Trossard’s Trying Week - And Time To Show Some ‘Smarts’

It has been a difficult week for Arsenal on several fronts. A chastening defeat at Bournemouth. A struggle to get over the line against Shakhtar. Wracked by injuries; and additionally by a key suspension. Luckily, we’ve got an easy game coming up!

Liverpool preview to follow lower down the page. But I first want to discuss the latest two results/performances. Then the raft of injuries - which is in complete contrast to last season’s plain sailing. The individual errors that continue to both plague and cost the team. Arteta’s conservative team selections. And then finally whether Arsenal are being refereed differently to other teams.

Bournemouth away. Not a venue where Arsenal have traditionally suffered. But with no Odegaard, no Saka and no Timber the team looked out of kilter from the very start. The midfield that Arteta selected was - how can I express it - ‘functional’ - Partey, Rice, Merino does lack flair, but it was clear that the Manager wanted solidity. 

I was disappointed not to see Ethan Nwaneri given the opportunity to start a game. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough; but it does seem that Arteta - hopefully not repeating the type of mistakes of 2020 that led to a run of 7 successive defeats (a sequence that very nearly cost him his job) until he finally had no choice but to pitch ESR into the side - prefers to select his teams in a hierarchical manner. More experienced players first… and I don’t like that.

The first of Trossard’s two major errors of the week occurred when he attempted an ambitious, but ultimately dangerous, first time lofted cross field pass from the wing to Saliba. The pass lacked any form of control and the normally unflappable defender, caught on the wrong side of Evanilson (who was technically standing in an offside position; although not, obviously, if he received the ball from an opponent - I do understand the Laws!), panicked and brought him down. Two individual errors in the space of three seconds;... and the yellow card came out. Which was perhaps understandable - after all, the incident took place fully 45 yards from goal, the forward wouldn’t have found it easy to get the bouncing ball under control, and Ben White was technically on the cover; although a fair distance away.

I instinctively felt that we’d got away with it when the yellow card appeared, as it could easily have been red, but what transpired over the next couple of minutes angered me greatly. Jared Gillett, the (Liverpool supporting) VAR, decided that the incident needed further consideration. Of course he did; Arsenal play Liverpool next. And, despite the brandishing of the yellow card not being a ‘clear and obvious error’, decided to re-referee the incident. And we all know what that means. Yellow upgraded to Red. And with this image popping up on our television screens just beforehand... again, I reiterate, I'm not one for conspiracy theories…

The frustration of that decision was not only felt during the game itself, but also the next day when in a virtually identical incident Tosin of Chelsea was given a yellow card for a carbon copy foul (probably a worse one, in fact), in almost exactly the same place on the field.

The Arsenal fans started a new song at that point; showing a macabre sense of humour: '10 men again Ole Ole'. And Arteta reacted to the loss of Saliba by bringing on Kivior - the last fit centre half - for the largely ineffective Sterling (now there’s a guy struggling to find his feet in the side), and things stabilised for a while until a minute’s play that formed a microcosm of the game, and of how a side can get punished. First Martinelli, released by Merino and through on goal, failed to make the most of his opportunity and shot directly at Kepa the keeper. From there, Bournemouth made their way up field and won a corner from which Christie lashed home a half volley that I defy him to manage to do ever again. Nice routine - one that Nicolas Jover would be proud of - but distinctly unsatisfactory and frustrating from an Arsenal point of view.

At which point I sensed that it was going to be a long evening. And so it proved as Arsenal - lacking in creative quality - struggled to produce a worthwhile opportunity. The game was crying out for the introduction of Nwaneri, and perhaps on reflection dropping Rice back into central defence to allow that to happen may have been a viable alternative (thank you, Captain Hindsight). 

Arsenal created little from then on as the 10 men were largely pinned back (not Man City style, but difficult). And then followed a further individual error, as Kivior’s under hit back pass under pressure from Evanilson led to Raya giving away a penalty. 2-0, and 'that was all she wrote'. Too late to bring on Nwaneri then, Mikel… and, irrespective of the rights and wrongs of the Saliba incident, Arsenal got all that they deserved from the match.Nothing.

