A Strange Sense Of Calm And Clarity

Bizarre, isn't it? Whilst there will always be those supporters who react negatively to adverse results and start blaming all and sundry (and there have been plenty of them making their voices heard since the final whistle went) - from the manager all the way down to the tea lady and Win the dog - there really needs to be a sense of perspective following the defeat at The Etihad. And I feel strangely serene in the aftermath of such a momentous game. Because we now have clarity.

Admittedly, this was Arsenal's fourth successive domestic defeat (over three competitions), so one could hardly describe the team as in form, but there was plenty to take out of the game on the positive side. This was not - in the main anyway - the tentative Arsenal of the past few weeks. It was far more like what one would expect to see from prospective Champions/Champions League winners; especially at such a crucial time of the season. And I intend to dwell on the positives today.

Team selection: and whilst the continued absence of Timber, Calafiori and Saka is having a negative effect on a lot of what Arteta wants to do, the return of Odegaard was/is a positive sign. I was vastly cheered when I read the team news, as for all that he has had a difficult season, and has his flaws, his presence in the side has a critical influence on how Arteta wants the team to play. If he can stay fit for the next month or so, it can only be positive for Arsenal. Because...well,  just take a look at these staistics from the game:

In order to accommodate Odegaard's return, Arteta chose to go back to playing Ebere Eze off the left wing. Again, something I was pleased to see, as it felt key to me that he wasn't the player sacrificed to make room for the return of the skipper. And I was also happy to see Kai Havertz selected to play up top. The only big decision after that was the choice of right winger, with Arteta choosing to go with Madueke (recovered from the knock he received in the week). He could have gone with Gabriel Martinelli, of course... but they are both - shall we say - 'mercurial'. One is never quite sure what to expect from either of them. 

Further back, the manager chose to go with Mosquera at right back over Ben White. Something I wasn't sure about at all; contemplating the young Spaniard having to deal with Jeremy Doku had me in a cold sweat. I may have plumped for Ben White. A centre half playing out of position against one of the slipperiest customers in the league - not ideal... It is clear and obvious that the continued absence of Timber and Saka on the right hand side is having an adverse effect on the way the team is able to play.

The last thing I wanted to see was Arsenal merely attempting to hold off the home team; that's pretty much impossible to do. And it was important to see what Arteta had learnt from the Carabao Cup Final. And Arsenal did start positively, with the game pretty 50/50 early on. Although David Raya almost had a disastrous moment very early on as he dawdled and made a gigantic mess of a clearance - as if some of the lessons from Wembley had not been heeded - but he got away with it. Gary Neville on Sky, who is so very annoying and who I truly wish that I could mute, did make a fair point on this; that that sort of error is the thing that Arsenal most needed to avoid. 

There was also a 'heart in mouth' moment when Gabriel leant into the ball in the penalty area as he attempted to deal with a shot from Cherki, and managed to deflect it onto the post (and back into the grateful arms of Raya). A fair shout for handball and a penalty there, but perhaps it was his shoulder that made contact.

At the other end of the pitch, Arsenal were exerting pressure and forcing turnovers high up, leading to a series of corners. From one, Mosquera headed wide when he probably ought to have made the keeper work. The away side were taking the game to City when they could, combining well in the right areas of the pitch, with Rice and Odegaard firing the ball about, Eze showing off some excellent ball control, and Havertz making a real nuisance of himself. Compared to last week's insipid showing at home to Bournemouth, this was 'chalk and cheese'.

But, as we know, it was City who drew first blood. Hincapie could not head a clearance far enough away from goal, and Eze wasn't strong enough in the challenge as he looked to clear the ball further. The ball fell to Cherki, whose mazy run - reminiscent to me of Eden Hazard at his best; or even of Maradona! - bamboozled no fewer than 4 defenders. It looked like he had the ball on the end of a piece string, as he manoeuvered it from right foot to left and back again before stroking it between Saliba's legs and beyond Raya and just inside the far post. A beautiful goal, frankly; for all that there were a number chances to prevent it. And the last thing that Arsenal needed.

And yet... for all that David Raya had 'got away' with one early in the game, Donnarumma made a fatal error very soon afterwards. A mere 107 seconds of play later, in fact. Arsenal had gone long from kick-off, and conceded a throw in deep in the City right back area. Nunes chose to go back to the Italian, and a fatal mis-control of the ball allowed the pressing Havertz to close him down. The ball deflected off of the German's boot and into the empty net. Miracle of miracles... Arsenal were level! I had always thought that the Italian keeper, for all his superb shot-stopping abilities (remember how he single-handedly held Arsenal off in last season's Champions League semi final), was not a patch on the brilliant Ederson with the ball at his feet and was therefore a surprise choice for Guardiola to bring into the City squad. It took until April for me to be proved correct.

And so to half time. City certainly the better side on balance, with Doku making life very difficult for Mosquera, the imperious Rodri and the irritating little goblin Bernardo Silva setting the tempo in midfield, Cherki pulling the strings every time he got onto the ball and Haaland making Gabriel in particular work very hard; but - at that stage - the advantage was with Arsenal in the battle for the title. 

