Arsenal have played three times since my last post, but as you'll be aware I generally stick to writing only after a Premier League game. But in the course of this post, I will cover the win over Mansfield and the draw in Germany (plus a short preview of the return leg and of the Carabao Cup Final); as the season heads towards what could yet be a sensational climax.
However, there is only one place - and one person - with which to start. Max Dowman.
I’m not going to suggest for a single moment that I am alone in being aware of his potential for quite a while now. Because that would be nonsense. But I was telling friends in non-Arsenal footballing WhatsApp groups to look out for him over a year ago. And my pre-season Preview post in August did include the following two paragraphs:
“He's 15 years old - putting that into context, he'll be starting Year 11 and studying for his GCSEs at school from next month - and yet from what we have seen of him he makes Ethan Nwaneri look almost ordinary! We have had some exceptionally talented youngsters come through the ranks at Arsenal over the years - the likes of Fabregas, Wilshere, and of course Bukayo Saka - but I think that we can be as excited about Max as about any of them.
In fact, I'd go as far as to say that he can currently be bracketed amongst such teenage superstars as Owen, Rooney, Mbappe, Yamal and (yes, I'm actually going to say it) even Lionel Messi for potential. An absolute gem, but one that needs careful polishing and protecting. We have already seen him make an impact in pre-season - winning two penalties and consistently embarrassing seasoned professionals - but we must temper our enthusiasm because of his age. Saying that, I'd like to see him on the bench on Sunday!”
Look, you've all heard about and seen - if you're like me, possibly 200+ times for the clips of the goal from various angles - his performance. How transformative it was. And what a difference it could just make to Arsenal's season. But here's my take on his cameo:
Firstly, it was clear when Arteta summoned him from the bench that he was going after the win Big Time. To see the formation revert to Rice as the sole 6, Saka and Eze as twin 8/10s, and Martinelli and Dowman on the wings either side of Big Vik was a real signal of intent. Especially against a side who are no mugs. And the fascination for me was that firstly Arteta had shown so much faith in him - there was no place for Norgaard on the bench for this game, and Max came on whilst Brazilian international Gabriel Jesus was left warming the bench. And then that with all that attacking talent on the pitch, the established players continually looked to him - a real sign of belief in his ability to change the course of the match. His statistics were amazing for somebody who had just 16 minutes to make a mark, and he had experienced international left back Myolenko on toast - the moment when he just stood on the ball and froze time, with the Ukrainian afraid to dare to make a move, showed both his talent and confidence.
The sequence of actions for the first goal was really interesting. It started with David Raya putting his foot on the ball, and then passing it back and forth with Gabriel. All whilst the crowd were going ballistic - begging for the ball to be hit long up field. Myself... I was saying - out loud - 'No. No. This is sensible. He's trying to draw them out'... and once he had done so he was able to bypass 3/4 players and find Mosquera in loads of space on the right-hand side. Down the line to Dowman, and off an Everton player for a throw in. And I'll tell you this: if Raya reacts to the crowd and goes long, Arsenal do not score that goal.
Everton must have been expecting a long throw, and backed off. Fatal mistake. The ball at Dowman's feet, and Myolenko with yards to make up on him. No hesitation from the boy, as he swung a gorgeous long cross towards the far post. And there's a lot more to what happens in there that you may think. Yes, Pickford comes, but barely deflects the ball. But it's not as bad an error as suggested, because his contact took the ball beyond the onrushing Martinelli. But what on earth was left back Hincapie doing beyond Gabi? It was all out attack! And yes, the bounce of the ball off the Ecuadorian's groin and thighs was fortunate; but there was Gyokeres in EXACTLY the place he was bought to be at moments like that. Thank you very much!
Cue the requisite pandemonium. Joy mixed with relief, of course. Followed inevitably by anxious glances at the clock...
As we moved into the seventh minute of 6 minutes of injury time, Arsenal conceded first a throw in and then - following a mix up between Gabriel and Hincapie - a corner. Pickford made his way up the field. And everyone was thinking the same thing. Memories of late concessions against Manchester United, Sunderland and Wolves came flooding back. But...
Gyokeres threw himself at the cross and headed it away from goal. Martinelli headed it on and - and this is fascinating if you look for it - there was young Max to pick up the loose ball. His positioning for the corner was way over the other side of the penalty area, but a certain sense that only the truly gifted have attracted him towards where he felt the ball might drop.
And then he was away. A clever header that took him beyond Myolenko, who had signalled the retreating Dewsbury-Hall to cover him. But the moment that made this goal so special was the clever slowing down of his own momentum by Max, alongside two delicate touches with his right (wrong) foot, that threw Dewsbury-Hall off balance and onto the ground. The midfielder could only look on in horror as Dowman suddenly had the freedom of Emirates Stadium to run into - nothing but fresh air between him and his first ever senior goal for Arsenal, with his nearest pursuer Gabriel Martinelli. Gabi was there for emergencies only - cleverly shielding Max from the nearest defender as he approached goal and stroked the ball home.
Two clips of the goal here. The first showing the brilliant trickery, and the second with the most magnificent French commentary!
The entire crowd, however, had already been on their feet for at least 10 seconds by this point. A crescendo of noise built around the stadium as the inevitability of what was about to happen became clear. Roars of encouragement and excitement. For this was an "I Was There" moment. And then the ball was in the net, and Max was wheeling away towards the corner flag, pursued by his team-mates, all the substitutes and most of the coaching staff. The joy was unconfined.
