The Week That Told The Story

On a day when the hiring of former Athletico Madrid Sporting Director Andrea Berta has finally been confirmed (although as I type not yet on the club website), the past week has shown the scale of the task facing him and his future colleagues; and also where he needs to concentrate his efforts to fill gaps in the squad. I’ll go through this later in this piece - as promised last time - but let’s first take a quick look back at the last two matches - from the euphoria and disbelief engendered by the romp over PSV, to the intense frustrations suffered as a result of a disjointed (in some ways very typical, and in others completely atypical) performance at Old Trafford.

Let’s start with the trip to Holland. We’d gone into the game wondering if Arsenal were ever going to score another goal this season. But PSV are in diabolical form, and their manager Bosz committed professional suicide by choosing to play an open game against the Gunners. If there’s one thing one can learn from watching literally any video of Arsenal over the past several years, it’s that they struggle against a ‘low block’; yet he chose to do exactly the opposite, and paid a hefty price. I recall Arsenal thrashing PSV 4-0 at Emirates Stadium two seasons ago in this competition, when he attempted the same thing. Goodness knows how he remains in the job, frankly, having made the same mistake again.

Sure, there may have been a ‘sliding doors’ moment early on when a superb piece of work by Gabriel helped prevent a decent opportunity for the Dutch side, but Arsenal were already on top and once they’d taken the lead it really was a question of 'how many'. Excellent performances all round, including a return to form for Martin Odegaard and outstanding shows from Rice, Trossard and Nwaneri, and Arsenal strolled through the game with a swagger.

The only real blot on the horizon was yet another MLS ‘moment’, when the referee showed him leniency following a badly misjudged challenge - following an earlier booking - that would have seen him sent off for certain in the Premier League. Arteta wisely whipped him off before half time. This is clearly an issue for the boy, who has the football world at his feet but for this well-publicised issue. He risks getting a reputation, and needs to have this coached out of him.

The proviso against the 7-1 score line is quite obvious. No coach in their right mind is going to play like that against Arsenal ever again. The tie is clearly dead, and hopefully Arteta will take the opportunity to rest those with yellow card jeopardy for the next round. If there’s any hope about progressing to take out of the past few performances, it’s that the likes of Real Madrid will not be afraid to let Arsenal play. But the level goes through the roof from here on in.

And so to Old Trafford, and a match-up against a Manchester United side in dreadful form. Bruno United, really; with the exception of Fernandes and Garnacho they posed little or no threat. And yet Arsenal firstly found it impossible to break down yet another low block, and then - having equalised - contrived not to go on and win the match but to almost throw it away.

A game very much of two halves. I was actually bored in the first half, as Arsenal attempted to batter down the United door in a very slow and regimented manner. That old side-to-side, umbrella football that we know and hate. The only new tactic now appears to be the 'scoop pass'; a ball lifted over the top of the defenders for an attacker to run onto. The problem, of course, is that Arsenal currently have no attackers; not in the strict sense of the word. So nobody can really read what his team-mate is going to do; which run he is going to make. With Odegaard often dropping too deep for my liking, it was like West Ham all over again. 

Until injury time, when Trossard gave away a free kick near the edge of the penalty box and Anthony Taylor marched the wall back. And back. Sky measured it during half time at 11.2 yards; that extra 12% being more than enough for a skilled free kick taker such as Bruno Fernandes to get the ball over the wall and past Raya. Some are blaming the goalkeeper, but I don't see it. The wall failed to do its job; firstly by failing to question the referee (boy, does he have form with Arsenal this season!) and secondly by failing to get a head to the shot. 

And then, of course, Arsenal fans were back to 'where are we going to conjure a goal from?' mode. Things got a little more open in the second half; and whilst it played into United hands a little Arsenal still dominated possession. United were more than prepared to sit and wait and take their chances - and more came as Arsenal became more and more frantic - but at least that element of jeopardy opened up the occasional bit of space for the away team. Nonetheless it took an element of trickery down the right from Timber and a threaded pass into space for Rice to bury a gorgeous equaliser off of Onana's far post.

And then it all went a bit mad, as Arsenal seemed to forget how the manager wants them to play. The desperate search for a winner led to mistake after mistake, and by the end we had to be grateful to Rice himself for an excellent challenge to prevent the dithering Hojland from getting a shot off, and David Raya for three absolutely world class saves, to hang on to a point. But that's just two points from the last 9 now, and the Premier League is long gone.

A sad byline in this match for Raheem Sterling. Left on the bench - with left back Kieran Tierney on ahead of him on the left wing - with Arsenal chasing a goal. He is clearly finished. Just by and by, Kierney did well, laying on a decent chance for Trossard at one point. And it was good to see the return of Gabriel Martinelli; he was his usual busy self - forcing one decent save from Onana and then missing from 5 yards out (from an offside position). He will surely start on Wednesday evening.

Arteta himself was understandably tetchy when interviewed after the game. I don't like that, to be honest. He needs to play it straight at all times and, as Rudyard Kipling wrote all those years ago, 'If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same'... a lesson for the Manager.