Martinelli for the ineffective Madueke at half time. And with Doku and his tricky feet continuing to give Mosquera - by now booked - a hard time, the Brazilian's defensive qualities looked like they would be called upon. Although he didn't start well; his first two touches of the ball causing problems for his team-mates. And whilst City continued well on top as the second half started, starting firmly on the front foot, Arsenal continued to pose a threat on the break, with some vim and vigour back in their interplay for the first time in weeks. 

Haaland almost scored following a corner (hitting the outside of the post), and moments later, on the break, Havertz missed a very presentable opportunity as Donnarumma raced out to smother his shot. An interesting moment not long afterwards, as Havertz, who had nipped just in front of Khusanov 25 yards from goal, was nudged off of the ball and to the ground. For me, that's a foul, and I was out of my seat and screaming at the television. Although it's fair to say that I'm probably biased. If Anthony Taylor sees it the same way as me, then Khusanov has to walk, VAR upheld the non-decision... but Havertz would have been clean through on goal. Very annoying. 

Not long after came what may be a season-defining moment, with brilliant play to create himself a yard of space on the edge of the box from Eze... and his curling low shot beat the goalkeeper, hit the inside of the post and rolled agonisingly all the way along the goal line. Wonderful play; and incredibly unfortunate for the buzzing Eze.

The moment that defined the game - and the final result - came not long afterwards. City were continuing to overload and underlap on the wings, and Martinelli allowed O'Reilly to stride away from him. Zubimendi could not get over in time to engage, and Mosquera was left one on one for the umpteenth time against Doku. The Belgian cut inside, where Zubi left O'Reilly in order to try to intercept the ball. But it bypassed him and found its way back to O'Reilly, and the young Englishman's pass across the area was met by Haaland. The result - inevitable. Although... was Haaland fouling Gabriel as he switched direction? He had hold of his shirt for sure.

From then on Arsenal were obliged to turn up the tempo, and to their credit they did do that. But City's central pairing continued to exert too much control for this viewer's liking. Nonetheless, chances were created. Gabriel's header following a free kick hit O'Reilly (I thought handball at first) and was deflected onto the post. How many times did the woodwork come into play in this game?!?

White replaced Mosquera. Trossard for Eze (much to my surprise and annoyance, as I thought that Odegaard was inevitably starting to fade), and finally - and probably too late in the piece - Gyokeres for Zubi. For City, Rodri was forced off; seemingly injured. As my father would assuredly have said were he still with us: 'I hope it's nothing trivial!' And Arsenal were pushing, as we prayed for just one more chance. Which came in the latter throes of injury time, as Trossard's superb cross from the right wing was met 10 yards, out, and centrally, by the head of the onrushing Havertz. A bullet header, but inches too high when he simply had to keep it down. And that was that. The final chance to shape the run in differently.

In the interim, the away side were very fortunate not be down to 10 men. Yet another in a series of tangles between Haaland and Gabriel - and there were many - saw them squaring up forehead to forehead. A little bit 'handbags', if unseemly, but Gabriel then moved his head onto the Norwegian. And here I have to admire Haaland, because I could name dozens of players who would have over-reacted/simulated in response; thus leading to an inevitable red card. Much to his credit, Haaland took the 'all's fair in love and war’ attitude, stayed on his feet, and Taylor merely pulled out the yellow card. Big Gabi does need to control himself in moments of stress... and that moment would/could/should have led to a three match ban.

But that was that. Yet another defeat. But strangely, as I say, this doesn't feel anything like as bad as did last week's. Last week's performance was insipid. Pitiful. Lacking in every conceivable way. This result left me with an entirely different feeling.

Before, there was despair. That yet another season was fizzing out into nothing. But I have seen some hope here. Because quite a bit of Arsenal's early season form felt like it was on its way back. A full week off now before Newcastle at home, before the first of the Champions League semi final matches. And still tons to play for. Odegaard on his way back. Hopefully some better news on the three missing players. Arsenal can still cross at least one finish line in front. 

Let's take a closer look at the run in now. Because it's all crystal clear. A straight shoot out. If both teams win out their remaining matches, it will come down to goal difference. And to me Arsenal's run in looks slightly easier. Newcastle are completely out of form. Fulham are on the beach. West Ham are fighting relegation; but they're doing that for a very good reason - they're not very good. Burnley at home surely a formality. And Palace away on the final day; and, crucially, we need Palace to reach the Conference League Final, because that's just three days later and they'll surely be resting lots of players... Meantime, City have to go to both Bournemouth and Everton, and face Aston Villa on the final day. It ain't over.

What I liked about this performance is that we saw some 'fight' for the first time for a while. Where it had gone, I wish I knew, but the team's mojo had been sucked dry by cup final defeat. I guess that confidence is like a tall building. You go up the stairs towards success, but come down much quicker in the lift... hopefully the players and staff will have taken the same positives that I have. One thing is for sure; they may not win anything, but they're not bottling it...

