give himself options. Against weaker Premier League opposition, I feel that Arteta should stick with this. And Arsenal started to look a little better, with the quality and quantity of chances both up.  And unsurprisingly it was a set piece that finally undid Wolves. 

Rice had had an earlier dead ball opportunity; from a virtually identical spot to his first goal against Real Madrid last season, Johnstone was finally forced into a save. Not long after, a Saka corner did the trick. And when your luck's out, Wolves, it's really out. The dead ball delivery was superb - possibly actually heading directly in at the far post. Johnstone got a fingertip to it and turned it onto the far post; from where it bounced back, hit him on the back of the head and ended up in the net. Cue enormous relief in the crowd.

With Wolves finally forced to come out and play, chances came a bit more often. But still of relatively low quality. None of Odegaard, Gyokeres or Trossard could hit the target, and as the end of the game approached the decision was made to sit on the 1-0 lead. Only adding to the anxiety in the crowd as Arsenal started to concede field position. I personally wasn't worried... but I ought to have been. On 89 minutes and 58 seconds the away team equalised; not enough pressure on the man preparing to cross the ball (not for the first time this season! - was this the third similar goal conceded?), Hincapie caught the wrong side of his man right on the penalty spot and Raya wrong-footed by the header. Frankly, this was exactly what the performance deserved, and I could envisage the headlines and agenda that was surely about to be unleashed: Bottler FC and all that. And, in truth, Arsenal have not been playing well in the Premier League for a while now.

However, there were 6 minutes of injury time left, so despite the utter desolation in the crowd there was hope. And, depending on whether your glass is half empty or half full, the home side either scraped a fortunate victory or showed the mark of prospective Champions. 94 minutes, and a Saka cross glanced off the top of the head of Gabriel Jesus - previously given a hero's welcome when he finally stepped back onto the Emirates pitch in place of Gyokeres - and was headed firmly past Johnstone by the unsighted and extremely unfortunate Mosquera (no; not our one - they have one too). We all thought that Jesus was our saviour (good time of year for him to be one, of course), but replays showed that it was indeed a second own goal. Still, who cares? Massive relief all round, and three points are three points. 

As Arteta said afterwards, it was great for the team to show the character they did to get back and win the game, what they need to do is show that character throughout. The quality of the opposition is not relevant if the team fail to show the right attitude, and it felt throughout that the players themselves felt an inevitability in the result, and didn't put in sufficient effort to actually make it happen. This Arsenal side is not set up to blow teams away - more to grind them into the dust - but there is no excuse for a lack of urgency. Arsenal need to do much better than this - and quickly - with tricky PL games against Everton, Brighton, Brentford, Aston Villa (again) and Bournemouth to follow.

Still they remain top of the Premier League, and have barring a mathematical miracle already sewn up Champions League qualification. So it's not all bad. A whole 7 days off now for the group to recharge will surely come in useful and they go again at Everton next Saturday evening.

Whether my wife fancies another date night in our living room, on the sofa, under a warn rug and with a glass of wine maybe; or chooses instead to Netflix & Chill on her own instead, remains to be seen. But I certainly know how to show her a good time!

Anyway, we move on. COYG!

Last Gasp Nightmare

I always write these pieces before devouring other blogs and pods, so this - as with all other interpretations - is mine and mine alone. And from what I understand from speaking to friends and acquaintances over the past day or two my appraisal of Arsenal's performance on Saturday may differ to what others are saying. But what the hell; everyone is entitled to their opinion...

One thing I'm sure of is that your reaction to the 'last kick of the match' defeat would have mirrored mine. I shouted "OH F*CK OFF" at the television, then grabbed the remote and hit the Off button. Of course, there was still VAR to consider, but emotions had got the better of me (and one can usually tell if VAR is likely to intervene in any case, so I knew that there was little chance of the goal being chalked off). 

And one can of course say that Arsenal were unfortunate to lose in such circumstances. But... I personally was never comfortable watching the game. And here's why:

Firstly, team selection. And whilst Arteta's hands were firmly tied by the 'cluster' injuries in central defence - it's so bad that he had to put 16-year-old Marli Salmon on the bench - I was unhappy at how he shaped things ahead of the back 4. Out of a desire to shoehorn Odegaard back into the side, with neither Madueke nor Martinelli having shone over the past week and with Trossard barely fit, he decided to play Eze on the left wing. Not his best position by any means, and with Calafiori behind him always ready to invert there were always likely to be defensive issues down that side. As was proven time and again in the first half. If you go back to my last blog post, I did query whether Odegaard and Eze could play in the same XI; especially when ball retention was likely to be key. It looks like I was right, based on Saturday.

Secondly, tactics; and I was massively disappointed by the decision to play Aston Villa at their own game - from what was a dodgy base (with neither first choice centre half in the side, the team's equlibrium is not as it was/should be). From the very start, it all felt far too open. And I frankly couldn't reconcile the tactics compared to the 'caution first' approach shown earlier in the season against the likes of Liverpool (before everyone realised that they're nothing like as good as we thought they'd be, Newcastle, and far more recently Chelsea). Villa are the form team in the division at the moment, so surely Arsenal ought to have tackled matters differently?

Next is in-game decision-making. Not necessarily by the players, but by the coaching team. If it was obvious to me that Arsenal were really struggling to cope with Villa's slick one-touch passing through midfield and towards the back line, how could they not spot it? Time and again they worked their way through in the course of two or three touches. It felt like things were out of control at times, for all the possession. 

Look, it's not Arsenal were entirely impotent. They have plenty of attacking talent themselves. But I was uncomfortable from the start that the game was being treated as a 'shoot-out'. Whilst Odegaard had the first opportunity - a tame shot straight at Martinez with almost the whole goal to aim at from 20 yards - the opportunity that McGinn presented to Watkins (who put both Timber and Hincapie on the floor) not long after ought to have served as a warning. Raya to the rescue.

Arsenal did have the ball in the net after 20 minutes, following a decent spell of pressure. Saka's cross was turned in by Eze, but the former had mis-timed his run into the penalty area. A shame; especially as the away side were actually well on top in the middle part of the first half. But the concern for me was that Arsenal were pushing TOO hard, with both full backs pushing on at the same time on occasions. 

