Partey = the reincarnation of Vieira?

Arsenal removed a large monkey from their backs as they won in the Premier League at Old Trafford for the first time in 14 years - when, you may recall, a late goal from (the much-loved) Emmanuel Adebayor earned The Gunners the spoils - and thereby took three points from a so-called Big Six club for the first time in 29 attempts. I say 'so-called' because United looked anything like a top team throughout the entire match.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's expertly-taken penalty - Pogba's tackle on Bellerin meaning that even (the much-loved) Mike Dean had no choice but to point to the spot - was the difference between the two sides. Well, that was the statistical case; but I think that it's fair to say that Arsenal dominated the game on every single level almost from start to finish.

The last couple of Premier League games have been frustrating, in that they ended as narrow defeats when there were opportunities to be more decisive in certain situations and perhaps pick up some points. But here - despite the narrowness of the scoreline - there can be no doubt who were the better coached, motivated and dynamic set of players on the pitch. Mikel Arteta and his team were superior to Manchester United in every single measurable way.

To be honest, I was concerned before the game. Arsenal were coming off two rather pedestrian performances in those losses at Manchester City and home to Leicester, and United were coming off a thumping 5-1 Champions League victory in midweek. But I soon started to relax, as the visitors began to dominate from the start.

The selection of Mohammed Elneny had raised a few eyebrows, but he had a really good game, never stopped running and his partnership with Partey dominated the poorly-constructed United midfield. And I think that we all saw from very early on yesterday why Arsenal signed Partey, as he immediately looked to me - as has been since discussed by every pundit I've read and listened to since - like we were watching Patrick Vieira again. Roy Keane, who let's face it should know, made that very comparision. I was hoping to make that point in isolation, but it now looks like I'm jumping on the back of a very long bandwagon :(

I listened to (comedian and massive Gooner) Alan Davies' interview with Arsene Wenger over the past week, and when discussing Vieira Wenger had said that he a) was never afraid to receive the ball, no matter how much coverage he was in, b) read the game superbly and was always up for the fight and c) always looked to play the ball forward. And that's precisely what we saw from Partey yesterday. I am very excited by what he can bring to the side over the next months and years, and I suppose that it's up to Arteta now to see how he puts the pieces of the jigsaw in front of Partey together to get the side making more chances and scoring more goals. We are lucky to have him; every team in the division needs him (one can almost start to wonder if Arteta could fit Ozil back in the side now?).

There are those - Gary Lineker included, I note - who described the game as dull. But for me it was like a game of chess, with Arsenal always seemingly a move in front. I really enjoyed it - right up to the last 15 minutes, which felt very, very long...

On the whole, it is difficult to find an Arsenal player who didn't have at least a half-decent game. Rob Holding, back in the side after injury, put in an assured performance alongside the formidable Gabriel, and Tierney and Bellerin got at least 7.5 out of 10 for their efforts. Central midfield worked well, as I've mentioned, and both Saka (who could/should have done better with a first half header) and Willian (who hit the bar following a 1-2 with Auba and perhaps also should have hit the target) both contributing well. Auba still looks a little isolated out on the left, but is a major threat when he moves infield, and Lacazette's contribution should not be under-estimated as he worked tirelessly (well, that's not actually fair, as he did tire midway through the second half as usual, to be replaced by Nketiah) as the first line of pressing/defence. A game plan well-constructed, and well-executed.

I will reiterate something I've said before; that - and especially away from home - the lack of a crowd helps Arsenal. Arteta is constantly barking instructions (in several languages) and it really helps the system. However, I must also add that in many ways this crowd-less football leaves me cold. I personally can't stand the artificial crowd noise, and am always on Sky Channel 402 instead of 401, but I badly miss the real atmosphere; actually being at the ground. It makes me sad that we're missing out.

As for United.. well, I frankly don't care but they're in a mess. Trying to shoehorn Pogba and Fernandes into the side is looking difficult (perhaps Greenwood should drop out and they go back to a 4-4-2?) but once more Ole's not looking too safe at the wheel. Here are two managers on entirely different career paths:

So Liverpool are once more top of the table, following another Salah 'dive' controversy. I detest it when forwards look to initiate contact or blatantly over-react to the slightest touch. And unfortunately Spurs won again, and have gone second in the table. Two points to make here: 1) Kane once more (like Salah) was 'clever' in winning his side a penalty; looking to 'make a back' for his opponent by backing in but not jumping should also be outlawed in my opinion; and 2) don't worry - it's Spurs, and we're only a point behind them in any case.

