Perspective, Please

Whilst we endure yet another Interlull (although this one could be very timely) it's time for a bit of perspective following a difficult match on Saturday. So let's try:

Oh no! Calamity! Arsenal's season is falling apart! Really? If you listen to, or read, some of the nonsense being spouted on social media you'd think that Arsenal's season has collapsed over the weekend, and that the title is heading for Manchester. Which is a ludicrous over-reaction to the weekend's results. Because I'll tell you this; a point at Sunderland is not going to look too shabby a result by the end of the season. They're a decent side, who have bought extremely well and fully deserve their lofty perch in the PL table.

And so to business; a review of Saturday's match. And we'll start with some context; because no matter how big one's squad is, it is never big enough. Arsenal's cluster of injuries in attack had left them quite threadbare, so on this day Arteta was unable to call upon Odegaard, Havertz, Madueke, Martinelli, Jesus... and now Viktor Gyokeres too. That sort of injury list, all in the same area of the pitch, is going to hurt any team.

The eleven essentially picked itself, with Mikel Merino - fresh from a brace in Prague in midweek - the only feasible choice to lead the line. Alongside him it was always going to be Saka and Trossard, whilst Eze was inevitably preferred to the somewhat unfortunate Ethan Nwaneri. Behind them, the rest of the team picked itself.

Sunderland have got off to a cracking start to the season. They have surprised a lot of people, and whilst there is likely to be a reversion to the mean, so to speak (something we are perhaps already seeing with the likes of Bournemouth and Fulham), I can't see any chance whatsoever of them being sucked anywhere close to a relegation battle. They have a canny manager, some vital experience in the ranks, and a style of play that a lot of sides are going to find it hard to deal with.

And a quite unique atmosphere. Their home support is loud - very loud - and they put on a fantastic show for Remembrance Sunday prior to the game. They are unbeaten at home this season, and it's easy to understand how much of a lift playing in front of those fans must be giving them.

Now, in truth, the first half of this game is probably the worst 45 minutes (plus interminable injury time) that I think I've ever seen. Sunderland's physicality, alongside an appalling performance from referee Pawson, made the game ridiculously stop-start. Which played right into the home team's hands. Arsenal were unable to find any rhythm whatsoever, whilst the ball spent twice as long out of play as in it as the home team set about their illustrious opponents.

On 4 minutes, Arsenal hit the 13-hour mark for not conceding a goal. In these modern times, that it a remarkable statistic. Although the streak was soon to be shattered. But before that I want to deal with the first bit of poor work from Pawson. 

In just the 5th minute Merino went up for a header in the Sunderland area with Ballard (a former Arsenal academy player, as we were told on umpteen occasions), and received a pointy elbow to the temple. Anywhere else on the field, that's a foul. But as far as Sky - and the written media, as I later read - were concerned, it was accidental. Just leverage... But Merino spent 5 minutes being treated. I mean... come on! For me, that should have been a penalty!

The game continued to be almost unwatchable, with Arsenal dominating but not doing much with the possession, and Sunderland staying in their shape... and being extremely physical. Rice's free kick was pushed away by Roefs, but apart from the occasional breakaway from Sunderland, relieving the pressure, it was pretty awful stuff. With referee Pawson happy to let a lot of the physicality go.

Until... with Sunderland having conceded free kick after free kick, it was inevitable that an Arsenal player would be first into the referee's book in the 36th minute - for what I'd suggest probably wasn't even a foul. Zubimendi the man penalised. And, just to rub salt into the wound, Sunderland scored.

Interesting. The free kick was just inside the Sunderland half, and in order to pile extra numbers into the box the goalkeeper took it; not a defender, as one might expect, so early in proceedings. And thanks to an Arsenal mistake - in this case Rice found himself the wrong side of the high ball and let it bounce - Ballard ran off him and slammed the ball high into Raya's net. 812 minutes; it wasn't going to last forever, was it?

The game was a little more even from then until half time. And I started to get some unpleasant vibes. You remember them? - the ones we used to get 20+ years ago when facing Pulis's Stoke, or Allardyce's Bolton. Those physical sides that hit the ball long, played the percentages, and put the silkier Arsenal players under the cosh. With little protection from the referee, that plan was working.

But here's the thing. It's all cyclical, isn't it? All the talk about set piece goals and long throws; it's nothing new. It's just come round again. As have those old 'play the percentages' tactics. It's just a question of how you adapt to them. But more relevant to me, as I downed my half-time pilsner, was the question of whether this was a template for others to follow. And so it was vital that Arsenal responded quickly to the challenge in front of them.

And respond they did. From the whistle, it was immediately better from Arsenal. Moving the ball more quickly, looking to slip the ball between the narrow lines and between the bigger but less nimble Sunderland defenders. Eze a bit more involved. Rice and Zubimendi pulling the strings. Saka and Trossard suddenly more available. Early on, Starboy pulled a decent opportunity wide of the far post following some intricate play on the left hand side of the Sunderland area.

On 54 minutes, the pressure broke Sunderland's resistance. Although it was an error that allowed the opportunity. Le Fee (French for The Elf btw) turned into the pressing Rice instead of away from him, and suddenly there was a chance. Rice found Eze, the ball made its way to Merino inside the box, and the Spaniard set up Saka exquisitely for an emphatic right foot finish at Roefs' near post. On the balance of play, this was the least that Arsenal deserved.

And so it continued, with the away side well on top and a second goal looking inevitable. Trossard nutmegged a defender and found Zubimendi's late run into the box; with the Spaniard just unable to find the target from 6 yards out. Rice's deflected shot found its way to Eze on the edge of the box, but the acrobatic shot was straight at the goalkeeper. Eze's effort was too well hit! And then the closest of all. Saka's cross was punched away by Roefs to Zubimendi on the edge of the box. In a style reminiscent of a famous Matt Le Tissier goal, the Spaniard volleyed back over the goalkeeper and onto the crossbar. So close; and I for one roared both in awe at the skill, and frustration at quite how close it was; as Eze's follow up effort was blocked.