It is clear that all the defensive injuries have an effect on the entire side. Without the automatisms that regular team selection gives, players can find themselves out of position and leave space for opponents. And Villa began to exploit those spaces; especially down the Arsenal left where Eze appeared unaware of the danger in behind whenever Calafiori roamed infield. The Italian can more easily get away with such ventures when he has the likes of Trossard and Martinelli in front of him - and more importantly with Gabriel clearing up behind him! 

The warning given when Rogers broke down the other wing, and Cash's cross-shot from inside the penalty area was blocked superbly by Rice with Eze trailing a long way back in the full back's wake, was not really heeded. 10 minutes later, Cash sneaked in behind a half-asleep Eze and crashed the ball through Raya's legs to give Villa the lead. Eze was furious with himself; but that was cold comfort. 

At half-time, it was clear that something needed to be done. And the cavalry called for were Trossard and Gyokeres, in place of the disappointing Eze (I think that we'll have to get used to him having the odd bad game) and the ineffective (on this occasion) Merino. Things were instantly improved following the changes - along with the clear exhibition of a little bit more caution and control. The triumvirate of White, Odegaard and Saka had been showing promise, and from some nice link up down the right Odegaard's looped cross was smashed across goal by Trossard. I suspected that if Arsenal were to get back into things, then the returning Belgian might be key.

And so it proved, not long after, as a typical intervention from Rice, and that familiar Odegaard/Saka combination set the latter free to deliver the ball across the 6-yard box, where from a slight deflection off of the diving Martinez Trossard had the simplest of finishes. 1-1, and Arsenal were in the ascendancy at that point. 

But... in their desire to push for the winner, the away side started to leave themselves too open. Time and again Villa worked opportunities; Rogers, Watkins and Kamara all had chances. Odegaard, with whom I had personally been slightly underwhelmed in the first half, continued to combine well with Saka, and had a rasping shot superbly tipped over by the full-stretch Martinez. From the resulting corner, Saka's goal-bound shot was cleared. But for all Arsenal's possession, Villa had more and better chances in the second period. Substitute Malen missed the best of those.

As we got towards the end of the game, neither side appeared happy to settle for the draw. I myself would have taken it any time from the 80th minute onwards... and Arsenal created a decent opportunity when the machine-like Rice found himself on the left wing and hit a superb low cross with his left foot that Gyokeres failed to read - substitute Madueke (on for Starboy who, having been booked, appeared to unusually be walking a disciplinary tightrope) hit the side netting from beyond the far post. 

A word for Gyokeres here; he looked considerably off the pace, and needs game time to get back up to speed. Many players do, of course - Martinelli being a case in point in the Arsenal squad - but we need more, and quickly, from the Swede.

Injury time, and Villa got the reward that their persistence in going for the win probably deserved. An almighty goalmouth scramble - Arsenal had chances to clear prior to this last-ditch assault and during it too. The bounce continually favoured Villa, however, and Buendia's finish was both calm and clever. 94 minutes plus 3 seconds. TV off... P*ssed off...

Several points to make on the back of this result:

• It is clear that Unai Emery has the Indian Sign over/a vendetta against Arsenal. Understandable, of course, in many respects, but I'd really like him to get over it!

• Despite the size of the Arsenal squad, it is clear that NO squad is ever big enough. The injuries at the back are absolutely crippling the squad; and these, coming off the back of a similar set of 'cluster injuries' at the other end of the field, make Arsenal look imbalanced. The forwards don't have the opportunity to play themselves back into form whilst goals are being conceded at the other end of the pitch. On top of all that, the magnificent Declan Rice risks being played to a standstill. He desperately needs a week off to recharge

• What is it whenever Arsenal lose? Massive headlines, and stupid and irritating questions about 'bottling it'. FFS! That's two defeats in 23 matches this season; so when I have Spurs fans - of all people! - attempting some sort of Schadenfreude on me I have to hold myself back. Because when your team loses nearly every week, nobody notices the next defeat. (However, to give some of these people some credit for some realism; one of the 15 year old boys who I coach at cricket on a Monday night gave me a hard time for at least half the session, before finally 'admitting' that he wanted to take advantage of Arsenal's defeat to take the p*ss because Arsenal defeats are so rare). Yet here - yet again - came the lazy headlines in the press and media about Arsenal. And they make me sooooo angry!

• Perspective is needed. Along with a touch of realism. It's a long season, and whilst trophies aren't presented in December Arsenal are top of the Premier League, and top of the Champions League table too. Sure, the gap to Manchester City could and should be bigger - especially considering Arsenal's remarkable consistency - but first place is first place. A slightly easier run of matches now should hopefully mean that they can stretch that out as players come back to form and fitness. We ought to see Saliba back soon - Havertz within a few weeks too, and Gabriel in January - so the squad should with any luck be considerably healthier by the time January rolls round

• A small plea to Mikel Arteta now: please, Mikel, rotate your squad over the next two games. Perhaps stop working your players as hard as you are doing on the training field; play, rest, recuperate. And please rein in the ambition a bit. Grounds like Villa Park are difficult places to go; a point would do. Win your home games and 60% of your away games, and that will be enough. Also, with a rare full week off after Saturday, how about a little trip to Dubai for the players?

Anyway, nothing stands still in football. The games are still coming thick and fast (Bruges in midweek, followed by the easiest game in the division - Wolves at home - on Saturday). And for all that I - and all of you - remain a little bit annoyed about Saturday - I also remain confident that 2025/26 is Arsenal's year. For all my moaning, I am keeeping the faith. And you should too. One rare defeat should not define a season, and I have complete confidence that this group will bounce back quickly. So COYG!

Steady As She Goes - Plus Big Match Preview

A fairly routine 2-0 home win over Brentford allowed Arsenal to maintain their 5 point lead over Manchester City (who struggled, by the way, to a bonkers 5-4 win at Fulham the previous evening; hanging on for dear life at the end having been 5-1 up - how they can entertain thoughts of winning the title whilst leaking goals at the rate they are, I really don't know).

Spare a thought for Chelsea, though. Having 'gallantly' held on for a 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Sunday, they succumbed to an atrocious 3-1 defeat at lowly Leeds. The gap between Arsenal and Chelsea is now 9 points, and it's in-form Aston Villa - who I'll discuss later on - who have moved into third place in the table. 