This was a moment at least equal to Arshavin's winner against Barcelona, Thierry Henry's triumphant comeback FA Cup goal against Leeds, Danny Welbeck's last-minute winner against Leicester, Reiss Nelson's last minute stunner against Bournemouth, and two match-winning goals against Manchester United in the very recent past (Jesus and Nketiah the scorers). It eclipsed anything we'd achieved against Tottenham at this ground - including the successive 5-2 wins. And even this season's critical injury time Martinelli equaliser against Manchester City. It was just the most unbelievable thing to witness; to feel; to be part of. It's what you go to matches for. A star was born. And apt that he should do it against Everton, for it was against Arsenal that Wayne Rooney first announced himself to the world, was it not?
But back to the rest of the game. Because there was much of interest long before Dowman entered the fray. Starting with Arteta's selection. Havertz preferred to Gyokeres and Jesus up top. Eze keeping his place at 10. Madueke in for Martinelli on the left hand side following his excellent shift in midweek. And Calafiori in for Hincapie at left back.
All fascinating moves. No real surprise to see Kai start, as he offers something completely different to what the Swede does; and ability that the latter does not have to knit the play together. Madueke deserved an opportunity, although he is better on the right, so I may have asked Saka to go to left wing for a change. As for the re-introduction of Calafiori - he makes a massive difference to the way that Arsenal attack. Unlike Hincapie, whose main strengths are defensive, Ricci adds a sense of unpredictability to Arsenal's attack and get opponents onto their heels. If he can remain fit, he can have a massive impact on what's left of this season.
Everton weren't simply there to make up the numbers, however. It was helpful that they were missing both Tarkovski and the gigantic Branthwaite from central defence, which meant that Garner had to revert from midfield to right back, but their trio of attacking midfielders were a handful for Arsenal. Most of the danger came from McNeil, who twice in the space of a minute exploited the space left by Calafiori's wanderings. Firstly to fire in a shot that the Italian blocked in a manner I've never seen before; throwing his feet high into the air like an acrobat to keep out an effort that looked sure to beat Raya. And then to strike the far post with a stunning curling strike from 25 yards. Dewsbury-Hall also had a decent effort beaten away by Raya. So Arsenal had to tread cautiously.
Everton's last real opportunity came early in the second half, when Raya saved Beto's goal bound shot with an outstretched boot following a corner. The second half was mainly driven by the home side, for sure; although with no rewards until right at the end.
There were people around me who were disappointed with Arsenal's performance. And yes, the substitutions did make the difference. But I felt that Arsenal were playing with more confidence and freedom than we had seen for a while. This made the game a little more open than some may have liked, but at this stage of the season it does feel like Arsenal need to take a few more risks in order to receive their reward. That's how Liverpool won the title last season. Despite the lack of goals, I preferred this Arsenal performance to many we've witnessed over the last month.
I think that they're still trying to get to grips with how to feed Eze in the number 10 role; so used have they become to continually recycle the ball to the wings. And it was fascinating to note how often William Saliba found himself in advanced positions. Nonetheless, Eze showed further glimpses of his ability in this game, was unlucky that one of his 6 or more shots didn't find the net, and is really starting to prove his worth.
Of course, Arsenal should have had a first half penalty when Kai Havertz was caught on the ankle from behind by Keane. Lovely through ball from Eze, by the way. The referee didn't give it, despite having a perfect view of the incident. And - as we were all asking in the stands - why would Kai go down for any other reason than being fouled when he could see the whites of Pickford's eyes? The extraordinary thing is that VAR - the supposed fail-safe for such moments - failed to do its job; indeed, taking three seconds to back up the referee's call. I referral to the screen would have led to a penalty being awarded, and a red card for Keane. Clear as day. And incompetence of the highest order, in my opinion.
Madley had a terrible game, in fact. Getting decision after decision wrong. Calling fouls when there were none; and waving play on at blatant assaults - one from Garner on Madueke would have led to his arrest if it had occurred outside the stadium. As a consequence, I'll say two things. Firstly, if Arsenal hadn't have gone on to win then the penalty incident would be the centre of everyone's attention. And secondly, I guess that we would have been robbed of Max's moments of glory if things would have worked out how they frankly should.
The most important thing, of course, was that three points had been secured. 10 points clear, with City's match away to West Ham to immediately follow. And we were able to enjoy that at our leisure - and in a very good mood of course. A mood further improved by a Man of the Match performance from Konstantinos Mavropanos. Once a Gooner... And so we can now concentrate on other matters with no Premier League game until the middle of next month. Sitting pretty? I guess that we are.
On to other matters quickly now. Firstly, a narrow win at Mansfield to get us through to an FA Cup quarter final. Away to Southampton? The draw could have been worse. Two quick things to say about that match. Firstly, that Max Dowman was Arsenal's best player here too; for all that it was a bit of a struggle with a much-rotated side. And secondly that Mansfield gave Arsenal a considerably harder test than Tottenham had a couple of weeks prior. We can park the FA Cup for a couple of weeks now, of course.
And then to Leverkusen; which was a difficult test. They have an excellent home record, so to come away with a draw is fine. And whilst Arsenal went on to win at the weekend, Bayer had a really bruising encounter with no less than Bayern Munich. I'm taking nothing for granted, but we ought to expect that home advantage will be enough to see Arsenal through to the quarter finals in this competition too.
And then to Sunday, and the Carabao Cup Final. Who knows which Manchester City will turn up, but they've had some setbacks over the past week or so - including a crushing 3-0 defeat in Madrid - so whilst this is absolutely a one-off fixture, with considerable pressure on Arsenal to lift a first trophy in 6 seasons, I'd imagine that their opponents' confidence must be at a relatively low ebb. I am lucky enough to have a ticket, and am really looking forward to it.
We move on. Respecting the ball whilst we do...
COYG!
No comments:
Post a Comment