The inevitable happened on 74 minutes, Zubimendi found Trossard 20 yards out, and the Belgian shuffled the ball from side to side as he looked for an opening. And then... bang! He rifled a rising shot into the top corner of the net from fully 20 yards out. A cracking finish, and yet another important goal contribution from the vastly under-appreciated winger.

And now the boot was on the other foot. Sunderland had already made a triple change as Le Bris sought to change the flow of the game, yet Arsenal - severely depleted I grant you - had made none. And within 5 minutes, with Sunderland now forced to press for the equaliser, there was some frantic action in the Arsenal box that led to a fantastic double save from Raya to keep out substitute Brobbey's efforts. The second save superb. The Sunderland substitute was offside, but Raya wasn't to know. It's fair to say that all those clean sheets don't come about purely by luck.

Arteta's only change, as it turned out, was the late introduction of Mosquera for Eze in order to shore things up. And it was certainly a case of looking to park the bus as the momentum and flow of the match naturally shifted. Arsenal showed less and less ambition as the home side started to reapply pressure. Of course, Arsenal trust themselves to see such situations through, but in this instance a series of small errors allowed the equaliser. 

94th minute. Ballard, marked by Zubimendi and not a central defender as a Hume cross was chipped in towards Ballard - now playing as a striker. The header fell for Brobbey, as Gabriel was caught flat-footed, and he beat Raya to the ball and hooked it home into the unguarded net. Had Raya not looked to come out and catch the flick on, it would have been a simple save. Really quite annoying.

Here's a thing. Arsenal conceding two goals in a game is really rather rare. That's the first time this season (17 matches, and only the 4th and 5th goals conceded all season), and it only happened 12 times in a total of 58 matches last season; three of those in the Carabao Cup, and another in a completely dead rubber of a second leg against PSV). The last time they let in more than two was in December 2023 at Luton (and they won that game 4-3). So let's not be too concerned at this point.

And quickly back to the game. Because Arsenal still almost won it! Calafiori's header from a Saka cross was saved by Roefs, and Merino's follow-up was blocked at point blank range. So close to breaking their hearts. And so, annoyingly, points 6 and 7 of the season dropped. Just 26 points out of a possible 33 secured. Hardly shabby.

Afterwards Arteta said: 'The feeling is disappointment and frustration, because we wanted the three points and we had to overcome a very difficult match. You have to defend the box well when they start to accumulate 6 or 7 players. It can happen in play, in throw-ins, in any situation. We can defend those situations better, and today we did not do it'. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Of course, the media narrative that Manchester City's thrashing of Liverpool on Sunday prompted is designed to create debate. And City are certainly looking good (for context, Liverpool are not!). And so the gap is down to a 'mere' 4 points.  But I'll say this: there is certainly no need for concern. With missing players due to return for what is on paper a challenging week, any supposed evidence that Arsenal are fading on the back of a single slightly disappointing result can be taken with a massive pinch of salt. Honestly - there is no cause for concern at this stage.

So let's put our feet up, hope for a clean bill of health from our international players above all, mind the gap!

COYG! 

Further Clear; But Can We Discuss Rotation?

Right then. We're a quarter of the way through the season now (save for Sunderland vs Everton on Monday evening). So it's probably time for a progress review. 

As far as Arsenal are concerned, we saw another win on Saturday; another clean sheet; another game of minimal xGA. And, on the face of things, all looks rosy. But I do have some qualms; which I will cover shortly.

But I’ll first cover a match very much of two halves - before pondering the consequences of some of what went on. 

With William Saliba recovered from his knock, Mikel Arteta was able to name what is currently - in the absence of Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz- clearly his first choice XI for the trip to Turf Moor. And Arsenal’s first half performance was almost as complete as one could hope for. They looked in total control, and barely gave the home side a kick.

The pattern was set from early on. As expected, Burnley sat back, content to keep their shape, and looked to press only when Arsenal reached their third of the pitch. And for a while it looked like being another of those frustrating days. Until... in the 14th minute Leandro Trossard - in his 100th PL start for the Gunners - looked to find Gyokeres in his favourite left channel, and the ball deflected off of a defender for - cue dramatic music - a corner!!!

Declan Rice's superb delivery to the far post was diverted back across goal by... Gabriel, obviously; for Gyokeres to head home unmarked from not much more than a yard. One nil to the Arsenal. Set Piece FC. And all those cliches. But frankly, at the rate that Arsenal are conceding shots on target - let alone goals - these days, it was probably already game over.

Now, on the subject of set pieces, and opponents' mindsets, there must be an absolute fear of conceding them to a side with such a fearsome reputation. Which must surely feed into the whole drama of the dead ball situation. And do you know what? - good! Let them have those jitters. It can only help. And I would add this; the moment last season when Arteta and Jover switched from Trossard to Rice for dead ball deliveries from the left was an absolute game-changer for this team. He is peerless. Beckham-esque. And that, combined with the desire shown by the likes of Gabriel in the war zone of the 6-yard box, means that it's only a matter of the law of averages before Arsenal score from one. And if I can just add one final point; surely the age of the out swinging corner is dead now?

Once the goal had gone in, Arsenal began - if anything - to dominate even more. Some clever play from Trossard and Gyokeres gave Calafiori (naturally right up in the centre forward position) a decent opportunity. And Saka - twice put through by Gyokeres - could/should have scored twice (my personal disappointment multiplied by my choice of Starboy as my FPL captain for the week). One shot scuffed, and the other brilliantly stopped by the overworked Dubravka. And on the back of the second Saka chance, Trossard's shot was blocked on the line. So close to 2-0.

Then on 35 minutes it absolutely was game over. And Arsenal showed another side to their game. From a Burnley long throw Gabriel headed clear, Saka headed the ball on, and suddenly Gyokeres was free in acres of space on the counter attack. Now, if the Swede meant to find Trossard with the sweeping crossfield pass he played from near the half way line, it was a stroke of absolute genius. And as Trossard jockeyed for space Arsenal players swarmed the penalty area. From defence to dangerous attack in under 10 seconds. Trossard waited, then picked out Declan Rice with a left foot dink 10 yards out. The subsequent header was emphatic, giving Dubravka no chance. What. A. Goal!