Mikel Arteta took the opportunity - much needed in this run of games every 3-4 days all the way through into the New Year - to rotate, with Jurrien Timber, Eberiche Eze and Bukayo Saka all benched. The injury list continues to mount on a sort of revolving door basis; the roll call for this one was Saliba, Gabriel, Trossard and Havertz, with plenty of others slowly making their way back to fitness. 

Interestingly, it did look like Brentford manager Andrews had 'taken a view', much like others used to do when facing Manchester City a few years ago, and had himself chosen to rest both his best player, Damsgaard, and his top scorer Igor Thiago for this one. It's Tottenham for them at the weekend, so I get it. It's worth pointing out that Brentford are a really big side! - what I mean here is that they have some really tall and well-built players in their ranks. Ajer is a man-mountain, and Van Den Berg (which aptly itself translates as 'from the mountain') is very much that also. Add Kayode and Thiago himself (built like Jean-Phillipe Mateta) and they have some real physical specimens amongst them. Andrews, a former set piece coach himself, will have had plans...

It wasn't long before Arsenal took the lead. It had been fairly even early on, with Brentford winning a series of corners, but a clever flick from Madueke for the overlapping Ben White, a sumptuous cross, and their was 'makeshift striker' Mikel Merino in exactly the right spot to head into the ground and over the line. Out of necessity, Arteta's decision to move Merino further forward has been critical for the development of the group; especially in the continued absence of Jesus, Havertz and, recently, Gyokeres too. An absolute revelation.

Brentford's only really clear-cut opportunity of the game came from a corner on 21 minutes; Schade's bullet header from 10 yards out was brilliantly turned onto the crossbar and away by a full-stretch David Raya. 

Apart from that, he frankly had little to do. However, there are concerns ahead of him - Mosquera went down injured late in the half and had to be replaced by Timber, and that makes three injuries in the same area of the pitch in a same way as there were earlier in the season in the forward line. We thought that Arteta had built an awesome squad; but by golly he's going to need to really tap into it if this goes on. Timber - who we'd been hoping may get the night off - dropped into central defence; and performed superbly.

On the hour, Andrews brought on the cavalry - Henderson, Damsgaard and Thiago - and Arteta quickly responded with a series of substitutions that if anything made his team stronger; Saka and Eze replacing Madueke and Martinelli. From then on it was pretty much one-way traffic, to be frank, with Brentford unable to rouse themselves and Starboy himself getting on the score sheet in injury time; having missed two presentable chances in the interim.

There were a couple of moments of concern, however. Hincapie and Thiago clashed heads - I could hear the crack from my seat - but both were OK to continue. Of more concern was the sight of Declan Rice limping off late on - calf, apparently, and he himself played the problem down after the match.

So, as I say, this was pretty routine. But there are a few talking points nonetheless:

Firstly, this was Ben White's best game for the best part of a year. He has been out with injury, and subsequently lost his starting spot to the immaculate Timber, but here we saw the Ben White of old. It was a delight to see the old triumvirate of Saka, Odegaard and White reunited down the right-hand side. I really hope that - seeing as this was White's first full game for a long time - he has enough time to recover for Saturday, as it looks like Timber is going to have to deputise for Mosquera (he himself deputising for Saliba). I really enjoyed White's performance all evening.

On now to Martin Odegaard. We know that it takes him a little while to get back to his best following injury, and there were signs of rustiness here. Interesting to contrast him with Eze; the latter has considerably fewer touches of the ball in that role, but tends to take more risks and be more decisive. A decision for Arteta to make here, and it may well be 'horses for courses'; Odegaard in the tougher games when ball retention is more important perhaps? But it's difficult now to see our captain as an automatic choice.

Our two wingers in this game bear some discussion also. Martinelli is another who takes time to get back into the swing of things, and he certainly looks to have some way to go. Much more of an impact player off the bench for me than a starter. As for Madueke... well, he's a bit of a 'curate's egg', and I can see how he must have maddened the Chelsea fans at times. Unpredictable (as he must surely be for his team-mates as well as us supporters) and full of tricks. Yet his dead ball delivery was poor in this game. Whilst he is sure to have his moments, I'm not sure that one can use the adjective 'consistent' when describing him. As far as these two are concerned, I'm selecting Saka and Trossard ahead of both if I'm picking a team for a Champions League final.

In midfield, despite his notorious strength and stamina I'm pretty sure that Arteta is running the risk of over-playing our Superman, Declan Rice. He is certainly needed for Saturday, but I'd definitely be looking to sit him down for Bruges, Wolves and Palace in the League Cup. There are alternatives he can use - including the under-utilised Norgaard who must have been disappointed not to get onto the pitch against his old club. We're back again to the question of rotation and who Arteta really trusts. It's a long, long season...

Saturday is a big game. Have no doubt about that. Villa are on a long unbeaten run, and have climbed the table quickly after an indifferent start to the season. They are scoring loads of goals, have one of the league's absolute form players in Morgan Rogers; and lest we forget Unai Emery just loves to do a number on Arsenal; he did it last year, you will recall. 

Interestingly, Villa are vastly out-performing xG. And score a vastly disproportionate amount of goals from outside the penalty area. Arsenal need to keep them at bay, but I'm sure will get chances at the other end of the pitch - especially with it looking like them being without former Arsenal goalkeeper Emi Martinez for this game. A draw wouldn't be a terrible result, as this would be another difficult venue to cross off the list for the season. Of course, a win would be infinitely preferable! After that, we really need to be in for some hard rotation.

Let's keep our fingers crossed on the injury front, and keep the faith. COYG!

The Battle Of Stamford Bridge #2

History buffs among you may be aware that the original Battle of Stamford Bridge took place on September 25th 1066, not long before the Battle of Hastings. It was a particularly bloody battle, with the leaders of both the invading Viking army and the English defenders both losing their lives.

That particular Stamford Bridge is in the East Riding of Yorkshire, whereas the second coming of the battle took place on Sunday some 200 miles south in West London. Despite the best efforts of Moises Caicedo, nobody actually died; although football almost did during a first half in which several players overdid the intensity, and referee Anthony Taylor lost temporary control.

