Scratch The Surface…

Plenty to admire, but one or two concerns from a hard-earned victory over Fulham at the weekend.

Let’s take the concerns first: and we’ll start with the loss of Zinchenko and Partey from the starting line-up. 

In the previous three matches we’d seen a real dynamism in the Arsenal midfield, with Partey a key outlet for the central defenders and the main cog in a wheel around which the likes of Xhaka, Odegaard and (ostensible left-back) Zinchenko revolved. Added to that, the unpredictability of Zinchenko’s positioning - allied to his high technical level - had caused problems for every opposition so far faced.

However their replacements, Tierney and Elneny respectively, meant something of a reversion to what we’d ‘suffered’ last season. 

Tierney is an extremely solid left back - a better defender, I’d say, than the Ukrainian - but much more one-dimensional as an attacking threat. And Elneny, for all his qualities, is a limited player and a big drop in quality from Partey. 

With Tierney in the side, Fulham had far less variety of movement to worry about down Arsenal’s (usually dominant) left hand side. The Egyptian did a solid enough job - his statistics show that. However, the attacking side of that role - the ability to turn in any direction, and to manipulate and progress the ball from deep that Partey does so well - was severely inhibited; and it also inhibited Xhaka’s role somewhat. Transition from defence to attack was inevitably slower as a result, meaning that the opposition had more time to regroup. 

And so Arsenal were much less dynamic and unpredictable. Which was why, for me, they struggled to create any real pressure or big chances - despite dominating possession - right up to when Nketiah made his entrance at 0-1. For all the possession statistics, there really had been little to show for it throughout the whole first half and right up to the moment when Fulham took the lead.

And this is what I mean by the title of this piece. Yes, there is a considerable uplift in quality in the squad from last season to this; but take out two key pieces and there’s a major issue. Admittedly, the injuries came late in the preparation and gave Arteta little time to make changes to his plans, but this was a sign that long-term injuries in one or two key areas at the same time could have a massive effect on Arsenal’s season; despite all the good work done so far this summer. Look how even Liverpool have suffered early on so far with their central defensive and midfield shortages combined. I’m also wondering, by the way, about the choice of Elneny over Lokonga in the DM role… 

So, as we enter the final few days of the transfer window, I’d personally be more invested in the purchase of another central midfielder than the wide player that everyone’s talking about. I genuinely feel that Arsenal have enough alternatives for the latter position already. Especially in the light of the news about Elneny today; surely Arteta will now need to shift his transfer focus from the wings to the engine room.

As for who this midfielder should be; well, there are doubts about the work-rate and stamina of Tielemans - for all his qualities, he’s not a deep-lying midfielder - and no high-class DM is going to be happy to sit on the bench and merely watch Thomas Partey at work (Arsenal must be secure, I guess, in the knowledge that the Ghanaian’s personal difficulties are not going to keep him out of the side in the near future). Let’s see… and, at the end of the day, what do I know? - I just hope that I don’t end up revisiting this concern come next Spring.

On the plus side, an excellent fight back in the face of (admittedly self-inflicted) adversity meant a continuation of the team’s 100% start to the season. The response to going one down, from both manager and players, was excellent; the addition of Eddie to the attack gave Fulham a new set of problems with which they were ultimately unable to cope, and while he’s going to find it difficult to force himself into the starting XI it’s clear that he’s a much better player than he was a year ago, and will continue to benefit from watching Gabriel Jesus at work.

Other plus points included the response of, and support for, Gabriel after his mistake - all three goals that Arsenal have conceded this season were very preventable - and some very important saves from Ramsdale late on. Good to see the latter, bearing in mind the mess he made of Leicester's second a couple of weeks ago. On top of that, despite the comedy value of catching pantomime villain Mitrovic full in the face with one clearance, there just might be a distribution disaster waiting to happen there.

Just a point on Mitrovic here. Vastly improved from the previous Premier League model of a couple of years ago, and he will give plenty of teams trouble. Capitalised on Gabriel's poor control for Fulham's goal. But the comedy collapses to the floor at the slightest contact do need to be addressed. There was an amusing interaction with the crowd at one point, but what really annoyed me was when he went down clutching his ankle with a few minutes to go and the score at 1-1, realised he was not going to get the game stopped, and within 30 seconds was up and sprinting after Saliba and Gabriel. For me, that sort of behaviour deserves a yellow card.

The real plus for me was the sudden change in intensity the moment that Nketiah replaced Tierney. I'm not having a go at Tierney here - not at all - but it did look like he was the player who had to be sacrificed at that point. And the addition of Eddie to the firing line caused Fulham all sorts of issues. For all that the equaliser was as a result of a massive deflection, and the winner was as a result of a goalmouth scramble, there was a sense that only time could prevent Arsenal from taking the win at that point.

Of the other players, I thought that Ben White had a fine game. I'd like to see a bit more of him on the overlap at times, but he's growing into the right back role, and Tomiyasu looks like he's going to have to wait to regain his place. Saliba followed up his 76/76 passing performance at Bournemouth with 'a mere' 91/96 this time; really not too shabby at all and especially bearing in mind that it's more difficult to find Elneny than it is Partey. Bukayo Saka continues to grow into the season after a slow start, and really should have had a goal after going one on one with Leno. The two Gabriels up front were a little off of their best, but never stopped working - Jesus was specifically targeted for some rough treatment by Fulham and got little help from the referee. 

But man of the match yet again was Martin Odegaard. Once more, he oiled the wheels up front and could be seen recycling the ball again and again. His (vital) goal may have been little fortunate, but the shimmy and ball shift he made in order to create the opportunity for a shot were exquisite. A £30m bargain, if you ask me.

And so to Aston Villa on Wednesday. Of the two matches this week, this looks by far the easier, so perhaps it's time for some rotation - especially in the likely continued absence of Zinchenko and Partey (and now Elneny too). Sunday, at Old Trafford against a surprisingly resurgent Manchester United, looks like being the first major test of the season. Let's hope we go into that one still at least two points clear at the top.

Elsewhere, good to see the Celebration Police back in force - criticising Arsenal, but ignoring similar shenanigans elsewhere. I hope that it really irritates people (especailly second-rate pundits) - long may that continue. Liverpool's thrashing of Bournemouth and Scott Parker's subsequent comments to the media mean that we won't be seeing his now famous 'lucky' cardigan for a while, while at one time it looked like we were going to get a real boost with Citeh two goals down at one point. Chelsea and Tottenham continue to bore their opponents into submission, regrettably. Early days. Early days...

COYG!