Wowser!
Well, there are loads of headlines that can be extracted from Arsenal 5-1 drubbing of a Manchester City side that is a mere shadow of what it was, and I'm going to tackle them below. But I'll also be chucking in a dose of caution, and reality; for all that this was one of the great Arsenal experiences of recent years.
Firstly, Arsenal had (at least) 11 heroes out on the field. Not a sub-par performance in sight, for all that in certain moments they could have been more decisive or clinical. And outstanding shows from Partey, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Big Gabby and a rejuvenated Gabriel Martinelli. Everyone worth a mark of at least 8/10, and some worth more. Let's go through them, before I look at the timeline (where, to be honest, I do need to put a damper on things; but I'll come to that).
David Raya - made two superb saves at crucial times to keep Arsenal in the game. Acted like an extra outfield player at times - he's THAT good with the ball at his feet. Had no chance with Haaland's goal
Jurrien Timber - put in his usual quality showing. What a player he is! Booked by an over-zealous referee
Big Bill Saliba - helped keep the gigantic Norwegian quiet, and ensured he couldn't turn the ball home following the Raya save that looped onto the crossbar. Caught out by Haaland's clever movement for the goal; there was nothing anybody could do, to be frank
Big Gabby - was well up for it! In Haaland's face or back at every opportunity (helping restrict him to just 9 touches of the ball all game!), and still found time to make several forays up field
Miles Lewis-Skelly - another top show. Mature beyond his years, with the strength and nous to look well worth his place amongst such exalted company. Having made his name in the first match between these sides by getting himself booked before entering the field of play, and then being asked 'Who the f*ck are you?' by our big Norwegian friend, had the crowd roaring with laughter as well as appreciation as he mimicked Haaland's 'zen' celebration following his goal. That's 'chutzpah' for you
Thomas Partey - another stellar showing from a man having comfortably his best ever season in an Arsenal shirt. Popped up everywhere he was needed, and with the go-ahead goal to boot - that massive deflection made it even more beautiful - he deserves accolades all round
Declan Rice - magnificent. Back to his rampaging best, and hardly gave City a moment's rest. His two assists were only part of the influence he had on the game
Martin Odegaard - had his best game since he came back from injury. Led the press, and gave City's midfield the runaround. Booked for dissent - and I could see he why he was annoyed (I'll come back to that later)
Leandro Trossard - unselfish runner throughout, keeping the pressure on and doing precisely what he was asked to do. Set the tone by robbing Akanji to help set up the opening goal
Gabriel Martinelli - another back approaching his best. Never stopped running. Set up Havertz's goal with a long sprint following a turnover, and could have had a couple of goals himself
Kai Havertz - Oh, how we were cursing him in the first half as he missed an absolute sitter. But he never hid, ran himself into the ground, and got his reward with a stunning finish for the fourth goal. Yes, he needs too many chances to score to ever be elite, but we probably expect too much of him as he's not an out-and-out centre forward. But he consistently finds himself in the right place to have opportunities, and that's something you can't teach. As long as Arsenal make plenty of chances for him - as they do - we WILL score goals. Waka waka
Subs; Califiori, Merino, Sterling - didn't put a foot wrong. Indeed, City were so shell-shocked that made Sterling look rather tasty. But the standout here was Ethan Nwaneri, whose now trademark finish put a firm exclamation mark at the end of the game. A magnificent finish at the end of a 36 pass move and two solid minutes of possession. Glorious
As for the timeline; well, a great start as Arsenal's press forced errors from both centre backs, Trossard robbed Akanji, Rice played an instant first-time pass to Havertz who - and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here - saw Odegaard in a better position to score and set him up. And Arsenal stayed on top up to around the 20-minute mark, but then started to withdraw and allowed City much more of the ball than felt comfortable. In my seat in Block 17, I spent a lot of the rest of the half feeling more and more uncomfortable, and shouting about the players showing City too much respect.
Raya's first save came from City's first corner, as Gvardiol's header was palmed onto the bar from almost point blank range, and Saliba shepherded the ball away from Haaland. A magnificent save, in fact; especially in the context of the way the game was starting to shift in City's favour.
But just a couple of minutes later Havertz missed the sort of chance that leaves Arsenal fans desperate for a more clinical striker. Ortega was forced into a rash pass to Kovacic, Rice pounced on the midfielder and the ball broke to the German, who took what felt like an eternity before dragging his shot wide from 12 yards. At least hit the target, Kai! And I'm sure that I wasn't alone in thinking that this particular miss might be very costly indeed.
It is worth noting at this point that I had spent a lot of the half reporting to my daughter next to me that I couldn't recall the last time that Haaland had touched the ball - for such a prolific goalscorer it's a bizarre anomaly that he doesn't get involved much at all in any of the build-up play, despite City hogging possession in almost every game they play. In fact - I am reliably informed - there was a period of over half an hour when he failed to have a single touch; and he only had 9 all game, apparently. Although he did score, of course, so he arguably did his job. Or part of it, anyway.