Marc Cuccurella - owner of the most punchable face in world football; which is not bad in an arena also inhabited by the likes of Richarlison and Bruno Fernandes - was one who, having been booked early for a series of assaults on Bukayo Saka, was fortunate not to join his team-mate in an early bath. Whilst it's difficult to argue too much with many of the other yellow cards - despite Taylor's early lowering of the threshold for the brandishing thereof - that of Martin Zubimendi was frankly baffling. And all in all - whilst expectations of Taylor remain very low despite his high ranking amongst Premier League referees, the following statistic says a lot about how Arsenal fans need to regard him:

The away support correctly serenaded the referee with a chorus of 'It's all about you. It's all about you! Anthony Taylor; it's all about you.' Although I guess his performance is hardly surprising seeing as he kept up an almost non-stop conversation with Reece James throughout the match.

But let's rewind a little. And firstly to the shock news that William Saliba had failed to make the squad as the result of a knock he received in training the day before. And whilst we have considerably more faith in Mosquera and Hincapie than in previous squad members - especially when we look back to the days (not too long ago) when Arsenal had the likes of Mustafi, Sokratis, Holding and Chambers amongst their ranks - it was obviously concerning that the team were having to go to one of their main rivals without both of their star central defenders. Apart from that, the team was as expected, with the bench looking considerably stronger than for a while too.

And so to kick-off; and almost immediately Chelsea's ludicrously coiffured left back was through the back of Saka; before protesting his innocence (guilty as charged, yer honour). It took him a full 11 minutes to be booked, following a similar challenge - yet he had been beaten into the book by Zubimendi, who'd had the audacity to merely stand in the way of Taylor's close friend Reece James. The frenzied Caicedo had spent much of this time charging around the field and launching himself at every red shirt he came across - a policy for which he would pay sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, after 10 minutes we were still waiting for a football match to breakout amongst the WWE impersonations. Not a good advert for the Premier League, I'm afraid.

My concern at this stage was that Arsenal were looking sluggish. The passing was far from crisp, and they seemed to be second best to almost every loose ball or 50/50 challenge. Following the draw at Sunderland, I wonder if this is now going to be a template for trying to deal with Arsenal; and if so Arteta is going to need to find an answer - and quickly. To be fair, we could have perhaps have expected a reaction following all the effort put in on Wednesday evening. Plus Chelsea had had an extra day's rest. But I was nonetheless concerned that something was missing. 

Taylor's pal - despite being best known as a right back - was dominating Zubimendi in the middle of the park, the home team were creating a few half chances (one superb block from Rice prevented Neto from getting a shot off from a very dangerous position), and Caicedo was getting away with a lot of kicking and shoving. 

Until, in the 35th minute, he took it too far. A late lunge at Merino saw him miss the ball completely, and make strong contact with the latter's shin/ankle. The more you looked at, the worse it looked, and a red card was inevitable. Surely - despite having been second best up to that point - it was advantage Arsenal. Or so one would expect...

The best chance of the half fell to (the otherwise anonymous) Martinelli in injury time. Sanchez had to change direction to make a smart save low to his right. But there had been little actual football action; let alone goalmouth stuff.

By half time (and what a terrible half of football it had been), three quarters of Arsenal's back line had yellow cards - as well as Zubi - so it must have been uppermost in Arteta's mind to change some personnel. As an aside, neutrals were suggesting that referee Taylor had been having a good game, but I disagree. He was unquestionably favouring the home side... and I'll know that some will say that he was correctly punishing Arsenal's evident cynicism in the tackle, but he was letting Chelsea (including Caicedo prior to his sending off) get away with a lot of really robust stuff. 

The easiest reshuffle - without moving several defenders around - was MLS for Calafiori. And this is the one change Arteta made. The youngster may have been relieved to see Estevao also come off, but this meant that had had to deal with the wily Neto instead. Tough; especially after the roasting he got from Bayern on Wednesday...

But disaster struck almost immediately, as Chelsea won a quick free kick and then a corner; from which Chalobah flicked a header over everybody and into the far corner of the net.

Now, I was concerned that Enzo had been interfering with Mosquera's ability to clear the ball; but you take the rough with the smooth, and Arsenal are experts at this type of baulking at set pieces. But it would appear that VAR missed a trick, because it's clear from some angles that have emerged only today that the Argentinian was offside when Chalobah made contact. So the goal ought to have been chalked off. And yet again questions need to be asked about the standard of officiating. Remember; this was a massive match!

Clear as day...

Suddenly, despite it being 11 vs 10, Arsenal were faced with an uphill task. The change I'd suspected Chelsea would make - Delap for Joao Pedro - occurred soon afterwards. The ball was more likely to stick to Delap that it was to the divey Brazilian. And by this time Arsenal were starting to get back into the game; despite MLS being the fifth player into Taylor's book for a cynical foul on the referee's close friend Reece James.

Arteta responded quickly, with Odegaard and Madueke (childishly booed by the peevish and pathetic Chelsea fans at every touch) on for Zubimendi and Martinelli. Instantly, Arsenal were level; but this was down to the tenacity and skill of Saka, who finally got the better of Shaggy, and the predatory skills of Merino in the 6-yard box.

And whilst Arsenal saw considerably more of the ball from there on until the end of the game, you'd hardly have known that Chelsea were a man light as they kept up their high octane attack. Frankly, they did as much with the ball in the much shorter time that they held it than Arsenal's more methodical approach managed to achieve. Nonetheless Arsenal almost took all three points late on - Merino's shot was pushed away by the diving Sanchez, who as the ball lay loose in the 6-yard box received a battering from the lower limbs of Gyokeres (on for the disappointing Eze; it wasn't his type of game, I guess - and Odegaard did as much in half an hour as Eze did in 80 minutes). Very late on, Timber got in the way of Gyokeres as he closed in on - and looked certain to bury - Hincapie's stand-up cross from the left. Annoying...

So the points were shared. And I'd have been happy to take that following the news about Saliba. It is disappointing that they couldn't turn their man advantage into a win, but they remain 5 points clear of Manchester City (who were frankly a little fortunate to scrape a late win against Leeds and looked well off their best) and 6 of Chelsea. Whilst the latter remain inconsistent, they are a better side than I thought they were, and now have Palmer to come back. So perhaps they will be Arsenal's biggest challengers.

