Arsenal's first home game of the season. Always a moment of great anticipation and hope; and this time tinged with extra excitement. From the moment the rumours started circulating that we should get to our seats early, and right up to and beyond the final whistle, it's difficult to imagine that the day could have gone that much better.
On social media, round about lunchtime, I started seeing stuff that indicated that what we were all hoping for - the pre-match introduction of Eze - was going to take place. I messaged everyone I knew would be there to get there early, and told my family that we needed to leave earlier than normal for the game. This was going to be great; a real feelgood start to the home campaign.
We were in by 4.15 - and whilst the concourse wasn't packed there was already plenty of singing - the Gyokeres song being the most prominent. Good to see that there have been a few changes of note on the catering side; Asahi Dry definitely being an upgrade on Camden beer; but I'm not sure how good the Guinness is likely to be if they're switching the pipes on and off every few days... reviews to follow, I'm sure. A new food range too. Good to note that Arsenal are listening to their match-attending supporters.
I had brought my Liverpool-supporting mate, Tim, to the match. I'd promised him an Arsenal experience, and was curious as to his perspective. As a starting point, he appreciated the Asahi Dry. Also my view from the West Lower; but not so much with the atmosphere in general - but that's Arsenal fans for you...
Nonetheless, by 5.15 the stands were pretty packed and the sense of anticipation was growing. And then there he was - our latest signing. Out of the tunnel to rapturous applause, a huge grin on his face, to chants of 'Arsenal! Arsenal!' and then 'Are you watching, Tottenham?' Much to everyone's pleasure and amusement. And here I'll deviate from discussing the match, because the significance of the signing bears discussion.
I'm sure that you know about Eze's 'previous' with Arsenal. A fan from a young age, and released from Hale End when he was just 13. Which is of course shattering for any young lad; and yet he worked hard to make a career for himself and - via QPR and of course Crystal Palace - has finally realised his dream. And the iconic number 10 shirt to boot.
We'd heard rumours all summer that Arsenal had been looking at him as the type of maverick footballer who could add something into the metronomic mix of Arsenal's general play. But it looked for all the world that he might be off to Tottenham before - if we can believe the story - Havertz's injury and the player's last-minute telephone plea to Mikel Arteta before he signed on the dotted line for our local rivals tipped the balance and caused Arteta and Berta to follow firmly through on their earlier interest. From the speed of the move, it seems clear that a lot of the work on the deal had been done, and perhaps Berta had been more focussed on departures at that point. But the prodigal son - if I can call him that - has returned. And, truth, be told, this was his last opportunity to come back; he is 27, there was no way that Tottenham would have sold him to us and - most important of all - he would have been miserable there, wouldn't he?
On the subject of Tottenham, the social media meltdown has been a joy to behold. The video channels have been highly enjoyable viewing, as their supporters have vented at Daniel Levy. Not that their fans can be disappointed at the start they've had to their season, of course.
But now all that remains is for Eze to have a real impact on Arsenal's immediate future. Which - as a result of the shoulder injury suffered by Martin Odegaard in the first half - may be sooner than we thought.
Anyway, to the match; and perhaps a minor surprise with Madueke selected on the left in front of Martinelli and Trossard. Otherwise, the team was much as suspected, but with a frisson of excitement at seeing Max Dowman named on the bench. My wife and I speculated on if/when we may see his introduction, and we settled on 3-0 up and 10 minutes to go... and we weren't that far out, I guess.
Extra fireworks pre-game added to the atmosphere, but the match itself settled into a fairly familiar pattern, for all that Arsenal were moving the ball a little quicker than in recent times, and were also looking for raking diagonals in order to upset Leeds' equilibrium. An early shot from Odegaard and a ball clipped over the top from Rice that almost let Saka in were early decent signs, before Leeds' abject failure to play out from the back led to Gyokeres snatching at a chance that with a little bit of composure would have been a tap-in.
But the best early chance fell to Leeds, with Raya's spectacular save from Struik's header preventing them taking the lead. In truth, from the 15th minute until Arsenal took the lead everything seemed a bit familiar, with the opposition coming into the game a little bit too much for our liking.
But Set Piece FC struck yet again; Rice's perfect whipped 34th-minute corner glanced in by an un-marked Jurrien Timber, to celebrations tinged in no small way with relief. These corner routines are really interesting, with opposing defences being pulled around in all directions due to the unpredictability. And when I say unpredictability, I mean of movement in the box. There's nothing unpredictable about the brilliance and consistency of Rice's delivery.
Odegaard's loss to a shoulder injury was annoying and a little worrying, with so many difficult early matches to negotiate. Ethan Nwaneri was entrusted to take his place, which was good to see; but Eberi Eze is hovering in the background now. In truth, I have been a little concerned about the positions that the Norwegian has been taking up early on this season - he's been dropping too deep for my liking - especially with Rice and Zubimendi now clearly being instructed to work as a double pivot. So let's see how this changes how Arsenal play if he's out for a while.