So that was that. A first defeat of the season, followed by the usual media - and fan - pile on. Arsenal’s first defeat since February, and the reaction was ridiculous. The thing is this; it’s so rare for Arsenal to lose a game that it becomes big news. If you’re a supporter of Man United or Tottenham, it happens almost every other week. But an Arsenal defeat is News. And no; it’s not terminal from a ‘title-winning chances’ point of view. But you wouldn’t know it from the press they got.

On Tuesday, Arsenal had the opportunity to change the mood with the visit of Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. Not the most challenging of opposition in Champions League terms, so perhaps an opportunity for Arteta to finally start Nwaneri. 

But not a bit of it. Same midfield as before; and that lack of creativity was quite evident as they struggled to a 1-0 win. Gabriel Martinelli was the difference-maker; he had the Shakhtar right back on toast in the first half, and it was his shot that - amusingly - deflected off the post and then the keeper’s backside for the only goal of the game. 

And as the game wore on and the opposition were quite clearly seen not to be the pushovers we’d hoped, things got rather tense. Especially when Trossard heaped further pressure on his team-mates with his limp effort from the penalty spot following a VAR-awarded penalty. Finished off his week, did that. It's not been a good week for the Belgian, and he perhaps needs to start on the bench for a game or two now, but he has plenty of credit in the Bank. Although, if he'd have allowed Havertz to take it, the German may have set a new record for scoring in successive matches at the stadium…

Arsenal held on, though, but at a further cost; Riccardo Califiori limping off with a knee injury to further exacerbate the defensive crisis. And to dismay my wife, I must add!

Goodness knows what the Manager is going to do with the meagre defensive resources that remain. No Saliba; very likely no Califiori; doubts over Timber; Zinchenko half fit; no Tomiyasu (injured following a comeback that lasted a full 6 minutes). What a mess. And with Odegaard definitely still out, and Saka’s fitness a matter of guesswork, squad depth (such as it is) is going to be sorely tested against an almost full-strength Liverpool. For those of a certain age, you can almost hear Captain Edmund Blackadder pronounce that: 'This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you've got a moment, it's a twelve-storey crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour porterage and an enormous sign on the roof saying This Is A Large Crisis'

Before I get to the Liverpool game, I’m going to have another go at examining how Arsenal are being refereed this season. And it’s been harsh, to say the least. The standards against which Arsenal ‘transgressions’ are being judged do seem to be at a considerably higher bar than other clubs are getting away with. The Rice red card; letter of the Law, but harsh. Trossard’s exactly the same. Both costly in terms of dropped points. Other clubs being seen to be treated more leniently. Same issue for Saliba; on balance probably a Red; but once the Yellow had been shown… and we saw the contrast to the Chelsea one the very next day. 7 points gone… and that’s a lot in the context of the oppositions' pace at the top of the table. As regards the next match; one defeat is careless, but two would be a disaster.

And so to Liverpool. Who knows who may or may not be fit, but if it’s all bad news I can see Arsenal lining up as follows:

Raya, Partey, White, Gabriel, Kivior, Jorginho (surely needed this week), Rice, Merino, Jesus, Havertz, Martinelli. 

And that’s not going to strike fear into the opposition. Partey up against Diaz. And - worse - Kivior versus Mo Salah. Close your eyes… If the Manager wanted to be brave, he could chuck in Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly. But if Bournemouth and Shakhtar weren't deemed the right games to do that, what are the chances of that in this one?

It hardly feels right to be typing that I’ll take a draw now. Because we really have to beat them. I just can’t see how - unless Arteta has a pleasant surprise or two for us on the injury front. Come on, Bukayo!

Let’s wait. And hope. And if you’re going to the game make plenty of noise! COYG!

Just before I go, I'd like to wish Arsene Wenger a very happy birthday for earlier this week. No matter the rights and wrongs of how long he stayed at the helm of the club, he gave me some of my most enjoyable moments as an Arsenal supporter. Who can deny that? Bonne anniversaire, Chef.

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