And to the naysayers I'll say this again. It ain't over until it's over. And it ain't over.

Just before I go, a few other bits and pieces. And I'll start with a word on Alex Manninger. If you weren't an Arsenal fan before the year started with a 2, you won't know who he was. But he played a crucial role in Arsenal's 1997-98 double winning season, coming into the side when David Seaman got injured. He played a key role, keeping numerous clean sheets; including in the defining 1-0 win at Old Trafford. And had the game of his life in Arsenal's FA Cup quarter final win over West Ham, making maybe 6 or 7 vital saves. RIP.

I'd now like to finish with a word for all you miserable gits who have given up on this side. You don't know how lucky you are to be Arsenal supporters! Imagine supporting That Lot down the road; deeper in relegation trouble with each passing week. Or a Chelsea fan, perhaps? That's now 4 successive league defeats without scoring a goal for them. Get over yourselves, and get behind the team.

COYG! 

It's Happening Again

I don't know about you, but I'm getting a huge sense of deja vu over what's been unfolding in front of our eyes these past few weeks. In truth, Arsenal haven't played well for probably two months now - the game against Tottenham notwithstanding; but, let's face it, they are garbage! And the performances are starting to reflect themselves in the results.

I can remember foolishly expressing thoughts (not on here) in early February that the title race was likely to turn into a procession. Boy; do I wish that I'd kept my trap shut! Almost since then, Arsenal's form has fallen off of a cliff; of course, at the very same time that Manchester City traditionally come on strong. And I think that this actually bears some analysis.

Year after year, we see Pep rotate his squad early on in the season - occasionally and seemingly inexplicably leaving players that we'd expect to be automatic starters on the bench for week after week. Results often reflect that, but they somehow stay in touch. And then, as the season heads towards its climax, he puts his best team out again and again and again. They hit form. They hit rhythm. And they look to be unstoppable. It does help, of course, when one can find £100m+ in January to pinch the best players from two other Premier League sides - and that's irrespective of the historical charges of financial mismanagement that continue to sit over both them and the league as a whole. But leaving that aside, on a sporting level they look absolutely formidable at the moment, with their midfield and wingers on fire, and Haaland reaping the benefit.

By contrast Arsenal look leggy. Fatigued. Lacking in drive and focus. With key injuries. Foggy of thought and deed. And this must surely be because when they looked formidable themselves in the early part of the season, Arteta played his best team again and again and again; wearing them out to a point when they appear to have nothing left at this crucial time. There would have been little harm in rotating one or two players out throughout the autumn, but he has run his key players into the ground.

Timber's muscular issue is down to exactly that. Calafiori cannot stay fit for more than a couple of games at a time. Hincapie pulled up in an international match with a muscular issue. The centre halves have been forced to have time out themselves. Odegaard has suffered innumerable injuries this season, and cannot stay fit. Rice is knackered. Zubimendi is out on his feet. Saka remains out weeks after we expected him back. Havertz is struggling to regain form and fitness. Eze is barely back from his own ill-timed injury. Trossard is unable to regain his early season form. It comes to something when such an expensively assembled squad seem to be leaning so hard on a 16-year-old to see them over the line!

What is - or was - the answer? Well, I'd never be one for wholesale changes at any point, but the failure to use so many of the squad players to rotate the starters out is frankly unforgivable; and is coming home to roost. Sure, the squad players aren't as good as whatever we all regard as the First XI, but judicious rests for one or two key players over the course of a week or two would surely have paid dividends. Mosquera could have played more. White, whilst never having regained his high standards of previous years, could have taken some of the burden off of Timber. MLS has been given little game time, and the lack of use of Christian Norgaard is negligence bordering on the criminal. Saka has been overplayed, and is suffering the consequences of that. Nwaneri sent away on loan. Merely swapping one or two players out at a time would and could have made the difference. Yet here we are.

I haven't posted on here since after the Cup Final. Which, on top of showing up how much the Pupil still needs to learn from his Master inflicted the sort of psychological damage on the Arsenal squad that only makes the physical frailties appear worse. Heads have dropped, energy levels have gone through the floor, and nothing short of drastic surgery is going to solve this. 

But the schedule is relentless. Don't get me started on the way the football authorities in England treat their top representatives compared to the French and Germans, by the way... It's the second leg against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday, and then the season-defining return against Manchester City - which by the way I am dreading - on Sunday. City - now out of the Champions League - will have a full week to prepare for that.

So what would I do if I were the Manager of Arsenal for the week? Well, firstly I'd take a few chances on Wednesday, in order to keep some key players fresh for Sunday. For all that there's an opportunity to get to a Champions League semi-final, Sunday is far more important! We have the lead, and we should go for the jugular.