But one thing I must add here is that I believe that we need to see more tempo and hunger in Arsenal's game. They know that they are better than most of their opponents, but it's as much about hard work as it is talent. They need to show it a little more than they appeared to do against Chelsea. Almost to a man.

Meantime, we move on to a series of games up to Christmas from which Arsenal should hopefully be able to push further clear. Brentford at home in midweek; then Villa away (they're in decent form, to be fair), Wolves, Everton, Brighton and then Villa again before the turn of the year. We await news on Saliba and Trossard, but there are others on their way back now. I'd expect Odegaard to start on Wednesday, but this is where Arteta is really going to have to earn his money.

Arsenal remain well-placed to do what we hope. So all I can say is COYG! 

I'll be back on Thursday.

 

Rice Drives Arsenal To Victory Over An Old Enemy

I don't normally post following a midweek game, but there has actually been a clamour (well, sort of...) for an extra post. So here it is:

This was a match that we had been anticipating with glee. A chance for Arsenal to test themselves against one of the giants of European football. A team against whom previous Arsenal sides had historically struggled. A team - like Arsenal - clear at the top of their league; and regarded as one of the very best around. And with the added spice of old nemesis Harry Kane in their ranks. But - and I'm not sure if this was important - without any real sense of jeopardy; because both sides had maximum points from their first 4 league stage matches, and could reasonably expect to sail through into the coveted top 8 of the group. Were it a knockout game, I would imagine that the tension levels would have been considerably higher. 

Just two changes from Arteta, as MLS and Mosquera came in for Calafiori (rested) and Hincapie (perhaps feeling a slight knock after Sunday). Madueke, Martinelli and now Odegaard back on the bench; but still no Gyokeres. For Munich, the busy Luis Diaz was suspended, so 17-year-old Wunderkind Lennart Karl kept his place, and Serge Gnabry stepped into their starting line-up.

Interesting to see former team-mates at Crystal Palace, Olise and Eze, lining up in opposition. Two highly talented footballers, playing at top clubs and for top sides as their talent merits. Eze is something of a chess afficionado - actually introduced to the game by Olise - and to my mind the first half was something of the footballing equivalent of a game of chess. The play flowed like the tides with firstly Bayern, then Arsenal, and then Bayern again making the running, and some interesting tactics in evidence. Arsenal kept a close eye on Kane throughout (Saliba looked to track him everywhere - including almost all the way back into his own penalty area as, starved of decent service, he went looking for the ball), and to get the ball out wide in order to create central overflows - as they had done so successfully on Sunday. Bayern have electric wingers, and Karl in the number 10 role is a super talent. They were looking to get in behind the Arsenal full backs as often as they could. 

It was pretty even, even if Bayern were seeing a lot of the ball, and most of the decisive action was down to individual errors. Trossard roamed the front line as Merino dropped deep in his usual 'false 9' role, and spaces were evident in the Bayern back line as Arsenal's somewhat longer ball strategy stretched the away side. At the other end, it looked like MLS was due for a long night, as Olise started to exploit the teenager's propensity to move a little too far infield at times. With one of Bayern's major weapons being a raking diagonal ball from Kimmich to both wings, the tactic looked clear.

Bayern have a noted weakness at defending set pieces. Not good when up against Arsenal. And so it was that on 22 minutes Saka's exquisite delivery was flicked into the far corner by Timber, with Neuer nowhere. The crucial first goal.

Upamecano - Saliba's central defensive partner for the French national team - looked to be a weak link, and he went into the book soon after for a clumsy foul on Trossard. The Frenchman is a bit slow and ponderous; his distribution below the required levels in my opinion. And he lacks pace. Whichever of he and Konate gets the nod alongside Big Willy at the World Cup in going to be targeted by the opposition, I reckon. Midway through the second half, a clumsy foul on Madueke could easily have seen him sent off.

And soon after it could easily have been 2-0 as Eze - cleverly slipped in following a superb piece of skill and a 1-2 with Merino - side-footed the ball well wide of Neuer's far post from just 12 yards out. What an opportunity that was!

Yet minutes later it was 1-1. At the end of a prolonged period of keep-ball, Kimmich's raking pass caught MLS out (too far infield and slightly too deep), Gnabry raced onto the ball and played an exquisite side-footed volley back across goal towards the penalty spot; from where the onrushing Karl hammered the ball into the roof of the net. A fabulous goal, that I personally felt obliged to applaud. 

The loss of Trossard soon after would not have helped anybody's mood; the Belgian limping off with what looked like a calf strain, to be replaced by the returning Madueke. Thus maintaining Arsenal's carefully cultivated one-in, one-out policy on injuries...  The former Chelsea player now looks likely to start against his old club in what is starting to look like a season-defining match-up on Sunday. One can only hope that he continues one of Arsenal's 2025-26 trends - Merino netted against Newcastle, Rice against West Ham, and Eze against Palace... I need say no more...

The momentum had switched in Bayern's favour at that point, but Arsenal held on until half time. Quite how long MLS would remain on the field was certainly a point of discussion at that point - it is starting to look like he is going to need to be developed more as a midfielder than a left back; such is the now obvious drop off from Calafiori.

But no further changes at half-time; but Arsenal came out flying from the first whistle of the second half. A series of chances for Merino from which he was probably unlucky not to profit, before Rice's free kick on the hour - following Upamecano's foul on Madueke - was allowed to bounce and Mosquera's header was directed straight at Neuer. And from the hour mark Arsenal, driven on by a rampant Declan Rice, took the game over completely. One marauding run directly through the inside left position cut Bayern open like a knife through butter, before he forced Neuer into a fine save with his foot and the ball pinballed around the 6-yard box before finally falling safe.

Meantime, MLS was exposed once too often by Olise in a rare Bayern break, and Arteta had seen enough; Calafiori on in his place. His performance was the only Arsenal blemish, in my opinion. It was actually a double change, with Saka also off - rested for Sunday and replaced by Martinelli.