Oh, and RIP Auntie Beverley:

It wasn't quite over for the half, as Trossard missed a chance following a clever short corner and a trademark dink over the top from Zubimendi. If it was a boxing match, the referee would surely have stopped it at that point. Two goals up at the break - and it could so easily have been 5.

At this point I want to give credit to the three players who demonstrated Arsenal's domination in the first half. Firstly, the much-maligned Trossard, whose guile caused Kyle Walker a ton of trouble and whose clever interplay with Gyokeres and Calafiori kept Burnley firmly on their toes. To think that a lot of us would have been happy to see him leave last summer...

Secondly to Big Vik, who had his most effective game in an Arsenal shirt so far. The rest in midweek had clearly done him a world of good, and if that's anything to go by the return of Havertz is only going to enhance Arsenal's attacking threat as the season goes on.  He didn't reappear for the second half - Arteta citing a slight muscular issue. Let's hope that it's merely precautionary, as there are two more matches this week. And he'll be needed.

And finally to Declan Rice. There's a lot of debate as to quite how good Dec is in comparison to the very best central midfielders that the Premier League has to offer. Many are bigging up Moises Caicedo, and of course there's always Rodri to consider. Now, it's difficult to compare chalk and cheese, as whilst Rice was bought to be a '6' he has evolved to a box-to-box midfielder these days, whereas the other two are primarily defensive midfielders; and very good ones at that. However, Declan's all-round game is starting to bring comparisons to the likes of the Premier League greats - players like Gerrard and Lampard. Yes, he really is that good, and I wouldn't swap him for anybody.

Against Burnley, Rice's first half was a complete a performance as one could expect to see from a midfielder. Full of energy. Reading the game. Showing strength in the challenge. Totally dominant in every single aspect. Ridiculous stats, as per the infographic below. 

I would add this, however. He can't do all this without having Zubimendi backing him up. And those two centre backs behind him. It's absolutely a team effort. But on this day Rice was the standout player on the pitch.

The second half was pretty much a non-event as far as action was concerned. For all his qualities, Merino - who replaced Gyokeres - does not run in behind and drag defenders about. He prefers to come short to receive the ball. So Arsenal's second half tactics were of necessity different. And they frankly cruised through the rest of the match, content with their two goal cushion. Saying that; they still had three decent opportunities; via Trossard, substitute Nwaneri, who put in yet another cameo full of promise, and even Norgaard got in on the act late on; forcing a decent save out of Dubravka. There was, however, a further small cloud on the horizon as Zubimendi also had to leave the field with a niggle. And I'll return to this point soon...

It wasn't until very close to the end of the game before Burnley had a little bit of success, with two late headers going high or wide of goal. And the final kick of the game - a free kick from former Tottenham youngster Edwards - saw Raya's left hand upright hit with the goalkeeper scrambling. What was great to see throughout that half was the determination from the team - despite the comfort of the lead - not to concede anything to the opposition. They sniffed out pretty much every sign of danger. And that is why they haven't let in a goal for so long. Clean Sheet FC.

Just look at this sequence so far this season: 1-0, 5-0, 0-1, 3-0, 2-0, 1-1, 2-0, 2-1, 2-0, 1-0, 1-0, 4-0, 1-0, 2-0, 2-0. Incredible; and definitely shades of the incredible Chelsea side of the mid-2000s that Mourinho put together. 6 points clear as I type (although that may reduce to 5 if Sunderland win this evening). And this of course sets up a big weekend next week prior to the final Interlull of the year. Arsenal at Sunderland. Liverpool at Manchester City. I don't want to project too far ahead, but after the break Arsenal have a massive week - Tottenham, Bayern Munich, Chelsea away. If they come through that unscathed, then I'll be calling for the Premier League engraver to get to work!

As for the opposition, there's really only Manchester City who have any momentum. Bournemouth surely cannot last the distance. Ditto Sunderland. Liverpool need some consistency and look far too open defensively. Chelsea are equally inconsistent. And Tottenham or Manchester United... well; seriously?  And if it's really only down to City to put the pressure on, their reliance on Haaland is freakish. In fact, I can't understand why they're not getting the grief that Arsenal continue to receive for their set piece dominance. 

I watched a good part of the City vs Bournemouth game yesterday. The away side played into City's hands; unable to adjust to the movement of Bernardo Silva, Cherki and Doku, and giving Haaland far too much space as a result (he doesn't need much).

And I can guarantee you this; there is no way that they'll play the same way when they play against Arsenal. It'll be low block again, or Arsenal will tear them apart if they defend like they did yesterday. 

So... things are going swimmingly at the moment. But the news about Gyokeres and Zubimendi does ring alarm bells for me. Because whilst Arteta has an amazing squad at his disposal, he doesn't seem that disposed to make use of it. I suspect that he needs to plan ahead just a little. Plan to rotate up to three players in and out of the starting XI in order to keep them fresh. We saw a certain lack of cohesion - especially in defensive midfield - when he made no less than 10 changes in midweek, and that's perfectly understandable. But perhaps he ought to take a few out against Slavia Prague in midweek; Sunderland will be tougher opposition. With the status of Gyokeres and Zubimendi in doubt (Zubi suspended in the CL of course), and whilst we await the return of Martinelli, Odegaard, Havertz and Madueke, he needs to be mindful of using his resources more carefully. I do hope that he's having these conversations with his team.

Anyway, two more big games this week. Let's keep the momentum going. COYG! 

Eze Does It

Right then. Lots of people starting to jump on a couple of quite pathetic bandwagons over the last few days. And I'll address them as soon as I've zoomed through Arsenal's latest victory. Let's crack on:

Crystal Palace at home. A game where we dropped a couple of points last season - to an Eze volley and a late Mateta equaliser. A chance to right another wrong; and this time with Eze on the side of the good guys. With Gabriel recovered from Wednesday's knock (I'll revisit the win over Atletico Madrid later on, I assure you; because there is an interesting point to make), Arteta named the side we expected. Unchanged, essentially. And, in stark contrast to the behaviour of the boorish West Ham fans a couple of weeks ago in greeting Declan Rice, Ebere Eze was greeted with polite applause by the away contingent. As it should be.

