If there was ever a day to chant 'Boring Boring Arsenal', then Saturday's lacklustre display at home to Everton was very much on the list. A thoroughly uninspired and unexciting performance meant for a drab draw against extremely limited and unadventurous opposition. And if there was ever an illustration of the limitations of this current squad it was laid bare for all to see.
Bizarrely, If you'd have merely watched the highlights on Match Of The Day you'd have thought that Arsenal had battered Everton; done everything they could except score. But it looked and felt anything like that in the ground. Despite 77% possession, a season's record 682 passes (and 92% accuracy) and 8 corners to 2 (the first conceded in three games, by the way), this was as sterile a performance as it could be. Sure, Everton were fresher as they hadn't played for a fortnight, with Arsenal having had three matches in that time, but even so...
Just 13 shots in the entire match, despite the overwhelming possession. Only 5 of them on target. And an xG of just 1.22. On the rare occasions they did get a sight of Pickford's goal, he was able to defy them. Or rather; Arsenal didn't make enough of the few clear-cut chances they created.
He's a funny one, that Jordan Pickford. Looks clumsy. Terrible with the ball at his feet. Often caught out of position or on his heels. Yet capable of making some great saves and - somehow - England's Number One. Bizarre. But let's get back to a bit of analysis.
It was clear from the Everton line-up what they were going to set out to do. Three defensive midfielders, and two trolls at centre half. Little in the way of ingenuity, and just Calvert-Lewin up front; to whom they lumped the ball frequently.
As far as Arsenal were concerned, at least Arteta saw the sense of popping Timber back to right back, as MLS made his first Premier League start. Gabriel fit enough to take the place of Kivior. The supposed 'dream' midfield of Rice, Odegaard, Merino finally on the field together. Martinelli preferred to Trossard. But - and this turned out to be crucial - no place from the start for Thomas Partey.
And it all felt a bit off from early on. The first chance of the game fell to Everton when Doucoure - who had all the time in the world to shoot from the left of the penalty area, managed to take so long to get the shot off that Gabriel could sprint 20 yards and fling himself in front of it. And that was actually the last opportunity that the away side had.
The best chances did fall to Arsenal - mainly the skipper - but he/they either failed to trouble Pickford (one chance had the goalkeeper rooted to his line as the ball sped wide of an upright) or found him in good enough form to keep the ball out. Saka was inevitably the main threat; and frankly the only consistent one, as too many players had off days. It was he who had the best chance; Pickford throwing himself down to his left to keep Starboy's first time shot out.
It was painful to watch. 682 passes, but so much of it was in front of Everton. Pass. One touch. Another touch. Pass. And repeat… The old and detested 'umbrella football' was back on show as Arsenal shifted the ball from side to side but failed to even attempt to penetrate the massed ranks of blue shirts. It was slow, ponderous, agonising. The ball was moved more slowly at times than it is in my weekly game of Walking Football. Not a great advertisement for Arteta-ball, I'm afraid.
Havertz was quiet. Martinelli ineffective. Merino almost invisible. Odegaard nowhere near his best. And so it was inevitable that Arteta would look to try to change things up. But, if anything, the changes made things even worse. There was simply no need to have 4 defenders out there against such an unambitious low block, but he left all 4 on until very late. Odegaard the first to be replaced; along with Declan Rice. Thus removing much of the guile and a lot of the drive in one fell swoop. The substitutes fared no better - indeed probably worse - than those they replaced. Trossard was off his game. Nwaneri got a full half hour but failed to make any impression; but it's wrong to expect a 17-year-old to be the saviour. Jesus was almost non-existent; failing to act as a focal point at any stage. Jorginho is not the answer when you're chasing a goal. Raheem Sterling didn't even make it off the bench.
It was only Partey who made much of a difference. Some clever passing, and one driving run into the penalty area saw him sandwiched between two defenders. I've seen them given... to City and Liverpool, but not to Arsenal. Frankly, apart from the Ghanaian, Arteta's substitutions actually made things even worse! Yes, he was decisive. But he was also wrong this time. The chances dried up, and Everton were really quite comfortable.
The thing is this; if you have so much of the ball in front of such an unambitious low block, you have to try something different. Looped balls over the top. Get round the sides. Get players close together around the box and try to work triangles. Not just pass the ball across and back again. too slowly to make a difference. Entice them out. They could just sit and sit and sit; and that's exactly what they did. It was agonising to watch.
As I said up top, this match illustrated what is clearly lacking in the Arsenal squad at the moment. Ingenuity, pace, and a quick and aggressive centre forward to mix things up a bit. These were needless dropped points, and Arteta must know that he needs to take action in January. As it turns out, this squad feels weaker than the squads of the past two years, with a number of players well below their best; Zinchenko, Jesus and Sterling have been very disappointing, and none of the new signings have yet been able to make a proper mark.
And so we move on. It's a marathon, as we know, and there's still a long way to go. Meantime, we can take consolation in the demise of Manchester City, who have now won an unprecedented one game in their last 10. Sacked in the morning?...
Two matches against Palace this week (hi, Eddie). League Cup followed by a Premier League game. The second of which is far more important. Let's try to keep the faith.
COYG!
No comments:
Post a Comment