Just for once, Arsenal fans can appreciate the arrival of an Interlull. A couple of weeks without competitive football, during which Bukayo Saka closes in on a return to the pitch at what could be a crucial time. Compare that to the 11 games in 37 days between Christmas and early February that the squad were obliged to cram in - madness, when you think about it; especially when it cost them the services of both Starboy and Havertz for months.
In this piece I'll cover the Chelsea game - which contained literally 'very little to write home about', Liverpool's bad week and what it might mean, Spurs 😂 and talking points on the Interlull. Let's start with Sunday's 'thrilling' encounter at home to the team that everybody loves to hate.
Sometimes it slips my mind how much I dislike Chelsea. For which I can only apologise. Then their fans turn up. As the game kicked off, I pondered how long it might take before the buffoons started their 'Champions of Europe; you'll never sing that' nonsense. 7 minutes, I conjectured; but not a bit of it - it took them all of 58 seconds...
Let's face it, they've not got much to sing about at the moment. And long may that continue. They're a study in how not to do things in the Premier League, in my opinion. They've bought literally dozens of young players - with potential, granted - at inflated prices, with little or no thought as how to meld them into an actual team. And to be frank not many of them are indicating that they're that good at the moment; they have no reliable goalkeeper, their defence are all over the place, their midfield lacks ingenuity and they - like Arsenal - have no focal point in attack in the continued absence of the (less than prolific) Nicolas Jackson.
And so Arsenal dominated them early on, with Sanchez's kicking truly abysmal, Trossard missing one decent opportunity and then a penalty area scramble eventually saw Sanchez scramble the ball off the line, only for Rice to hammer the return way over the top.
Within that second incident, we saw a superb run from Timber that exposed the unbelievably irritating Cucurella (he of the most idiotic hairstyle in football) - leading to a reasonable shout for a penalty as he leaned into the ball. Could easily have been given; and probably would have been down the other end when one considers that the referee was the incompetent Kavanagh.
And it was Kavanagh who singularly failed in his duty to discipline Wesley Fofana correctly. The Frenchman (once William Saliba’s centre back partner at St Etienne - amusingly, whilst Arsenal snapped up Big Bill for a mere £25m, Chelsea paid no less than £70m for Fofana!) - could have received a straight red for a stamp on Rice or a high tackle on Trossard, or a yellow card for a tug back on the Belgian, before being finally booked for throwing a second ball onto the pitch in order to hurry the match along. That was unfortunate, but we know Mr Kavanagh, don’t we? A stickler for the unimportant rules, whilst letting serious foul play go unpunished.
Cucurella, by the way, is high on my list of Premier League Most Punchable Faces: Right alongside Bruno Fernandes, and just ahead of Newcastle Assistant Manager Jason Tindall. He has that sort of face. And aura. Grrrrr.
Back to the meaningful action (won't take long). Merino scored the crucial winning goal from a new corner kick routine, making the 'Gabriel run' from the penalty spot, but to the near post, and his deft flick eluded a crowd of players in the 6 yard box and looped over the stranded Sanchez.
And bar a volley from Cucurella that almost squirmed into the net off of Raya's misfield, and a decent volley from Merino that Sanchez saved, that was pretty much it as regards action. Chelsea had 61% possession, apparently, but it was possession for possession's sake as Arsenal held them at bay comfortably, and they failed to muster any meaningful effort at goal in the entire second half. As we suspected, Arsenal games are likely to be difficult viewing for the rest of the season (with the notable exception of Real Madrid, of course). And this petered into boredom, frankly, in an arena more closely resembling a library at times. The only sounds to be heard were the perpetual whinges and moans from the likes of Enzo and Neto, who seemed more intent on gamesmanship than playing any actual football.
Anyway, that's another three points ticked off. And with Liverpool having got themselves knocked out of two cup competitions in the space of 5 days one wonders what that might do for their state of mind. Of course, that leaves them with just the Premier League to play for, and they are 12 points clear, but they are looking fatigued as a group and Arsenal just need to keep going. Just in case - 1% chance of catching them that we have...
Whilst they were thoroughly outplayed by Newcastle - and I certainly don't begrudge their supporters winning a trophy after a 70 year wait, for all that I don't think that we ever want to see Eddie Howe or especially his thoroughly unpleasant sidekick (the aforementioned Tindall) looking happy - I thought that the Liverpool/PSG game was of the highest quality, with both teams excelling themselves with their skill, mentality, quality and fitness levels. I found myself thinking 'Arsenal can't play like this' at times. Of course, it had to be Darwin Nunez who missed the crucial penalty... but Liverpool can count themselves unlucky to have gone out. It could have gone either way at any time. All we can hope for is that their week affects them so badly mentally that they fail to recover. It would be the collapse of all collapses, of course.
At the other end of the quality and mentality spectrum come Tottenham Hotspur, who have now lost no fewer than 15 Premier League games this season. They are rapidly closing in on their own record of 19 Premier League losses, achieved in 1993/4 and equalled in 2003/4 (what a season that must have been for their supporters as at the same time they watched Arsenal go Invincible). Arsenal fans are so very lucky to - well - not be Spurs fans. And it probably means just one more round of matches before we arrive at a very early St Totteringham's Day. #AngeIn, as far as I'm concerned.
And now onto talking points regarding the current Interlull. 14 first teamers off on international duty - and as I type the news of an injury to Riccardo Calafiori has come through - and the first thing that strikes me is the bizarre absence of Jurrien Timber from the Dutch squad against Spain. Not that we should be complaining about that. Elsewhere, David Raya was an unused substitute for Spain, for whom Mikel Merino came on as an 84th minute substitute and proceeded to fire in a late equaliser. So far, everyone else seems to have come through unscathed.
But now we come on to England, and a possible first cap for MLS. How exciting would that be for a young man, barely 18, who made his first team debut for Arsenal fewer than 6 months ago. With injuries and a general shortage of English left backs, it appears to be between him and - to give him his full name - Big Dan Burn At The Back - for the left back role against Albania. I am looking forward to the announcement of Tuchel's first starting XI.
Elsewhere, Ethan Nwaneri failed to make the senior squad. But competition - even in the continued absence of Starboy - for attacking roles in this England squad - is high. It is only a matter of time, but he will need to be patient. Today, by the way, is Ethan's 18th birthday; which means that he can finally get changed in the same changing room as his colleagues. Remarkable that somebody that young can be that promising. And he's ours...
Right. I'm done. Time to get this out. I'll be back in a couple of weeks; unless there's anything dramatic to report. Like the results of the Manchester City tribunal, for example...
COYG!
No comments:
Post a Comment