All in the presence, by the way, of entertainment royalty. Ted Lasso and Coach Beard were there - as they seem to be for all Arsenal home games these days. Clearly looking to pick up a few tactical ideas... And there was also the somewhat incongruous sight of Jon Bon Jovi in the Directors Box.

Make no mistake; despite losing Eze over the summer, Palace are playing well (Thursday's inexplicable loss at home in the Europa Conference League notwithstanding). They are very well organised, and have a pattern of play that ought to have suited them up against Arsenal. They counter attack with pace when they can, and look to get to the bye line and pull the ball back into the penalty area. Mateta is key to this. He is huge!; and holds the ball up well - thus buying his team-mates time to get up alongside and past him. They are a hard nut to crack.

And, like pretty much every other opponent so far this season, they chose to sit deep and oblige Arsenal to find a way of taking them down. A tactic which, by the way, I am getting sick of. But we'll have to get used to it, because Arsenal are so good that opponents have little choice but to do that. It makes for frustrating viewing, and it must surely be equally frustrating for the players themselves.

Of course, in trying to force the issue Arsenal were liable to the odd mistake. And there was a moment early on when a misplaced pass from Zubimendi let Saar in on Raya. That was until Gabriel went flying in with one of his trademark blocks. No wonder, with the personnel he has in front of him, does Raya hardly have a shot to save. Not long after, Mateta bullied Saliba (we don't see that very often) and set Munoz free in a move absolutely typical of the way Palace attack. The wing back was offside (I could see that from 30 yards behind the play!), but the linesman let the move play out - a decent save from Raya - before finally raising the flag; to the ire of the home supporters. I can understand that the instructions to the assistant referees are to let things play out before waving the flag. But when it's obvious... all that is doing is risking completely unnecessary injury. 

For all their possession, it took 33 minutes before Arsenal finally managed a shot. A scuffed effort from Trossard. And it took just a few minutes before they finally managed to take the lead. In typical fashion...

Bukayo Saka hacked down 30 yards from goal (not for the first time) as he cut infield. Another pinpoint delivery from Declan Rice. Gabriel typically first to the ball and heading it back across the penalty area. First to react? - Ebere Eze; with a scissor kick volley - a finish remarkably similar to the goal he scored for the opposition in the corresponding fixture last season. His first Premier League goal for the Gunners.

Little in the way of celebration from the goalscorer apart from a look to the heavens. As it should be. And - as the world and his wife have been reminding us since - another goal for Set Piece FC. 1-0 at half-time; and while 1-0 is rarely a comfortable scoreline we were pretty relaxed about things during the interval.

Chances started to come for a while after that. Gabriel hit the bar from another Rice free kick, and there were a couple of shots blocked in the ensuing melee before a rocket from Starboy flew past the far post. Trossard - sent clear by Gabriel's clever chip, was very close to putting the ball on a plate for Saka. And shortly after Gabriel headed just wide before colliding with a goal post in a most unfortunate way (if you get my drift).

In the meantime, Arsenal had lost Saliba to an unspecified injury at half time (Mosquera stepped in seamlessly), Saka - who had been uncharacteristically quiet - to illness as it turned out; and explains a lot - and Rice late on following an early knock. At the time of writing, we await news; but I don't suppose that any of them were pencilled in for Wednesday's Carabao Cup meeting with Brighton in any case. We saw brief cameos from Hincape (whose first touch of the game was an exquisite volleyed stun of a cross field pass) and MLS. Three more points in the bag, and whilst I'm not prepared to underestimate the likes of Bournemouth, Sunderland and others this early in the season the fact that all of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City lost made it a very satisfactory weekend indeed!

However... there's loads of nonsense on social media in the aftermath of yet another 1-0 win. But, to be honest, f*ck 'em. Because every week we're up against a 5-4-1 formation, sat deep and leaving little space in which to work. And yes; it's not that interesting - but if the opposition isn't prepared to come out and play then what are Arsenal supposed to do? But as a result of dominating possession and territory it's pretty inevitable that they're going to rack up plenty of corners and win a load of free kicks and - yes - even throw ins deep in enemy territory. And so what does anybody want or expect them to do? - not try to take advantage of such situations? I mean... it's just ludicrous!

Comparisons with the Wimbledon and Stoke City teams of eras past are simply lazy. Those sides literally just lumped the ball up and played for field position; chalk and cheese from this Arsenal who force their opponents deeper and deeper. I recall Arteta stating a couple of years ago that he was looking for Arsenal to be the best at every aspect of the game. Well, dead balls are certainly part of that. So to the critics I'll say this - Lay off their backs; you're just jealous! And a goal is a goal is a goal. 

9 games is not necessarily a statistically significant number, but if teams are going to continue to defend as they are against Arsenal, and give away dead ball situations, then who's to say that the percentages can't stand up over the season? Until coaches find a way to stop Arsenal, then these dead ball situations are going to remain a very potent weapon. But as it stands it's 16 goals scored over the 9 games, of which 56% (9) are from dead balls, 13% (2) from penalties, and (just) 5 from open play. When there's little room in open play, you take what you can get. 

I'll come back to that in a moment, as I want to talk about Atletico Madrid. But I just wanted to give a comparison to what's going on at the other end of the pitch. Which is on the verge of unprecedented. Just look at these statistics!

Three goals conceded in the Premier League (in ALL 13 fixtures played so far this season, actually). One a worldie of a free kick from 30+ yards, a second following a short corner, and the other scored by Erling Haaland.

And so to Atletico Madrid; and a result that would have made the rest of Europe sit up and take notice. Sure, there were loads of amazing results in the same round of Champions League matches (PSG scored 7, PSV 6, Liverpool and Chelsea 5). But only the very best (the likes of PSG and Bayern) put 4 past a side managed by Diego Simeone. And there was something very noticeable about the manner of the victory. Arsenal went a goal up, and Madrid then went in search of an equaliser. And as soon as they opened up and left gaps... bam! bam! bam! bam! And so, if that's what happens when you try to play expansively against Arsenal, who is going to do it? Exactly... nobody!

Right then - 4 points clear now. And if you consider those sides most likely to stay the distance in a long season its 6 over Citeh, 7 over Liverpool and 8 over Chelsea. Bearing in mind that Arsenal have already been to Old Trafford, Anfield and St James Park, and have also played Citeh once, then it's looking good. 22 points out of 27 and just three goals conceded extrapolates to 92 points, and just 13 goals conceded... 