All this lack of involvement from their centre forward didn't stop City pushing Arsenal further and further back. I watched Bernardo Silva and Mattheus Nunes both go on driving 30 yard runs without being engaged by anybody, and they started to pin Arsenal further and further back as the half went on. They forced one decent chance for Savinho - Raya saved the deflected effort neatly - but on the whole I guess that the home team felt confident in being able to keep City out. But, at a mere 1-0, the crowd were certainly getting edgier. There was simply no need to sit back.
But 1-0 it was as we reached half time, and I for one was hoping that Arsenal would be a little more proactive in the second half. City are vulnerable down the centre of the pitch these days, and I was desperate to see Arsenal turn up the heat and really put it up to them. But within 10 minutes of the second half City were level. Savinho's pinpoint cross went over Gabriel's head, and Haaland's clever movement got him in front of Saliba. A towering header, and that was that. Just a really nice goal. And there was a danger of the pendulum really shifting at that point.
However, a mere 38 seconds from the restart Arsenal were in front again. Foden played a dreadful pass out of defence straight to Partey who - urged to shoot by the crowd - took a couple of paces forward and did just that. A massive deflection off of Stones' back wrong-footed Ortega, and Arsenal were back in front. And at that point is was like the air all emptied out of City's balloon. It felt to me that this time they could not come back.
Minutes later came the finest moment of the match. Arsenal were on top now; camping out on the edge of City's penalty area. Rice found no other than Miles Lewis-Skelly inside the box, and he shifted inside and past Stones before firing a shot that Ortega's frankly weak wrist could not keep out. Cue bedlam in the stands. A kid who had had his first taste of senior football at The Etihad in September, been booked before stepping over the white line onto the field of play, and who had bravely stood up to Haaland at the end only to be asked who the f*ck he was - just before Arteta was told to stay humble and Jesus was described as a 'clown' - all by that gentleman Erling Braut Haaland, celebrating his first senior goal by taking the p*ss out of the man himself. How we laughed! And was it disrespectful? Well, who cares - Haaland had it coming after his earlier behaviour. And for MLS this was a seminal moment; one he will never forget.
And now, if I may digress... refereeing. Now you'd have thought that there'd be nothing to say about it today, but... in the space of a couple of minutes referee Bankes failed to punish Bernardo Silva for kicking Trossard whilst the Belgian was on the ground, but penalised Odegaard for what looked to me like a perfectly fair tackle and then proceeded to book our skipper for dissent. It was as far as the referee could get to influence the game, I guess; although he did seem to give City more free kicks than they deserved. He couldn't reach the depths that Taylor, Kavanagh and Oliver have sunk to this season. But he did what he could...
At 3-1, City had nothing left to offer. The introduction of De Bruyne made no difference, and it was all Arsenal. They'd upped the tempo, and City were reeling. And when they did get a little possession, Arsenal hit them on the break. In a break-out slightly reminiscent of that magical goal by Andrey Arshavin against Barcelona, Partey freed Martinelli, who galloped fully 60 yards with Havertz tracking his run. A reverse pass to the German, a chop back onto his left foot, and the ball nestled in the far corner of the net.
The thing is this... Arsenal fans were revelling in it. This felt like some degree of revenge for all the times we've had to watch our team played off the park by majestic City sides. But this time the boot was firmly on the other foot. And Arteta's substitutions made things no easier for a demoralised City, with Nwaneri's sublime effort - his second in a week - the cherry on the icing on the top of the cake. Yes, there's a long way to go to catch Liverpool, and there is no room for error, but make no mistake this was a statement performance - especially in the second half - by a rampant Arsenal side who suddenly looked chock full of energy and confidence. Newcastle to come on Wednesday - and suddenly that doesn't seem quite as unlikely as it did a couple of weeks ago. And then 10 days off - and a bit of warm weather training. Remember the good that did the squad last year? Ben White will be back soon. Saka in a month or so. Loads to play for. It ain't over until it's over.
Just one final word before I sign off. And it's a massive shout out to the DJ at the stadium, @PeterOnSports, who trolled Haaland magnificently by playing Kendrick Lamar's 'Humble' at the final whistle. 'Tell 'em be humble. Sit down. Be humble. Sit down'. Love it! That, added to the wonderful serenading Haaland received from the Emirates Stadium crowd, made had made for a raucous atmosphere: 'Stay humble you c*nt. Stay humble you c*nt. Erling Haaland- stay humble you c*nt! Joyous.
Right... as I write there remain under 4 hours until the Transfer Window closes. And there's no sign of anything but tumbleweed outside London Colney. It would appear that Arteta and co have decided to stick to the plan, and not let any business they do now detract from what they're planning in the summer. I'm sure that we'd have all loved to see a body or two come in, but I guess that MLS and Nwaneri have taken some of the pressure off. Fingers crossed that this win over City can be the watershed the players needed to gain the energy for the work to come.
COYG!
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