Sporting are nothing like as dangerous a side away from home as they are in Lisbon, so I'd take a few calculated risks (this without knowing how close the likes of Timber, Calafiori, Odegaard and Saka are close to returning). Start Mosquera. Keep MLS in the side in order not to risk further damage to either Ricci or Hincapie. Start Norgaard for Zubimendi (this is a must for me!). Put Kai up top to give Gyokeres a little break. Start Trossard in order to leave Martinelli as the 'finisher' on that side. And go easy with Eze.

Let's see.

Meantime, I want to take a quick look back at the defeat to Bournemouth. A defeat that said everything about what has gone wrong for Arsenal this season. Sure, Bournemouth are a decent side, and were well rested following the inordinately long break due to internationals and then the FA Cup semi-finals (whoever designed that weekend to have zero Premier League games needs stringing up!). But we are Arsenal! 

Make no mistake; Bournemouth were the better side. They exploited Arsenal's lack of zip, pressing the player on the ball, creating overloads and causing chaos throughout. They forced Arsenal into indecision, and into mistake after mistake. For their first goal, White and Saliba's relative positions were incorrect, and MLS failed to track Kroupi into the box. Sure, there was a really unfortunate deflection in there, but you make your own luck. For the second, pressure on Raya led to an injudicious pass, and to the ball not being properly cleared. They won the ball back, and a clearly suffering Zubimendi let Scott run off his back into acres of space. 

You could argue that these were two isolated incidents, but that's not the case. The lack of energy and focus was palpable. Most of the players seemed paralysed by indecision - starting with Raya! Arsenal could barely string a decent move together. Raya himself stood over the ball for seconds at a time - again and again. The defensive line couldn't beat the first press. And the time it was taking to get the ball back into play from throw ins was an embarrassment, as players visibly hid from the ball. Rice excepted - and with some help from Eze when he came on - the midfield was dysfunctional. Havertz had a shocker in there. Zubimendi's effectiveness was almost at zero. Martinelli was almost invisible. And Madueke had yet another one of  'those' games - although to be fair to him Michael Oliver ought to have taken action on his marker Jimenez early on. The ball would not stick to Gyokeres. 

And for all that the crowd were desperate to get behind them, all we ended up up was being frustrated time and again by the seeming lack of response from the players. My wife, next to me, did her bit, as did supporters in front of and behind me. But I could sense the mood and I became very introspective; something I am not proud of. The stats told me afterwards what I already suspected; David Raya made the second most passes of all Arsenal players, and received no less than 38 back passes. The amount of risk-taking that went on when trying to play out from the back merely heaped more and more pressure. So many players close to our own goal; thus bringing theirs up the pitch. And a virtually empty midfield. When you're going for a title, this is completely unacceptable. Forwards!!!

If Arsenal got a single thing right on the day, it was to ensure that when they were awarded their penalty that Gyokeres took it. I've not seen anyone hit the ball as hard from the penalty spot in my lifetime watching football. When Havertz picked up the ball, I was screaming: "Give it to Gyokeres!" He did; and the Swede smashed it home.

Arteta made three very early changes to try to change the course of the game, and it did help that Eze started to knit play together a bit more where Havertz had been unable to do so. But Petrovic in the Bournemouth goal hardly had a single significant save to make. In truth, it was fairly easy for the away side, and Arsenal got precisely what they merited from the game - nothing!

How did we get into this rut? Well, we can trace it back to the series of poor performances over the past couple of months. But the psychological damage from the Cup Final may be terminal. With the FA Cup defeat merely compounding that. Make no mistake, Arsenal are in a very difficult place at the moment, and Arteta needs to get them to bounce back immediately. 

A change of tactics may help. Less of the formulaic 'control' nonsense, and the opportunity to display a bit more flair, and play with more freedom. That may be what I'd be drilling into the players. I'm sick of the 'umbrella of death' tactics, and have been crying out for weeks to see more vertical passing, and more attacking through the centre of the pitch.

The other thing I'd like to see is some bravery. A willingness to take the game to the oppostion, and take them out of their comfort zone. There has simply not been enough of that at all for some considerable time now. Opposition teams have known what to expect from Arsenal. It's all too predictable. It's time to step things up; because not being prepared to take chances is simply not working. As Thierry Henry himself said after the game: "You can't be in a title race and play like you're protecting something instead of going to take it. If you keep dropping points like this, don’t talk about the title. You're giving it away. Again!"

All we can do is get behind the players, and try to drive them on by force of will. It's becoming more and more difficult to keep the faith, but a double is still on... difficult as that may be to believe at the moment.

I mean... it could be worse. We could be Spurs fans.

COYG! 

Outthought. Outmanoevred. Outclassed.

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. 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 occasions for up to 20 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. 

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 chuckle at anything yesterday! - was following Cherki's foolish keepie-uppies 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 at 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!

Arsenal March On... Plus Cheats Apparently DO Prosper

This hasn't been a great couple of weeks in general for English sides in the Champions League. Whilst both Arsenal and Liverpool qualified for the quarter finals, the other 4 English sides suffered heavy aggregate defeats.