And so to the other bandwagon; that's it's Arsenal's to lose. After 9 games? Was anybody saying that about Liverpool last season? Well, between you and me it possibly IS Arsenal's to lose at this point; but I'm not going to be shouting that from the rooftops on social media. I'm absolutely certain that Arteta will keep his players well grounded, and that ought to be expected to be enough. Especially in the light of the inconsistency being shown elsewhere.

Right then. On to Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday (expect loads of rotation), Burnley away, Slavia Prague away and then Sunderland (and Granit Xhaka) away; and that final one on the same weekend as Liverpool and Manchester City meet. Pivotal. Let's keep going...

COYG!

Cottage Industry

Three more points in the bag, and suddenly a three-point lead at the top of the table following Sunday's results. Highly encouraging; without getting carrried away, of course, because there's a long way to go - and there's plenty of room for improvement.

But before I get into it, a little bit of housekeeping. I have made a few design updates to this page. A change of font; plus whilst you probably cannot see it if you're looking on your phone or mobile device you will definitely see on your laptop or desktop a change of background image. Anyway, that's neither here nor there - I just fancied a change.

And so to Saturday evening's match, for which - with the players having returned from international duty with a pretty clean bill of health (no extra injuries to report) - meant that Arteta could go with the line-up we will have all predicted. With Odegaard out, Zubimendi returned to the starting line-up, and Eze dropped in to the right 8/10 role. He's probably better operating from the left, in my opinion, but there's a log jam on that side. And the regrettable knock-on effect for Ethan Nwaneri is a reduction in minutes.

Arsenal have found Fulham to be tricky opponents over the past couple of seasons, so this was never likely to be a swashbuckling performance. Fulham themselves were suffering injury woes, and their fans would probably cite a recent lack of squad-building ambition from the owner too. But they have different expectations, and a different model, to Arsenal. So whilst the away team were firm favourites, victory was always likely to have to be earned.

This is one of those away games that one can group alongside the likes of Crystal Palace, Brentford and Bournemouth as 'tricky but winnable'. But with due respect needing to be given to the opponent. And a combination of that and something of a post-break hangover meant a slow - even sloppy - start, with Fulham having much the best of the opening half hour. They forced a series of early corners, with Wilson looking troublesome, and following one such corner Cairney's volley was blocked by Zubimendi's bread basket. They weren't overly threatening the Arsenal goal, however, and Raya was rarely bothered, but the away side certainly needed to wake their ideas up following such a sluggish start.

Which, to be fair, they did eventually do. On 15 minutes, a long diagonal from Timber picked out Trossard, whose first time flick infield found no other than Riccardo Calafiori (playing in his customary centre forward role...). The Italian swept a first time half-volley into the far corner of Leno's net, only to be pulled back as he was half a yard offside. What a goal that would have been had it have stood. 

I have no idea what Arteta's instructions to Ricci are, but he appears to have carte blanche going forward; to create overloads when he can - all secure in the knowledge that somebody else will be covering for him further back. Honestly; we all thought that MLS had elevated the left back position, but we can now see why Arteta spent so much money on the Italian. He's quite unique.

Truth be told, that was by far Arsenal's most dangerous moment of the entire first half hour, as the field tilt remained very much in the home side's favour. It took until just after the half hour mark for Arsenal to finally get a grip and begin to dominate. By which time Andersen had limped off, and both Cairney and King were suffering from knocks. And after which, frankly, there was only going to be one winner. But 0-0 at half time; and Arsenal continued to apply the squeeze. 

Look, there's something quite unlikeable sometimes about Arteta's methods, as he looks to strangle the opposition to death. Of course, it's difficult to expect to see free-flowing football when the opposition compresses itself in its own half. But I'd really like to see a little bit more risk-taking; trying to work the ball between the lines, move it around more quickly, and try catch the opposition out instead of all that umbrella passing and patiently moving them around. With a defence as good as Arsenal's, I don't see why the Manager doesn't allow his players to take the handbrake off a bit more. There's a certain predictability about the way they play. On the other hand, it's a results-driven business (just ask Big Ange!) and this approach has taken Arsenal to the summit. So please don't register this as a complaint or anything...

In Bukayo Saka, however, we have an absolutely outstanding talent. a game changer; no matter what the game is. He took a while in this one to get the measure of Sessegnon, and in truth also to get his set piece delivery up to his normal standards, but he had a superb second half and could have scored or assisted three or four goals by the end of the game.

It was only a matter of time, I guess, before Arsenal got their noses in front. 58 minutes, in fact. And once more it was Set Piece FC (tongue firmly in cheek) that did the trick. Saka's delivery - right on the mark this time - was nodded on by Gabriel for an unmarked Trossard to stab home with his knee from close range. 

Now here's the thing. Firstly Arsenal don't get to take as many corners as they do without doing a lot of attacking, and dominating the oppostion. So I'm not having any of that Set Piece FC nonsense; they don't magic the dead ball situations - they work hard, and the set pieces are the result of that. Secondly, that they happen to be better than everybody else at them is down to coaching, to high levels of skill, and to desire. As was personified by Gabriel at that moment. Starting his run from the penalty spot, and with two men between him and the goal, he bulldozed his way past both and made the cross his own. The rest was partly down to luck; but also to the confusion that these set pieces confer upon the oppostion. One lapse of judgment and you're dead. As it was here. Set Piece again Olé Olé!

Just a few minutes later, Anthony Taylor was pointing to the spot as substitute Kevin was deemed to have brought down Starboy. Funnily enough, I thought at the time that it was somewhere between soft and not a foul at all, and the VAR duly intervened to send Taylor to the booth. But here's the thing; the more I watched it, the more convinced I was that Taylor's initial call had been correct, as it looked clear to me that there had been knee to knee contact just prior to the Fulham player getting a slight touch on the ball. And I - along with Saka himself - was therefore flabbergasted when the referee changed his mind. 