Calafiori made an instant impact at the other end, as following a superb Rice interception (from a misplaced Upamecano pass) and an interchange on the left he whipped in a stunning cross across the 6-yard line for Madueke to caress home for 2-1. Madueke's first Arsenal goal, and the crowd went wild! It was nothing less than Arsenal deserved.

It was all Arsenal at that point, but Bayern are too good a side to be kept down for long. And they did manage a spell of possession soon after. But... it all broke down on the edge of Arsenal's penalty area, and Martinelli nudged the ball to Eze and then set off on a long run, accompanied by Kimmich. With the ball at Eze's feet, I was on mine shouting MARTINELLI! Eze's raking pass set the Brazilian away, he outpaced Kimmich and rounded the onrushing Neuer - fully 35 yards out! It merely remained for him the stroke the ball into an empty net for 3-1. A typical Martinelli goal.

And here's the thing; Arteta wanted a bigger squad for two reasons. Firstly, he never wants to be short of players as a result of injury issues. And secondly, he wants his substitutes to be capable of making a real impact. All of which we saw against Bayern. Calafiori and Madueke combined for the second goal, and Martinelli scored the third. Nailed it.

By the way, here's something else. Manuel Neuer has been one of the world's greatest goalkeepers. But he's nearly 40 now - and looked it! His reflexes don't look too affected, but he looked to be struggling on crosses, and his judgment for the third goal was badly impaired. Not our problem, obviously - but a slightly sad sight to witness.

And that, with 15 minutes to go, was that... a few more changes, with White and Odegaard introduced (but no sign of a rest for Dec). And the crowd serenaded Bayern with a a few choruses of 'Are you Tottenham in disguise?' and Kane himself with 'Harry. Harry. What's the score?' All highly amusing, and with the news filtering in that Spurs were suffering yet another heavy defeat, and Liverpool were being taken apart by the might PSV, the atmosphere was party-like. Reminiscent of the afternoon of Lasagna-gate, or of the afternoon when Spurs let in 4 second half goals to 10-man Newcastle a few years ago, whilst Arsenal thrashed Villa to get into the Champions League in their place. 

So how are we feeling? Because this felt like a statement win over a big team, and another sign of Arsenal's progress. There's little doubt that the name Arsenal is casting a cloud over the whole of European football at the moment. Whilst they remain in such good form, and have this momentum, they should be feared. Of course, it's difficult to keep this up over an entire season, and no trophies are handed out in November or December, but if you're not feeling very good as an Arsenal supporter at this point there must, frankly, be something wrong with you.

On to Chelsea. Fresh from a 3-0 win over 10-man Barcelona on Tuesday. This ought to be fun - for the neutral at least. I don't know any Chelsea supporters who are too confident about Sunday, and their defence is nothing like as good as Arsenal's. But we're going to have to keep an eye on an electric, in-form Chelsea forward line. Neto and young Estevao, in particular, may well cause problems. And then there's the much-anticipated midfield showdown between Rice and Caicedo.

I'm quietly confident. How do you feel? COYG!!!

Eze Makes NLD History As Arsenal Thrash Pathetic T*ttenham

Sunday afternoon will live long in the memory of Arsenal fans, as a dreadful Tottenham side - badly prepared and organised, and lacking any semblance of fight or occasion - were blown apart by an Arsenal team who frankly didn’t even have to perform at their best.

The whole tifo/light show set the mood, and the atmosphere was crackling prior to kick-off. Whether it intimidated the opposition I don't know, but it certainly got the crowd's juices flowing. And thank goodness the club had listened to the criticism following the embarrassing tifo on show at the PSG semi-final home leg. These two - at opposite ends of the ground - were far more like it! Props to Dan Evans (danxdraws on Instagram) for some top work. 

Back to the game... and to think that a side shorn of its first choice striker, second choice striker, third choice striker(!), captain/most inventive attacking midfielder, and its defensive leader could tear to pieces a mid-table side ought to send shivers through every opposition spine. Not just in England, but in Europe too. Because - mark my words - there is plenty more to come from this group. 

No, the performance wasn’t perfect - it didn’t have to be, frankly - but there was enough there to see firstly how good they are, and secondly how much they can grow to be even better. The opposition - such as it was - were absolutely blown away; as soon as the opening goal went in, that was it. And whilst there were a few things to criticise - which I will do lower down - it’s frankly a case of being picky - even churlish - to do so.

Eberiche Eze will of course dominate the headlines; his hat-trick only the fourth ever in this match-up (surprisingly). He took all three goals beautifully, had another shot well saved by the beleaguered Vicario, chipped a lovely pass over the Spurs defence to create a terrific early chance for Rice, and generally took up loads of really useful positions in the pockets of space that the opposition somehow managed to leave. 

He's playing in the Odegaard role - something slightly alien to him as he was more used to moving in off the left hand side for his previous club, and isn't as 'busy' a player as the Norwegian. We know that there is still plenty more to come from him, and frankly I'd like to see more of him on the ball. He didn't really need to be on the ball that much against this particular oppostiion, but most of what he did was extremely decisive.

What I did enjoy from him, however, was more of a willingness to work hard out of possession that perhaps we have seen previously. That's something of a 'non-negotiable’ with Arteta, and the sight of him chasing back to help on the (admittedly pretty rare) occasion when Spurs broke into the Arsenal half was great to see. That type of work is, of course, very much part of what Odegaard does.

Elsewhere, the whole side performed well. Timber his usual self, Saliba solid as he took over the leadership role at the back from the injured Gabriel, and Calafiori fit enough to start and again putting in a decent shift. As for Gabriel's replacement; well, you'd frankly not have known that he wasn't present as Hincapie put in a superb shift on his first start for the Gunners.

Ahead of those 4, Zubimendi kept the team ticking over and allowed Rice to roam further forward and do what he does best - the latter's first time pass to set up one of Eze's goals was simple but so effective. On either flank, both Saka and Trossard kept the opposition occupied. Mikel Merino, deputising once more up top, was hard-working, effective (what a glorious assist for the opening goal), and above all elusive.

As for Tottenham... well, they were frankly terrible. Wrong team selection from Frank. Wrong shape. Wrong plan. And the players appeared to lack motivation and desire as much as anything else; like they knew that they were going to be beaten. But this is the thing - they had the best away record in the division before the NLD! 