Both Chelsea and City lost home and away - the former very badly; ending up with a thoroughly embarrassing 8-2 deficit to PSG - to exit the tournament. The departures of Newcastle and That Lot were far more predictable, of course.

So what did I take out of Arsenal's progress? Let's look at some key areas:

• It's easier to play/be expressive in the Champions League than it is in domestic football. Two victories over Spurs aside, Arsenal's most impressive and fluid performances this season have been against European sides. You know... teams that actually want to come out and play

• Ebere Eze is finding his role in the side, and his team-mates are adjusting to him. Whereas earlier this season he had looked lost - and like he was often being bypassed - Arteta has started to adjust Arsenal's attacking play in order to involve him more. Less recycling to the wings - although there's still plenty of that - and more down the middle of the pitch. We are seeing a lot more of the ball appearing around the 'D', and Eze has been doing a lot of excellent work in that area recently. Tuesday's goal was sensational! It will be interesting to see what Arteta does when Martin Odegaard is fit again

• Bukayo Saka is not back to his best - or, frankly, anything close to it - but he looked better with Ben White supporting him than he does when Jurrien Timber plays at right back. Timber, however, offers a little more as a 'package' than Benny Blanco, and I can fully understand that Arteta prefers the Dutchman there. However, this is certainly food for thought 

• Declan Rice had been looking a little leaden-legged over the past few weeks. Along with his partner Zubimendi. Not surprising bearing in mind the amount of work that they have been asked to do, with Arteta reluctant - for reasons I do not fully understand (but I'm not at training, after all) - to rotate either Christian Norgaard or MLS in occasionally. However in this game both - and Dec in particular - looked revitalised; culminating in a goal that sums Rice up to a 't'. The anticipation to see the opportunity to intercept. The speed of body and mind to get there in front of the opponent. The drive towards the penalty area. And then the exquisite finish into the bottom corner of the net; the little 'peck on the cheek' to the goalpost making it look all the better

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• Arsenal's press looked in top order in this game. Whilst Gabriel Martinelli is always full of energy, I sense that Leandro Trossard is the 'smarter' presser; he and Starboy really put the squeeze on the Leverkusen defenders. Big Vik is also becoming smarter in that regard, and really settling in as the season progresses

• David Raya - well, what can you say? Called on just the once, late in the game, to do anything significant. And producing another to add to the pantheon of spectacular saves this season. Alongside his generally excellent distribution and command of his penalty area, he is surely right up there now as one of the very best keepers in the world at this time. Watching poor Aaron Ramsdale shipping 7 goals at the Nou Camp makes us realise how correct was Arteta's decision to make that change

Anyway, we move on to a clash with Sporting Lisbon in the next round. Something that Viktor Gyokeres will be looking forward to. Although he may not get the hero's welcome that he might have hoped for, having gone 'on strike' to get his move last summer. Sporting will be tough - as one would expect any team in the last 8 of the Champions League to be - but there are certainly tougher opponents out there.

Liverpool went through by thrashing poor travellers Galatasaray, but now have to face the mighty PSG. As for the other 4 English sides... well, I think that the collective phrase that I can use here is 'were thrashed' by their respective opponents. With Newcastle and Tottenham that was little surprise, but Chelsea and Manchester City both under-achieved. The only pity regarding City going out is that they will have their feet up - watching Arsenal I'd hope - whilst the Gunners take on Sporting. Arsenal go to The Etihad 4 days after the second leg; worth keeping half an eye on.

As for Chelsea; well, many of their supporters are already starting to question the wisdom of appointing Liam Rosenior to replace Maresca. And he does appear out of his depth now. I can't see him lasting past the end of the season, the way things are going; especially if he fails to secure them a Champions League spot. The blame for his appointment falls very squarely with the owners.

Further thoughts on those two clubs follow here. I'll start with Chelsea, and then move on to City - and there will be a Carabao Cup final preview in there too. Here we go - and I hope that I don't sound too bitter with my views...:

I've been maintaining for the past 20 years that Chelsea Football Club were financially 'doped' from the moment that Roman Abramovich took ownership. He laundered his vast ill-gotten fortune, and changed the entire landscape of Premier League football in the process by making available hitherto unrecognisable amounts of money as he turned the club from a second tier Premier League club into a behemoth. 

From an Arsenal supporter's point of view, this was particularly galling as all that coincided with the club having to tighten its purse strings and change direction in order to be able to afford the new stadium. I still regard the day that Ashley Cole left to join Chelsea as a sad, watershed moment that changed the fate of the two clubs and sent them in different directions.

Now, if it wasn't enough that the Premier League failed to stamp down on the Abramovich excesses - allowing them to lose tens or hundreds of millions of pounds, year after year after year as they built their stockpile of great players, we now know that they were also breaking the Law of the land by paying people 'off the books'. This has always gone on, of course; but paying somebody £200 in cash instead of being invoiced £250 would often suit a tradesman and his customer (the tax man would lose out)  - that is one thing. However, we're talking about £47.5 million here!