As with the Newcastle débacle, there was the question of 'clear and obvious error' and of the VAR re-refereeing the incident. And that's twice in successive away league games that we've had a spot kick award overturned. Thankfully, controversy was once more averted by Arsenal going on to take all the points despite the erroneous call.

From there on in, there was frankly little to report. Fulham did huff and puff a bit, but it takes a lot more than that to get the better of Gabriel and the majestic Saliba. Despite Jimenez's previous record as something of a bogey player over the years up against the Arsenal defenders, he's no Erling Haaland, and Raya was barely troubled. Indeed, the stats reveal that this made successive matches that the opposition had failed to register a shot on target. The last time that happened? - 2003-04, when Arsenal last won the title...

The following infograms tell quite a story (and yes, it's early days; but):

Arsenal are 7 points ahead of their points tally from the 7 comparable matches they have played this season compared to last.

In 8 matches! Literally, no further comment required...

Before I finish, a word on Big Vik. This was a typical sort of game for the Swede (who, by the way, was part of the two-man Swedish attack - alongside no other than  Alexander Isak - who failed to score in two highly winnable World Cup qualifiers last week). A game of unselfish runs into channels. Of few touches. But of several shots from difficult angles. And of balls not quite falling at his feet in the penalty area. Yet doing a vital job for the team as he pulled defenders here, there and everywhere. I am confident that the dam will burst. And, when it does, the league had better watch out!

And so we move on to two home games this week. A really tricky tie with Athletico Madrid (the Andrea Berta Derby) on Tuesday, and then reunions for Eze and Nketiah when Palace cross the river on Sunday. It's debatable which game is more important!  Just keep going, lads. Keep laying the foundations. 

With Liverpool (and Tottenham) both losing, Sunday has been a very good day. The former are clearly out of sorts, and may take a while to click into any sort of gear as they adjust to the loss of Trent, Diaz and the late lamented Diogo Jota. With Slot being forced to play Konate and VVD in every game, things don't look that rosy for them. As for second placed Manchester City... well, they're being powered by the turbo-charged Haaland, but surely not even he can do everything himself. And, frankly, I'm not worried about anyone else.

At this moment, Arsenal have the best team, and the best squad. It's all there for them. So COYG!

Arsenal Right A Second Wrong In A Week

Another win. Another clean sheet. And now top of the table. It's early days, but if Arsenal can keep up this pace, and stay as solid as they have been at the back so far this season (10 matches in all competitions; just three goals conceded) then it could at last be our year.

Whilst unspectacular, this was a pretty routine victory over a West Ham side who - despite being pretty poor in Premier League terms - had somehow managed to beat Arsenal in the previous two corresponding fixtures. And this result, backing up the laying to rest of the Geordie demons last week, meant another of last season's wrongs had been righted.

And although this was a routine victory, there is still enough meat on the bones to point out a few matters of interest. So I'll crack on with those. And there is no better place to start than the team selection.

Which featured something of a surprise, as Arteta (hitting a personal milestone with this being his 300th game in charge of The Gunners) veered away from his preferred 'double pivot' as he plumped for Declan Rice as the lone 6 against his former club, with Odegaard and Eze as dual 10s ahead of him. A really attacking line-up was this; and something that the crowd was relishing prior to kick-off.

However, here's the thing; I'm not sure that it entirely worked. Odegaard dropped back regularly to pick up the ball, whilst Eze stayed closer to Gyokeres up top, but without an extra man coming from deep to disrupt the opposition it was occasionally difficult to find room against Nuno's now trademark 8-1-1 (!) formation. Saying that, Arteta had clearly targeted the left hand side of West Ham's defence, and looked to overload that area with Timber, of all players, often finding himself the furthest man forward.

In truth there wasn't much opportunity to build up a body of evidence for the twin 10s, as Odegaard's early clash of limbs with Summerville firstly restricted him and then forced him off within the first 30 minutes (thus, by the way, creating a dubious record as the first man to go off injured three times in the first half of successive Premier League games). He left the ground with his knee in a brace, and has by all accounts done some damage to his medial collateral ligament. It may be some weeks before we see him again; but at least it's not to the anterior cruciate ligament; which would have meant months out.

Interestingly, whilst Arteta could have gone for Nwaneri to replace the skipper he went for the safer option of Zubimendi. I'm not sure if this is a reflection of a fall from grace for the youngster, but it's clear that the signing of Eze has drastically cut down on his playing time. But what the change did mean was that Rice was suddenly free to make some of his familiar forward runs, and he started to drag the West Ham midfield around. With Timber's presence  - plus the occasional overload from Calafiori, of all people (nominally playing left back but with license to pop up wherever he fancied) - in forward positions on the right, and Rice pushing forward on the left, West Ham were really suffering as they were completely suffocated. Zubimendi himself was superb, and now appears to be completely acclimatised to the Premier League. What a player he is!

 

In truth, Arsenal should have been ahead long before the moment that they finally took the lead. Odegaard had split the lines early on to find Timber, who got a decent shot away. Then a delightful through ball slotted to Saka from wide right by the skipper led to a scramble in which Gyokeres could have scored, and Eze should have; the latter's stab at the ball from just 7 yards sending the ball over the bar with the net gaping. Eze put his head in his hands in disbelief; and he wasn't alone in that. 

Following the withdrawal of Odegaard, it was Zubimendi's sublime ball over the top of the West Ham left back that saw Saka break free and slot the ball into the far corner - but he was unfortunately half a yard offside at  the point of release. Then Saka's cross saw Gyokeres' header misdirected, and Trossard's subsequent follow-up blocked. The pressure was building, but it was all getting a little frustrating.

The well-deserved breakthrough came in the 37th minute. Zubimendi's clever through ball found Eze, the latter's shot was blocked into the path of Declan Rice - who had been suffering dog's abuse from the very supporters who used to worship him by the way. The finish from 12 yards out looked routine, but it was far from that; keeping half volleys down with the instep when the ball is coming to you at pace is no easy feat. And no, he didn't really celebrate as he could have done. But he gave the West Ham fans a series of dirty looks as he ran behind the goal towards the Ashburton Army.

