A routine win down on the South Coast was just the ticket on Saturday, but there's nonetheless quite a bit to pick out of that game, and also out of the rest of the weekend's shenanigans. But let's start with the most important part of it; Bournemouth 0 Arsenal 4.
I'm sure that we were also concerned pre-game as to quite what side Arteta may be forced to put out, bearing in mind the negativity expressed in his pre-match press conference, but as it turned out there was little or nothing to worry about, with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka both fit to start. David Raya kept his place in goal, and I think that we're beginning to see why Arteta seems to prefer him to Ramsdale at the moment. This photo tells a story - Raya as faux centre half when in possession, allowing other players to progress further up the field.
Of course, a goalkeeper has to be reliable in possession, and whilst for me he's not quite lived up to his reputation so far as far as his distribution skills are concerned, I don't think that he's daft enough to allow himself to get into trouble in situations like this one.
As far as team selection is concerned, Sunday is a massive game (obviously), so I'm wondering if we'll see a degree of rotation on Tuesday. I wouldn't mind seeing half of this starting XI rested with Manchester City in mind.
Anyway, to the game itself, and following a slightly tentative start, with Bournemouth - always more dangerous down their right hand side with the likes of Christie and Tavernier making some tracks (and, let's face it, pinpointing Arsenal's semi-vacant left back area) - doing well for all of 5 minutes, there was perhaps a tiny bit of concern. But Arsenal soon had a grip on the game.
The early domination was rewarded with a rare headed goal from Starboy, following Odegaard's intelligent - and quite sumptuous cross - being headed back by Jesus via the post. He couldn't miss; but he had to be there, of course. It is worth noting, and very interestingly, that Odegaard's cross was literally the only one from open play that Arsenal put in all day. A big departure in style from what we've seen thus far this season. Arteta is certainly making Arsenal less easy to read these days.
At this point I was already counting the points - Arsenal having avoided defeat in each of the previous 39 PL matches in which they had scored first. And they were well on top.
Zinchenko stung Neto's palms with a fierce effort not long afterwards. Interesting to note that for all the concerns about what his inverting into midfield does to Arsenal's defensive stability, the Ukrainian had more touches than any Arsenal player in this game - despite being substituted in the 69th minute! It's a balancing act for Arteta, I guess. One which it's easy to come to terms with when faced with this level of opposition; but next weekend may be a different story, of course.
A word for Eddie Nketiah at this point. He seems to have learned a lot from Gabriel Jesus - the latter 'banished' out to the left wing in the absence of Martinelli and Trossard. He dragged his markers all over the pitch - thus creating space for runners from deep - and is a vastly improved player these days. He doesn't get into Arsenal's strongest side, but he continues to improve and do precisely the job asked of him.
And it was Eddie's run that drew the foul from Aarons that led to the award of Arsenal's first penalty. Little doubt about it; he got to the ball first before being scythed to the floor. Who was going to take it? - particularly important for FPL players (I have both Odegaard AND Saka, so I wasn't bothered - not until later in the match, of course) - and Saka handed the ball to Odegaard; who sent Neto the wrong way. 2-0 at half-time, and time for a beer.
53 minutes, and Arsenal's second penalty was awarded as Christie's agricultural challenge felled Odegaard. A stone-bonk penalty. And was followed by some interesting by-play. Firstly, it looked like Jesus wanted the ball, but a quiet word from skipper Odegaard and the ball was handed to Kai Havertz for a chance to finally get his Arsenal career off the ground. A virtual carbon copy of the first penalty, and Havertz - joined by many of his team-mates, could finally celebrate the goal which we all hope will release the shackles for him.
The rest of the game was pretty routine, as Arsenal saw the rest of the proceedings out comfortably. The only real points to note were the minutes awarded to Emile Smith Rowe - and the decent chance he had to score (which left him visibly disappointed after the game not to have converted; but I know that Arsenal fans are desperate for him to succeed at his boyhood club) - and a final exclamation mark on the game as White headed home from Odegaard's free kick in injury time.
And now to the biggest talking point/controversy of the weekend; the officiating at Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool. Now, there's no doubt whatsoever that this VAR c*ck-up is the mightiest one so far, with levels of incompetence demonstrated that go far beyond even previous ginormous levels of incompetence demonstrated by those working at Stockley Park. You could see with the naked eye that Diaz was onside; but that isn't really the point. Appalling communication was the problem here.
This is a multi-million pound industry. Officiated by quite the worst bunch of officials that I've ever known. There are maybe only three or four who I'd trust. VAR is supposed to be there to check when a decision is uncertain. It is not supposed to allow on-field officials to be indecisive, knowing that they can fall back to the VAR. Nor should the protocols allow what happened on Sunday to take place.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the influence put on referee Hooper when the Jones challenge went to VAR by a freeze frame being left on the screen for him to see as he approached was a breach of protocol. There's another angle, by the way - I cannot find a still of it, unfortunately - that shows clearly that Jones' foot slipped over the top of the ball, and that the contact was accidental. For me, that's what Arsene Wenger would call a 'dark yellow'; difficult to object to whichever decision is made. But leaving that still on the screen for the referee? Out of order.
As for the Jota sending-off; well, something has to change. The second yellow card is clearly correct - but for the first, Udogie actually brought himself down! For me, in instances of two yellow cards, the referee should review BOTH incidents before issuing a red card. Things have to change.
I have to credit Jurgen Klopp for his post-match restraint. Very wise, and also very clever. But on the other hand... every club can point to VAR incidents that have gone against them, and some would argue that it's 'swings and roundabouts' - although of course it shouldn't work like that. But nothing as egregious as this has ever taken place (apart, of course, from at the Arsenal vs Brentford match last season!).
It's also worth pointing out that Liverpool have been on the other side of the coin on numerous occasions against - amongst other teams - both Tottenham and Arsenal. I can think of several Sadio Mane elbows, and an appalling Robertson challenge, against The Gunners. And Spurs fans have a whole list also; a couple of handball decisions have left me incredulous (the one in the first minute of the Champions League Final was nonetheless a fantastic moment!), as did Jota's kung fu kick on Skipp last season.
Lets face it; Arsenal fans are annoyed about this not because of the injustice against Liverpool. Apart from wanting to see natural justice delivered, we couldn't give a hoot about Liverpool. It's because Spurs ended up winning the game - in the flukiest of circumstances - that we're annoyed. On the other hand, Tottenham aren't genuine title challengers, despite their fast start, but Liverpool may be, so it's probably better for Arsenal in the long run that the result ended as it did. It's merely, of course, that we never want to see Spurs win.
But back to the important stuff; Champions League in Northern France on Tuesday. And then the big one. It's about time Arsenal seized the day. Let that day be Sunday, October 8th. COYG!
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