But by half-time, the lead was 2-0. And the goal was interesting from the perspective of seeing Arsenal lose the ball and then immediately pounce to win it back. Nwaneri lost the ball, Rice immediately won it back, and a combination of Zubimendi and Timber set Saka free to blast the ball home (with his wrong foot!). All of which made the break far more comfortable.
And before many had taken their seats for the second half it was 3-0. It has been noticeable that Arsenal are still getting used to Gyokeres' style of play, and getting themselves used to playing with an out and out centre forward. It was obvious that Arteta had made that point to the team at half-time, as within seconds Calafiori popped an early ball over the top of the Leeds defence into the space in Arsenal's inside left channel, and Gyokeres was on to it. A twisting run past two or three half-hearted attempts to stop him, and he fired the ball in at the near post for his first competitive goal for the Gunners. In truth, this was a trademark Gyokeres goal; highlight videos will reveal him scoring this goal again and again in his past. Anyway; cue probably 40,000 supporters doing the Bane celebration (and yes, I have to admit that I was one of them...). A good day was getting even better.
But every silver lining has a cloud. Moments after the third goal, Bukayo Saka sat down on the turf, and was soon replaced. It's a hamstring - thankfully not the one that cost him three months last season, but still a worry. The good news is that he may only be out for a month (and Arsenal do have some depth in forward areas these days). But that's now Norgaard, Havertz, White, Odegaard and Saka lost just two matches into the season. I wonder if Arteta may have run over a black cat recently... Trossard trotted on to replace Starboy; with Madueke switching to the right hand side.
Moments later... 4-0. Another Rice corner - another Timber goal; which, along with his assist and clean sheet will have made anybody who has him in their Fantasy Football team a very happy man. Again, naivete and confusion in the Leeds ranks, they failed to clear their lines, and Timber bundled the ball home. And relax...
To complete an almost perfect day, Arteta saw fit to introduce Max Dowman as part of a triple change. I had thought he may get a quarter of an hour, but he got double that. And made the most of it. It is clear that if you're good enough, you're old enough, and young Max gave Gudmundsson a hard time from the get go. He looked completely unfazed by the stage he was taking, showed bags of confidence, had two decent efforts on goal amongst all the dribbling and drops of the shoulders, and won the injury time penalty that enabled Gyokeres to double his tally. It is clear that he has a glittering future ahead of him; I remember being excited by what Nwaneri could do no more than a couple of years ago, but this is something else!
What a pleasure, by the way, in this age of daft stuttering penalty run-ups, to see Gyokeres just run up and blast the ball into the corner. That's one penalty out of one, to add to his 27 of 28 for Sporting. It remains to be seen if he has now taken over the role of Arteta's designated penalty taker from Saka; they'll both have to be on the field for us to find out.
And now for a little detour into the twisted mind of Gary Neville. He'd spent most of Arsenal's game at Old Trafford having a dig at Gyokeres, and continued it from that start of this game. He then accused Dowman of diving - way to go; having a go at a 15-year-old! Only both times having to eat his words - in this case a double helping of sh*t soup! We all know that you've got an agenda against Arsenal, Gary, but you'll get a lot more respect from all football fans if you reined it in and showed a little bit of impartiality.
But enough of that. Let's reflect on a quite sublime day (despite the injuries): Asahi Dry. Eze. 5 goals. Set Piece FC. Dowman's debut. Top of the table (irrelevant as that may be at this stage). Can we ask for more?
And so to the first major test of the season. I'd been waiting to publish this post until after Liverpool had played Newcastle; and I'm glad that I had. For although 'Lucky' Arne somehow managed to pull a win out of the ashes of a mixed performance, it must be said that his team is not playing well. They appear to have a number of defensive issues, with Konate in particular looking well off the pace. They may have scored more goals than Arsenal this season - one more; small sample size - but have already conceded 4 in just two matches. Not the form of Champions. And looking especially dodgy against fast breaks (against Bournemouth) and set pieces (against Newcastle).
Arsenal also remain a work in progress, with Rice and Zubimendi still working out how to get the best out of each other. Although the signs are promising. I reiterate again that I'd like to see Odegaard keeping out of their way, and staying closer to the forward line. It remains to be seen how Arteta is going to employ Eze - is he there to play on the left wing, or in the left 8 role that he played at Palace. Because there's a log jam of players for the latter role. Either way, I suspect that he'll bring some jazz hands to the party. Which I cannot wait to see.
As far as next Sunday is concerned, I'd suggest that despite the likely absence of three starters Arsenal match up pretty well against this iteration of Liverpool. Salah has yet to hit his straps, and will have a combination of Calafiori and Gabriel to keep him in check on Sunday. Wirtz is yet to settle. Gravenberch and MacAllister (I presume) are going to have to work hard against Rice and Zubimendi. And behind those two Kerkez will be up against Madueke, who gave him the runaround last season; and a combination of Konate and a makeshift or inexperienced right back is going to have to try to deal with Gyokeres.
Now I'm not saying that Arsenal are going to go to Anfield and win. But...
COYG!
No comments:
Post a Comment