There was still time before the half finished  - via another through ball slid past the hapless Diouf (this time Saka to Timber) - for the ball to fall to Calafiori on the edge of the box. The Italian's right foot (yes, right foot!) shot rebounded off the post and onto Areola's back, but failed to bounce back over the goal line. It was literally all Arsenal.

Second half, and more of the same. Rice, marauding onto the left wing, crossed for Gyokeres, who probably ought to have slid the ball home. 

Big Vik could do with a goal as a reward for all the effort he puts in. And Arsenal continued to give West Ham little or no hope by dominating possession; without the need to play in anything higher than second gear. It wasn't enthralling, but hopefully saving energy in October will pay dividends in April and May. 

The coup de force was delivered just after the hour when another chip by Zubimendi exposed Diouf once more. He had allowed Timber to get onto his wrong side, and brought him down for a penalty so clear that even Howard Webb couldn't deny it. The foul started outside the penalty box, but continued inside it - 100% a penalty.

We wondered if Saka might hand the ball to Big Vik, but on his 200th appearance for the club Little Chili kept the ball for himself - and slammed it into the net with the goalkeeper going the other way. That's 100 goal Premier League contributions from Starboy (55 goals and 45 assists) since his debut. I do love that young man!

Arsenal remained on cruise control throughout the rest of the game, with the only concern the withdrawal of Rice with what appeared to be some soreness in his back. Apparently, it's nothing serious, and he'll be off with England this week.

Other points of interest: 

• there seems to be more space - even against a low block - for the wingers to work in this season. I wonder if that's because a 'proper' centre forward is causing defenders to have half an eye on him a lot of the time
• xG, in so much that it can be seen as a comparative measure, stands at 12.22 to 4.38 over the Premier League season so far. 1.52 of the 4.38 were actually at Old Trafford! What it does certainly show is remarkable solidity bearing in mind the quality of fixture that Arsenal have got out of the way in their first 7 games. And this was another game with 60%+ possession. Arsenal are barely giving the opposition a sniff!
• despite the remarkably deep bench, Arteta is still without Hincapie, Havertz, Madueke and Jesus (and now Odegaard). What he's going to do if they're ever all fit at the same time I simply cannot imagine. But what I can say is this; he can, has and will rotate his squad, and on that basis -especially looking at the quality of player available - there simply can't be any excuses this season 
• With Liverpool and Arne Slot suffering something of a crisis, Manchester City still flawed despite possessing the Haaland Cheat Code, and a relatively favourable series of matches to come, this could be a chance to open a gap at the top of the table

Look, let's see. There's another of those interminable Interlulls now, and then we're back with matches against Fulham, Palace, Brighton, Burnley and Sunderland.

Time to keep our fingers crossed for some clean bills of health, and then to kick on. COYG!

Dreams Can Come True

Please forgive the corny title of this week's offering; although those of a certain vintage will recall it being a line from Gabrielle's massive 1993 hit Dreams. In it, she sings: 'You know you gotta have hope. You know you gotta be strong'. And, do you know, as we watch Arteta and his charges grow in stature on a match-by-match basis, no words could be more apt.

Anyway, let's crack on with my thoughts on the hard-fought but ultimately well-deserved win over the Geordie Demons (sorry; Newcastle United). I have a list of the clubs I dislike most, and for years it's been the traditional Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea. But that list has mutated over the years; Manchester City have got stronger as their city rivals have got weaker (so much so that it's not difficult to start feeling slightly sorry for them as we watch their calamitous fall from grace), and have therefore usurped them on that list - especially considering the whole 115 Charges thing. 

But Newcastle are really pushing for a slot in that Top 3 these days. What with the unsung Master of The Dark Arts, Eddie Howe, in charge, with his gurning perma-tanned sidekick Tindall alongside him at all times; and then the Saudi money, a midfield featuring both Bruno Guimares and Joelinton, and the serial diver Anthony Gordon ahead of them; plus a whole series of conspiracy theory-driven defeats at their strange looking stadium, it's not surprising that they bring out the worst in me! And probably you too! 

And so, when the winning goal went in so late, my emotions were absolutely visceral! There have been injury time goals over the past few years that have brought us great joy; Danny Welbeck's late winner over Leicester and Reiss Nelson's against Bournemouth spring instantly to mind. But for me this brought out emotions almost as strong as Anfield, May 26th 1989. Surely an indication of how much I despise Newcastle United, and how much this result may mean come May.

Isn't it strange how so many of the games this season have had agendas and talking points galore. Two routine home wins, of course, but the other 4 have been full of controversy and debate. And yet again there's loads to pick out of this one. And there's no better place to start than with the team selection.

Martin Odegaard's lack of match fitness made it fairly easy for Arteta to fit Eberiche Eze into the side - and for all the protestations that the Manager doesn't listen to outside noise there's no doubt that the chat around the midfield selection he made last weekend - and the whole 'handbrake' agenda - would have got through to him. Of course, whilst Eze was ostensibly bought to play in the inside- or outside-left position, it has swiftly become abundantly clear that he is most effective centrally, and so it was an easy call to pop him into the side in place of Merino. As an aside, where this leaves Ethan Nwaneri - who didn't even make the bench - I don't quite know. Especially with Odegaard very much on his way back! 

It's all quite bizarre; for all the attacking talent that the club possess now it feels somewhat imbalanced. Saka and the currently injured Madueke will surely fill the bulk of the right hand side minutes. The latter may get shunted out to the left too, despite both Martinelli and Trossard (with different skill sets) having been used in that role over the past couple of seasons. To me, none of the 4 options is an ideal one for the job of left winger; so it's a difficult one for the Manager. In this instance, he went with Trossard, whose intelligent movement was always likely to be an asset when dovetailing with the marauding Calafiori on that side.

In the interior, there are some more difficult decisions to be made. Unless he leaves one of Rice and Zubimendi out of the side, there's no room for both Odegaard and Eze in there (let alone Nwaneri!). And on top of that there's still Havertz to come back at some point. Talking of whom, there's quite a big burden on the shoulder of Big Vik at the moment, and his need for a rest will hopefully coincide with the German's return to fitness. 