Look; who gives a damn about them in any case. But they were unworthy of being on the same patch of grass as their opposition. Long may they and their fans continue to suffer (as far as the latter were concerned, there was one pitiful chorus of 'Champions of Europe' in the very first minute, but apart from that we didn't hear a peep out of them). They'd starting leaving as early as the 46th minute (Eze's second goal timed at 45'36"), and by the time he notched his hat-trick it was as if there had been an emergency evacuation in their section of the terraces.

Now to some (slight) criticism. Not much; but some:

• it took over half an hour for Arsenal to take the lead. Whilst Arsenal were dominating, and probing away, there was just a tiny sense of trepidation; would the breakthrough come? And whether there was enough pace in the play as they looked for the initial breakthrough, I'm not entirely sure. I am perfectly happy to accept that they were measured and surgical in their approach, and that was probably fine. But I do wonder if - against better (and better organised) opposition - they might need to find different ways of getting things done

• I still worry about how little Arteta uses his bench. A few players could probably have done with a few minutes off the field towards the end, with the game well and truly sewn up. Especially with Bayern Munich due to visit on Wednesday. I just hope that this apparent reluctance to make use of the full quota of substitutes won't come back to bite him/us later in the season

• (and I hate to do this, but...) not for the first time this season, a bit of over-confidence from Zubimendi, who had men either side of him and ran into trouble, caused him to lose the ball when he should have released it - and to give Richarlison his due his finish was superb; quick-witted, and an inch perfect 40 yard lob of the goalkeeper. That was, by the way, Tottenham's only shot on target, and they managed to break their own low xG record by recording a total of 0.07 in the entire game. But for the 10 minutes following the goal there was just a small element of nerves and jeopardy in the air; and that's something that the team need to eliminate

And whilst I'm on the subject of Richarlison... there have been a few opposition players who I have particularly loathed over the years. My current Top Three are probably Sheringham, van Nistelrooy and Diego Costa, but they at least had some quality about them. But this shnippy little Brazilian sh*t is quite a piece of work. If he spent more time trying to play football instead of trying to get under the skin of the opposition, he'd be a far better player. He spends his entire time of the pitch on the wind-up. I absolutely detest the sight of him! You could say, however, that he fits in very well at his current club...

And so Arsenal move on to bigger and better things this week. The visit of a rampant Bayern Munich gives them the opportunity to test themselves against the very best, and to lay down another marker in Europe. Plus it obviously means another reunion with the nemesis that is Harry Kane. Rumours coming out of Germany, by the way, suggest that Bayern are absolutely sh*ttting themselves at the prospect of playing Arsenal... good; they should be!

After that, on Sunday, is a rare opportunity to blow the Premier League title 'battle' to pieces. Whilst Manchester City do face the simple task of Leeds at home, Arsenal go to Stamford Bridge and therefore have the opportunity to stretch their lead at the top from the current 6 to at least 7. Frankly, the Chelsea game is more important than the midweek Champions League match-up in my book. With City having just lost their 4th game of the season, Chelsea looking rather unconvincing despite sitting in second place, and Liverpool in utter disarray, perhaps - just perhaps - Arsenal can start to turn this season into something of a procession. 

There's little doubt that the team are well-placed to finally deliver what we all crave. There can be no excuses. COYG!

And - don’t forget -  North London is Red!

Perspective, Please

Whilst we endure yet another Interlull (although this one could be very timely) it's time for a bit of perspective following a difficult match on Saturday. So let's try:

Oh no! Calamity! Arsenal's season is falling apart! Really? If you listen to, or read, some of the nonsense being spouted on social media you'd think that Arsenal's season has collapsed over the weekend, and that the title is heading for Manchester. Which is a ludicrous over-reaction to the weekend's results. Because I'll tell you this; a point at Sunderland is not going to look too shabby a result by the end of the season. They're a decent side, who have bought extremely well and fully deserve their lofty perch in the PL table.

And so to business; a review of Saturday's match. And we'll start with some context; because no matter how big one's squad is, it is never big enough. Arsenal's cluster of injuries in attack had left them quite threadbare, so on this day Arteta was unable to call upon Odegaard, Havertz, Madueke, Martinelli, Jesus... and now Viktor Gyokeres too. That sort of injury list, all in the same area of the pitch, is going to hurt any team.

The eleven essentially picked itself, with Mikel Merino - fresh from a brace in Prague in midweek - the only feasible choice to lead the line. Alongside him it was always going to be Saka and Trossard, whilst Eze was inevitably preferred to the somewhat unfortunate Ethan Nwaneri. Behind them, the rest of the team picked itself.

Sunderland have got off to a cracking start to the season. They have surprised a lot of people, and whilst there is likely to be a reversion to the mean, so to speak (something we are perhaps already seeing with the likes of Bournemouth and Fulham), I can't see any chance whatsoever of them being sucked anywhere close to a relegation battle. They have a canny manager, some vital experience in the ranks, and a style of play that a lot of sides are going to find it hard to deal with.

And a quite unique atmosphere. Their home support is loud - very loud - and they put on a fantastic show for Remembrance Sunday prior to the game. They are unbeaten at home this season, and it's easy to understand how much of a lift playing in front of those fans must be giving them.

Now, in truth, the first half of this game is probably the worst 45 minutes (plus interminable injury time) that I think I've ever seen. Sunderland's physicality, alongside an appalling performance from referee Pawson, made the game ridiculously stop-start. Which played right into the home team's hands. Arsenal were unable to find any rhythm whatsoever, whilst the ball spent twice as long out of play as in it as the home team set about their illustrious opponents.

On 4 minutes, Arsenal hit the 13-hour mark for not conceding a goal. In these modern times, that it a remarkable statistic. Although the streak was soon to be shattered. But before that I want to deal with the first bit of poor work from Pawson. 

In just the 5th minute Merino went up for a header in the Sunderland area with Ballard (a former Arsenal academy player, as we were told on umpteen occasions), and received a pointy elbow to the temple. Anywhere else on the field, that's a foul. But as far as Sky - and the written media, as I later read - were concerned, it was accidental. Just leverage... But Merino spent 5 minutes being treated. I mean... come on! For me, that should have been a penalty!