Compare and contrast the penalties applied to the likes of Everton, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Luton Town - to name but a few - who have all been hit with points deductions ranging from -6 to -21 over the years for their own financial irregularities. So for the Premier League to come up with a punishment of a £10.75 million fine is nothing short of a joke! There is simply no justification for such leniency; for all that their new owners 'self reported' - before reporting a £355 million loss themselves last season!

So for all the excesses and cheating over a sustained period, I would suggest that a relatively small fine is a totally disproportionate punishment when looking at the huge number of trophies that the club accumulated over those years. It's obviously difficult to take the trophies away, but the punishment doesn't fit even a small amount of the 'crime'. 

If that's me passing judgment, I'm hitting them with an immediate 20-point deduction, and further 10-point deductions in the next two seasons. It's the least they deserve. And - meantime - their fans are laughing. "We won it all", they sing every time they come to Emirates Stadium. And we nail the response - "You bought it all". I tell you this; whilst I am no fan of the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and latterly their neighbours, I have nothing but utter contempt for Chelsea Football Club. And this ruling only makes it worse. So to see them humiliated by PSG this week gives me nothing but pleasure, and I hope that they struggle to get back to the top table for years to come.

Now to Manchester City, the route to whose rise to power - backed by a nation state for goodness sake! - was paved by the excesses of Chelsea. Another club who put together the most fantastic team over the years; but, the question remains, how did they do that? We still await the verdict on the 115 charges they are facing - two thirds of those for alleged financial impropriety; and the other third for 'failing to co-operate with the investigators' (the latter surely a clear sign of guilt). Charges that go back 10 years or more now, with the investigation having concluded over a year ago. Yet still we wait... whilst they continue to spend tens or hundreds of millions of pounds on transfers. An utter travesty, in my opinion.

Of course, the big worry is that the Chelsea ruling is paving the way for further leniency with Manchester City. Which would only make matters worse when put up against the punishments recently imposed on other Premier League clubs for single breaches of the rules.  If Chelsea deserve much more than they received, even that will be dwarfed by what City should have coming to them if even 20% of those charges are proven.

Meanwhile, the Manchester City first team are in a state of flux. Sure, they sit in (a distant) second place in the table. But the current side doesn't come close to recent iterations. Of course, it's almost impossible to replace the likes of De Bruyne and Kompany, so one would expect a drop off, but I personally wonder what the mood in that camp is currently. 

Dumped badly out of the Champions League by a non-vintage Real Madrid, alongside highly disappointing draws with Nottingham Forest and West Ham United - all in the last three weeks. Surely confidence must be low, with questions over Pep's state of mind and immediate future, the form and fitness of Rodri, and even over Erling Haaland who - it would appear - is starting to look almost human after all. 

I personally feel that this is a good time to be facing them, and whilst I wouldn't call myself confident regarding Sunday's match I am certainly not worried per se. I believe that Arsenal match up well against them. Gabriel and Saliba have mainly had the better of Haaland recently, I believe that Rice and Zubimendi are more than a match for Rodri, and they have weaknesses in central defence (especially with Guehi missing; cup tied). The main dangers are going to come from the wings, with Semenyo and Doku a threat to any side. But Pep will have enough to worry about himself. 

This could be the first trophy in what may yet end up as a glorious season. 16 'cup finals' maximum until the end of the season - and hopefully three of them will be actual Cup Finals. But - and I cannot emphasise this enough - one game at a time please.

Nonetheless, I cannot wait for Sunday. COYG!!!

 

Max-imum Impact

Arsenal have played three times since my last post, but as you'll be aware I generally stick to writing only after a Premier League game. But in the course of this post, I will cover the win over Mansfield and the draw in Germany (plus a short preview of the return leg and of the Carabao Cup Final); as the season heads towards what could yet be a sensational climax.

However, there is only one place - and one person - with which to start. Max Dowman.

I’m not going to suggest for a single moment that I am alone in being aware of his potential for quite a while now. Because that would be nonsense. But I was telling friends in non-Arsenal footballing WhatsApp groups to look out for him over a year ago. And my pre-season Preview post in August did include the following two paragraphs:

“He's 15 years old - putting that into context, he'll be starting Year 11 and studying for his GCSEs at school from next month - and yet from what we have seen of him he makes Ethan Nwaneri look almost ordinary! We have had some exceptionally talented youngsters come through the ranks at Arsenal over the years - the likes of Fabregas, Wilshere, and of course Bukayo Saka - but I think that we can be as excited about Max as about any of them. 

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that he can currently be bracketed amongst such teenage superstars as Owen, Rooney, Mbappe, Yamal and (yes, I'm actually going to say it) even Lionel Messi for potential. An absolute gem, but one that needs careful polishing and protecting. We have already seen him make an impact in pre-season - winning two penalties and consistently embarrassing seasoned professionals - but we must temper our enthusiasm because of his age. Saying that, I'd like to see him on the bench on Sunday!”