Great to see Starboy back, of course. But I'm sure that we were all puzzled by the selection of Mosquera over Saliba at the back. For all of his promise and potential, the former is not at the latter's level at this stage of his development. If Saliba wasn't deemed fit enough to start - despite having played the full game in midweek - then that's one thing. But if you're going to rest him, Mikel, wait for an easier game; it's West Ham next week!

Anyway, I reckon that 5 paragraphs on team selection is considerably more than enough. So let's crack on.

Arsenal dominated possession almost from the start. Chances came and went for Gyokeres and Eze (the first of many decent saves from Pope), before the first of a number of controversial moments. Timber slipped both of the violent Brazilian midfielders on the left following a corner, Eze picked the ball up and played a delightful ball over the top to Saka, and following some pinball a dreadful poke at the ball from Murphy back towards his keeper sold the latter short. Gyokeres was through on goal, and Pope brought him down for what looked an absolute stonewall penalty. And if that's Mo Salah or Erling Haaland there's no danger of it not being one.

But (Liverpool-supporting) Gillett was called over the pitch side monitor by (Liverpool-supporting) VAR England; we thought initially to decide on the colour card to be awarded to the keeper - the only question appeared to be DOGSO or Double Jeopardy - until it was revealed that as Pope had got a slight touch on the ball the recommendation was to overturn the decision. Ludicrous, and I've got four further things to say about it:

• The penalty award was not a 'clear and obvious error', so why was it being looked at so forensically?
• The bar, we thought, had been raised to allow 'Referee's Call' to be the over-riding factor in such situations. Not when it comes to Arsenal, however
• If that incident had happened in the centre of the field between two midfielders, it's a foul...
• Remember last season, and the unprecedented decision to award a penalty against Saliba for making accidental contact with the thoroughly annoying head of Joao Pedro just after he'd headed the ball at The Amex? Decision fully justified by Howard Webb, of course... yet all I can see is that this one was far, far worse of an offence

But there you go. It's Arsenal, so let's chalk off the penalty award... good work once more PGMOL. Arteta could do nothing but laugh. I am not, however, going to make too big a deal out of the officials being Liverpool fans - as Gabriel almost certainly got away with one on a technicality for handball late in the match. One the officials could easily have given...

Nonetheless Arsenal remained on top; Calafiori heading wide following a free kick and, after a sweeping move of 8 first time passes started by Timber deep in the Arsenal half, Trossard thrashed the ball against the post from just 7 yards out. There was some lovely work from Gyokeres - who did a very good job holding the ball up and bringing others into play throughout the game - and Saka within that move.

I'm going to gloss over Towelgate at this point; although it did serve as an amusing distraction in an intense match. I'll just move on to another fine save by Pope from a fine Eze volley on the back of the subsequent long throw. And yet another save from a Saka cross-shot following a fast break instigated once more by Jurrien Timber. There had been an early exchange of corners, but by this point around half an hour in Arsenal were all over Newcastle; yet with nothing to show for their efforts.

But with the same inevitability as night following day, a series of silly errors and Newcastle were unjustly ahead. Mosquera completely shanked a back pass to Raya, leading to a corner. The Arsenal defence switched off as - for once - Newcastle played the ball short, and from the ensuing cross Gabriel collapsed into an embarrassing heap at the slightest touch from the beanpole Woltemade before the German headed past the helpless Raya. So, so aggravating; especially bearing in mind the dominance, and the fact that Arsenal had - by dint of their own idiocy - given Newcastle something to hold on to.

And so on to the second half. And where you'd have been concerned that previous iterations of Arsenal may have felt sorry for themselves and succumbed to the inevitability of defeat, there was actually very little of that. Sure, there was a little bit of horseshoe passing at the back while they recomposed themselves, but they were soon back in the groove and putting more and more pressure on the home defence. It was attack vs defence as Arsenal looked for a breakthrough, with the Arsenal midfield trying all they know. One dink over the top from Zubimendi saw Timber force yet another decent save out of Pope; who by this point was really starting to irritate me! This was certainly a change in mind-set, and Arsenal are going to have to continue to be bold as the season goes on.

On 70 minutes Merino and Martinelli entered the fray at the expense of Saka and Calafiori. With Newcastle having switched to a back 5 by this point, it seemed the natural thing to look to pile even more pressure on, with the Spaniard charged with joining Gyokeres in the penalty area as often as possible. But the game possibly turned with the departure - on a stretcher - of Livramento, who had been clattered in mid-air by Saliba and who looked to jar his knee badly as he landed. 

It definitely turned with the arrival of Martin Odegaard, who replaced his namesake Zubimendi on 82 minutes and proceeded to produce a magical cameo that showcased everything that is great about him. He moved the ball quickly and intelligently, combining well with everyone around him and at one point playing a pass through the eye of a needle to release MLS that brought back memories of Mesut Ozil. But Arsenal were swiftly running out of time.

Until, playing Newcastle at their own game, Arsenal caught the home defence out with a short corner. A swift interchange between Odegaard and Rice, a beautifully weighted cross, and Mikel Merino rose to plant a sumptuous header into the far corner. Pope was finally beaten.

Not soon after came the incident in which Gabriel got away with one; the ball striking his upraised hand as he slid in to block an Elanga cross. Very, very fortunate indeed. But it's about time we had some luck up at that ground.

And then... and then... Gabriel redeemed himself for his poor effort for the Newcastle goal with a typical thumping header from a perfectly-delivered Odegaard corner. Just. F*cking. Brilliant! Well deserved, and the beauty of it was that the goal was the fruits of Arsenal keeping going until the bitter end; building the pressure until they forced the breakthrough. 

As I say, this is something that they must continue to do as the season goes on. They must build up the fear factor, and keep their collective foot on the proverbial accelerator. Both the players and the backroom staff will have learned a lot from this, and I am very excited to see where they go from here. Forget the continued narrative from outside about Set Piece FC and comparisons with Stoke City; this is an exciting group of players who can only get better - both individually and as a group. Thanks to Agents Welbeck and Neketiah for your excellent work over the weekend, by the way.

Champions League on Wednesday, and then it's West Ham (new manager bounce) at the weekend. With Liverpool having a tricky fixture, so let's take advantage should the situation arise. Going forward, fitting all his assets into the side is going to be a continuing conundrum for Arteta.

COYG!