We had hoped, following the midweek massacre, that the West Ham game was the outlier and that Arsenal could find some way to negotiate the rest of the season in a positive manner. Following this, however, it is clear that PSV were the outlier and, as we suspected, the rest of the season is going to be hard, hard going for Arsenal fans.

And so now seems a good time to look at the task ahead of Andrea Berta; who, for me, needs to start work immediately! Let's look at likely departures, and examine the gaps that need to be filled:

Goalkeeper

David Raya remains a firm Number One number one. I can't see Arsenal showing any interest in keeping the on loan Neto, so Berta needs to find a replacement for him who'd be happy to train every day and play the occasional Cup game. There really ought to be some of those around. The two teenagers coming up behind almost certainly need more time, or a loan in order to play regular football.

Defence

I'd be expecting Tierney (already common knowledge), Zinchenko and Kivior to leave. There isn't neccessarily a need to add anyone else, however, as Arteta will be left with Saliba, Gabriel, White, Timber, Calafiori and MLS. Maybe one more, but there is plenty of flexibility amongst that group. And who knows, maybe we'll even see Tomiyasu again at some point...

Midfield

Rumour has it that Martin Zubimendi is already lined up. In that case, Arsenal should be able to let Partey go along with Jorginho (who is heading home to Brazil in the summer). That would leave Rice, Odegaard, Merino and Zubimendi, plus the likes of Havertz and Nwaneri, to populate this part of the field. 

If you look at Liverpool or Manchester City's squads, this looks light on numbers. So more business needs to be done. There's enough experience in there, so a younger, promising player would be a sensible addition. But the waters are muddy when it comes to selecting the ideal midfield group for the first game of next season. 

Attack

Hmmm... well, Sterling will obviously be gone. And Jesus will be out up until around Christmas time, by all accounts. Which would leave Saka, Martinelli, Trossard, and Havertz and Nwaneri to mix and match. But that's nowhere near enough. Not even close. We're hearing talk of Sesko, and with Newcastle pricing Isak out of reach that looks like the way to go. There is a huge need for a focal point up front, and Sesko is big, strong, fast, with an eye for goal and plenty of upside. 

On top of that, another winger is needed. With Trossard and Martinelli both devastating on their day, but both also inconsistent, perhaps one of them will go. There's been chat for a year about Nico Williams - and I really like the look of him - but we all know that he'd prefer Barcelona. Let's see - it's not as if there's a shortage of exciting wingers in Europe. 

What is for sure, however, is that Arsenal have neglected this area for too long. There can be no excuse not to strengthen boldly over the summer. What is also very clear is that Arteta needs to put some trophies into the cabinet - and soon - otherwise there will be questions about the direction of the 'project'; about how long the Board will 'trust the process'. 

Personally, I remain fully behind Mikel - and three successive second places (on the assumption that Arsenal secure that spot again in May) is not to be sniffed at, for all the mockery of jealous supporters of other clubs. It's unfortunate that Arsenal were not there to take advantage of Manchester City's collapse, but progress is rarely linear. 

Bear the following in mind; for all the narrative that exists about a huge Guardiola/Klopp rivalry over the years - and there's no denying that it existed - Liverpool's finishing positions over those years are worth a look (and you may be surprised). In 2016-17 and 2017-18 fourth, 2018-19 second, then FIRST, second, third, FIFTH, third. Excellent, but not second, second, second, second, second; and that fifth place two seasons ago was a massive drop-off - fully 22 points behind City (even 17 behind Arsenal). 

Yes, they had a number of key injuries, but that's what Arsenal have had this season - alongside all the refereeing nonsense - and yet the Gunners remain in second place). It all goes to show how small the margins can be; but there is literally NO excuse now not to mitigate against them over this summer. It is absolutely critical that this is done.

I also wonder if Arteta may consider a tweak in formation. I know that I might. Using a 'double pivot' and a Number 10 ahead of them might suit his personnel better than trying to shoehorn somebody into the Left 8 role; and also force the Number 10 - assuming that it is Odegaard - to stay further upfield. It can also give licence to the full backs to kick on upfield (although ideally not at the same time!), with the twin 6s tasked to cover them; thus maintaining relationships on either side. What do you think?

One other thing that Berta is going to need to keep an eye on is contract renewals. A number of key ones are about to appear on the horizon. Saliba, Gabriel, Saka and Martinelli's contacts run until June 2027, so they are going to need to be renegotiated by this Christmas at the very latest. By all accounts, Real Madrid are already sniffing around Saliba; and Saka could go literally anywhere he wanted. Plus in order to keep these guys, Arsenal need to ensure that they have got some medals to show for their time at the club.

It doesn't stop there. The following season the contacts of Raya, White, Timber, Rice, Odegaard and Havertz will need to be dealt with. The fact is that a squad only has a short time span, and forever needs renewal. Those named in this paragraph and the one above are the backbone of this Arsenal side. It is clear that they need to deliver, and that those with the money and power have to deliver for them.

Anyway, back to this week. Two home games; the return leg with PSV, and then it's Chelsea (who are hardly in scintillating form themselves). Let's see some life from the squad, please. And let's get behind them. COYG!