Look, you've all heard about and seen - if you're like me, possibly 200+ times for the clips of the goal from various angles - his performance. How transformative it was. And what a difference it could just make to Arsenal's season. But here's my take on his cameo:

Firstly, it was clear when Arteta summoned him from the bench that he was going after the win Big Time. To see the formation revert to Rice as the sole 6, Saka and Eze as twin 8/10s, and Martinelli and Dowman on the wings either side of Big Vik was a real signal of intent. Especially against a side who are no mugs. And the fascination for me was that firstly Arteta had shown so much faith in him - there was no place for Norgaard on the bench for this game, and Max came on whilst Brazilian international Gabriel Jesus was left warming the bench. And then that with all that attacking talent on the pitch, the established players continually looked to him - a real sign of belief in his ability to change the course of the match. His statistics were amazing for somebody who had just 16 minutes to make a mark, and he had experienced international left back Myolenko on toast - the moment when he just stood on the ball and froze time, with the Ukrainian afraid to dare to make a move, showed both his talent and confidence.

The sequence of actions for the first goal was really interesting. It started with David Raya putting his foot on the ball, and then passing it back and forth with Gabriel. All whilst the crowd were going ballistic - begging for the ball to be hit long up field. Myself... I was saying - out loud - 'No. No. This is sensible. He's trying to draw them out'... and once he had done so he was able to bypass 3/4 players and find Mosquera in loads of space on the right-hand side. Down the line to Dowman, and off an Everton player for a throw in. And I'll tell you this: if Raya reacts to the crowd and goes long, Arsenal do not score that goal.

Everton must have been expecting a long throw, and backed off. Fatal mistake. The ball at Dowman's feet, and Myolenko with yards to make up on him. No hesitation from the boy, as he swung a gorgeous long cross towards the far post. And there's a lot more to what happens in there that you may think. Yes, Pickford comes, but barely deflects the ball. But it's not as bad an error as suggested, because his contact took the ball beyond the onrushing Martinelli. But what on earth was left back Hincapie doing beyond Gabi? It was all out attack! And yes, the bounce of the ball off the Ecuadorian's groin and thighs was fortunate; but there was Gyokeres in EXACTLY the place he was bought to be at moments like that. Thank you very much!

Cue the requisite pandemonium. Joy mixed with relief, of course. Followed inevitably by anxious glances at the clock...

As we moved into the seventh minute of 6 minutes of injury time, Arsenal conceded first a throw in and then - following a mix up between Gabriel and Hincapie - a corner. Pickford made his way up the field. And everyone was thinking the same thing. Memories of late concessions against Manchester United, Sunderland and Wolves came flooding back. But...

Gyokeres threw himself at the cross and headed it away from goal. Martinelli headed it on and - and this is fascinating if you look for it - there was young Max to pick up the loose ball. His positioning for the corner was way over the other side of the penalty area, but a certain sense that only the truly gifted have attracted him towards where he felt the ball might drop.

And then he was away. A clever header that took him beyond Myolenko, who had signalled the retreating Dewsbury-Hall to cover him. But the moment that made this goal so special was the clever slowing down of his own momentum by Max, alongside two delicate touches with his right (wrong) foot, that threw Dewsbury-Hall off balance and onto the ground. The midfielder could only look on in horror as Dowman suddenly had the freedom of Emirates Stadium to run into - nothing but fresh air between him and his first ever senior goal for Arsenal, with his nearest pursuer Gabriel Martinelli. Gabi was there for emergencies only - cleverly shielding Max from the nearest defender as he approached goal and stroked the ball home. 

Two clips of the goal here. The first showing the brilliant trickery, and the second with the most magnificent French commentary!

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https://x.com/Laminex22/status/2033006114946830421?s=20

The entire crowd, however, had already been on their feet for at least 10 seconds by this point. A crescendo of noise built around the stadium as the inevitability of what was about to happen became clear. Roars of encouragement and excitement. For this was an "I Was There" moment. And then the ball was in the net, and Max was wheeling away towards the corner flag, pursued by his team-mates, all the substitutes and most of the coaching staff. The joy was unconfined. 

This was a moment at least equal to Arshavin's winner against Barcelona, Thierry Henry's triumphant comeback FA Cup goal against Leeds, Danny Welbeck's last-minute winner against Leicester, Reiss Nelson's last-minute stunner against Bournemouth, and two match-winning goals against Manchester United in the very recent past (Jesus and Nketiah the scorers). It eclipsed anything we'd achieved against Tottenham at this ground - including the successive 5-2 wins. And even this season's critical injury time Martinelli equaliser against Manchester City. It was just the most unbelievable thing to witness; to feel; to be part of. It's what you go to matches for. A star was born. And apt that he should do it against Everton, for it was against Arsenal that Wayne Rooney first announced himself to the world, was it not?

But back to the rest of the game. Because there was much of interest long before Dowman entered the fray. Starting with Arteta's selection. Havertz preferred to Gyokeres and Jesus up top. Eze keeping his place at 10. Madueke in for Martinelli on the left hand side following his excellent shift in midweek. And Calafiori in for Hincapie at left back. 