The game continued to be almost unwatchable, with Arsenal dominating but not doing much with the possession, and Sunderland staying in their shape... and being extremely physical. Rice's free kick was pushed away by Roefs, but apart from the occasional breakaway from Sunderland, relieving the pressure, it was pretty awful stuff. With referee Pawson happy to let a lot of the physicality go.

Until... with Sunderland having conceded free kick after free kick, it was inevitable that an Arsenal player would be first into the referee's book in the 36th minute - for what I'd suggest probably wasn't even a foul. Zubimendi the man penalised. And, just to rub salt into the wound, Sunderland scored.

Interesting. The free kick was just inside the Sunderland half, and in order to pile extra numbers into the box the goalkeeper took it; not a defender, as one might expect, so early in proceedings. And thanks to an Arsenal mistake - in this case Rice found himself the wrong side of the high ball and let it bounce - Ballard ran off him and slammed the ball high into Raya's net. 812 minutes; it wasn't going to last forever, was it?

The game was a little more even from then until half time. And I started to get some unpleasant vibes. You remember them? - the ones we used to get 20+ years ago when facing Pulis's Stoke, or Allardyce's Bolton. Those physical sides that hit the ball long, played the percentages, and put the silkier Arsenal players under the cosh. With little protection from the referee, that plan was working.

But here's the thing. It's all cyclical, isn't it? All the talk about set piece goals and long throws; it's nothing new. It's just come round again. As have those old 'play the percentages' tactics. It's just a question of how you adapt to them. But more relevant to me, as I downed my half-time pilsner, was the question of whether this was a template for others to follow. And so it was vital that Arsenal responded quickly to the challenge in front of them.

And respond they did. From the whistle, it was immediately better from Arsenal. Moving the ball more quickly, looking to slip the ball between the narrow lines and between the bigger but less nimble Sunderland defenders. Eze a bit more involved. Rice and Zubimendi pulling the strings. Saka and Trossard suddenly more available. Early on, Starboy pulled a decent opportunity wide of the far post following some intricate play on the left hand side of the Sunderland area.

On 54 minutes, the pressure broke Sunderland's resistance. Although it was an error that allowed the opportunity. Le Fee (French for The Elf btw) turned into the pressing Rice instead of away from him, and suddenly there was a chance. Rice found Eze, the ball made its way to Merino inside the box, and the Spaniard set up Saka exquisitely for an emphatic right foot finish at Roefs' near post. On the balance of play, this was the least that Arsenal deserved.

And so it continued, with the away side well on top and a second goal looking inevitable. Trossard nutmegged a defender and found Zubimendi's late run into the box; with the Spaniard just unable to find the target from 6 yards out. Rice's deflected shot found its way to Eze on the edge of the box, but the acrobatic shot was straight at the goalkeeper. Eze's effort was too well hit! And then the closest of all. Saka's cross was punched away by Roefs to Zubimendi on the edge of the box. In a style reminiscent of a famous Matt Le Tissier goal, the Spaniard volleyed back over the goalkeeper and onto the crossbar. So close; and I for one roared both in awe at the skill, and frustration at quite how close it was; as Eze's follow up effort was blocked.

The inevitable happened on 74 minutes, Zubimendi found Trossard 20 yards out, and the Belgian shuffled the ball from side to side as he looked for an opening. And then... bang! He rifled a rising shot into the top corner of the net from fully 20 yards out. A cracking finish, and yet another important goal contribution from the vastly under-appreciated winger.

And now the boot was on the other foot. Sunderland had already made a triple change as Le Bris sought to change the flow of the game, yet Arsenal - severely depleted I grant you - had made none. And within 5 minutes, with Sunderland now forced to press for the equaliser, there was some frantic action in the Arsenal box that led to a fantastic double save from Raya to keep out substitute Brobbey's efforts. The second save superb. The Sunderland substitute was offside, but Raya wasn't to know. It's fair to say that all those clean sheets don't come about purely by luck.

Arteta's only change, as it turned out, was the late introduction of Mosquera for Eze in order to shore things up. And it was certainly a case of looking to park the bus as the momentum and flow of the match naturally shifted. Arsenal showed less and less ambition as the home side started to reapply pressure. Of course, Arsenal trust themselves to see such situations through, but in this instance a series of small errors allowed the equaliser. 

94th minute. Ballard, marked by Zubimendi and not a central defender as a Hume cross was chipped in towards Ballard - now playing as a striker. The header fell for Brobbey, as Gabriel was caught flat-footed, and he beat Raya to the ball and hooked it home into the unguarded net. Had Raya not looked to come out and catch the flick on, it would have been a simple save. Really quite annoying.

Here's a thing. Arsenal conceding two goals in a game is really rather rare. That's the first time this season (17 matches, and only the 4th and 5th goals conceded all season), and it only happened 12 times in a total of 58 matches last season; three of those in the Carabao Cup, and another in a completely dead rubber of a second leg against PSV). The last time they let in more than two was in December 2023 at Luton (and they won that game 4-3). So let's not be too concerned at this point.

And quickly back to the game. Because Arsenal still almost won it! Calafiori's header from a Saka cross was saved by Roefs, and Merino's follow-up was blocked at point blank range. So close to breaking their hearts. And so, annoyingly, points 6 and 7 of the season dropped. Just 26 points out of a possible 33 secured. Hardly shabby.

Afterwards Arteta said: 'The feeling is disappointment and frustration, because we wanted the three points and we had to overcome a very difficult match. You have to defend the box well when they start to accumulate 6 or 7 players. It can happen in play, in throw-ins, in any situation. We can defend those situations better, and today we did not do it'. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Of course, the media narrative that Manchester City's thrashing of Liverpool on Sunday prompted is designed to create debate. And City are certainly looking good (for context, Liverpool are not!). And so the gap is down to a 'mere' 4 points.  But I'll say this: there is certainly no need for concern. With missing players due to return for what is on paper a challenging week, any supposed evidence that Arsenal are fading on the back of a single slightly disappointing result can be taken with a massive pinch of salt. Honestly - there is no cause for concern at this stage.

So let's put our feet up, hope for a clean bill of health from our international players above all, mind the gap!

COYG!