All fascinating moves. No real surprise to see Kai start, as he offers something completely different to what the Swede does; and ability that the latter does not have to knit the play together. Madueke deserved an opportunity, although he is better on the right, so I may have asked Saka to go to left wing for a change. As for the re-introduction of Calafiori - he makes a massive difference to the way that Arsenal attack. Unlike Hincapie, whose main strengths are defensive, Ricci adds a sense of unpredictability to Arsenal's attack and get opponents onto their heels. If he can remain fit, he can have a massive impact on what's left of this season.

Everton weren't simply there to make up the numbers, however. It was helpful that they were missing both Tarkovski and the gigantic Branthwaite from central defence, which meant that Garner had to revert from midfield to right back, but their trio of attacking midfielders were a handful for Arsenal. Most of the danger came from McNeil, who twice in the space of a minute exploited the space left by Calafiori's wanderings. Firstly to fire in a shot that the Italian blocked in a manner I've never seen before; throwing his feet high into the air like an acrobat to keep out an effort that looked sure to beat Raya. And then to strike the far post with a stunning curling strike from 25 yards. Dewsbury-Hall also had a decent effort beaten away by Raya. So Arsenal had to tread cautiously. 

Everton's last real opportunity came early in the second half, when Raya saved Beto's goal bound shot with an outstretched boot following a corner. The second half was mainly driven by the home side, for sure; although with no rewards until right at the end.

There were people around me who were disappointed with Arsenal's performance. And yes, the substitutions did make the difference. But I felt that Arsenal were playing with more confidence and freedom than we had seen for a while. This made the game a little more open than some may have liked, but at this stage of the season it does feel like Arsenal need to take a few more risks in order to receive their reward. That's how Liverpool won the title last season. Despite the lack of goals, I preferred this Arsenal performance to many we've witnessed over the last month.

I think that they're still trying to get to grips with how to feed Eze in the number 10 role; so used have they become to continually recycle the ball to the wings. And it was fascinating to note how often William Saliba found himself in advanced positions. Nonetheless, Eze showed further glimpses of his ability in this game, was unlucky that one of his 6 or more shots didn't find the net, and is really starting to prove his worth.

Of course, Arsenal should have had a first half penalty when Kai Havertz was caught on the ankle from behind by Keane. Lovely through ball from Eze, by the way. The referee didn't give it, despite having a perfect view of the incident. And - as we were all asking in the stands - why would Kai go down for any other reason than being fouled when he could see the whites of Pickford's eyes? The extraordinary thing is that VAR - the supposed fail-safe for such moments - failed to do its job; indeed, taking a mere three seconds to back up the referee's call. A referral to the screen would have led to a penalty being awarded, and a red card for Keane. Clear as day. And incompetence of the highest order, in my opinion.

Madley had a terrible game, in fact. Getting decision after decision wrong. Calling fouls when there were none; and waving play on at blatant assaults - one from Garner on Madueke would have led to his arrest if it had occurred outside the stadium. As a consequence, I'll say two things. Firstly, if Arsenal hadn't have gone on to win then the penalty incident would be the centre of everyone's attention. And secondly, I guess that we would have been robbed of Max's moments of glory if things would have worked out how they frankly should.

The most important thing, of course, was that three points had been secured. 10 points clear, with City's match away to West Ham to immediately follow. And we were able to enjoy that at our leisure - and in a very good mood of course. A mood further improved by a Man of the Match performance from Konstantinos Mavropanos. Once a Gooner... And so we can now concentrate on other matters with no Premier League game until the middle of next month. Sitting pretty? I guess that we are.

On to other matters quickly now. Firstly, a narrow win at Mansfield to get us through to an FA Cup quarter final. Away to Southampton? The draw could have been worse. Two quick things to say about that match. Firstly, that Max Dowman was Arsenal's best player here too; for all that it was a bit of a struggle with a much-rotated side. And secondly that Mansfield gave Arsenal a considerably harder test than Tottenham had a couple of weeks prior. We can park the FA Cup for a couple of weeks now, of course.

And then to Leverkusen; which was a difficult test. They have an excellent home record, so to come away with a draw is fine. And whilst Arsenal went on to win at the weekend, Bayer had a really bruising encounter with no less than Bayern Munich. I'm taking nothing for granted, but we ought to expect that home advantage will be enough to see Arsenal through to the quarter finals in this competition too.

And then to Sunday, and the Carabao Cup Final. Who knows which Manchester City will turn up, but they've had some setbacks over the past week or so - including a crushing 3-0 defeat in Madrid - so whilst this is absolutely a one-off fixture, with considerable pressure on Arsenal to lift a first trophy in 6 seasons, I'd imagine that their opponents' confidence must be at a relatively low ebb. I am lucky enough to have a ticket, and am really looking forward to it.

We move on. Respecting the ball whilst we do... 

COYG!