And so to next weekend and a PPV game at home to Aston Villa. Let's hope that they continue to leak the goals that they have started to leak. But before then on Thursday there's a Europa League game at home to Solskjaer's old club, Molde, when we can certainly expect to see a much-rotated team.

OK. Stay safe and well locked down and snuggled up, please. COYG.

Mustafi mustafis as Vardy returns to haunt pedestrian Gunners

Arsenal have underperformed for three matches in a row. Or perhaps they had overperformed previously; I really can't be sure at this stage. But this uninspiring 1-0 loss to Leicester City, on the back of a pretty dreadful performance in Vienna earlier in the week and the unambitious if narrow defeat at The Etihad, has now got me sending out distress signals.

By the way, I did not pay £14.95 to watch the game. It's an outrage that season ticket holders  - at the very minimum - cannot have free access to home games. I will not be utilising the Box Office option, and there are other ways of getting access to live feeds (or so I'm told...).

If the Leicester game was a Whodunnit, the script would have been pretty transparent from very early on. Arsenal dominating possession - but not doing much with it - for vast portions of the game, only for the scourge that is Jamie Vardy to (inevitably) come off the bench to take advantage of a Mustafi error (the final photograph in this piece shows quite how far out of position the German was) and score the only goal of the game. Of course, there's a lot more to it than that, but by the end it was so, so predictable.

So firstly to team selection; and as expected with the arrival of Thomas Partey Arteta reverted to his preferred 4-3-3 formation, with Luiz and Gabriel the central defensive selection (of the club's plethora of centre-halves, it's quite astonishing that the returning Mustafi was the only other one available for selection). With Willian out injured, Saka joined Aubameyang and Lacazette up front.

Arsenal scored early, with Ceballos' corner flicked in at the near post by Lacazette. The goal was disallowed, however, for a dubious offside call against Xhaka, who was deemed to be interfering with Schmeichel when in fact he was not. 

And this decision changed the course of the game, with Leicester - playing without a recognised centre-forward - adopting the same low block, rope-a-dope tactics so successfully employed by Jose Mourinho late last season.

And truth be told, once more Arsenal - despite dominating possession - created very little. The pace of play was too slow, and apart from the option of Luiz playing long diagonals from right to left all we saw was the sideways passing that has frustrated Arsenal fans for probably 7 or 8 years now. What somebody like Cesc Fabregas could do for this group!

And so Arsenal made it pretty easy for Leicester. There was little threat, with Aubameyang - perhaps not 100% - once more quite ineffective. I can see why Arteta wants to play him from out wide, but his strengths are frankly elsewhere. The midfield were neat and tidy - Partey included - but there was no spark and very few chances were created. One for Lacazette following a move started by one of those Luiz diagonals, and another for Bellerin who had to concentrate too much on hitting the target and who failed to generate enough pace with his volley; and that was pretty much it.

And then to the key part of the game. At pretty much the same time as Vardy was preparing to make his entrance, Luiz went down holding his right quad. The only option on the bench was the returning - and barely match-fit - Mustafi. And whilst he was mostly perfectly adequate in what he did, Mustafi's failure to read the play as Tielemans fed Under, nor to track the run of Vardy, left the striker with a fairly routine header from the Turk's cross. Catastrophe!

And here's the problem. Plan A is not particularly imaginative, and there doesn't seem to be much of a Plan B, with Nketiah currently the only alternative - Pepe flashes more cold than hot, and Martinelli is months away. Answers need to be found, and quickly!

I'll just touch on the performance and result in Vienna on Thursday. A dire first half showing - almost reminiscent of some of the dross Emery served up for us at around this time last season - combined with some Keystone Kops footwork from Leno, left Arsenal trailing... to the third best team in Austria! Thankfully, firstly David Luiz's header and then the one moment of class of the entire game just 4 minutes later, ending with Aubameyang scoring his first goal since the first day of the season, put Arsenal back in control; and from then on it was a cruise. But it needn't be like this. Arsenal need to do better.

I'm not saying that the 'honeymoon period' is coming to an end for Arteta. After all, he delivered the FA Cup and European football. But I do feel that he needs to add an extra dimension, or spark, to the team's play. Whether that will involve pushing Ceballos further up the pitch, or perhaps playing Saka in 'the hole', I don't really know. But it does feel that a new dimension is needed. I hate to mention Mesut Ozil at this stage... but boy, there are days when we really do miss him!

And so to the prospective cakewalk at home to Dundalk on Thursday evening, followed by a visit to Old Trafford. I predict a very low scoring encounter.

Stay safe, one and all. Until next week.

Nothing To See Here...

 And so, after an interminably long and dull Interlull, Arsenal were back in action on Saturday evening. And, if the line-up wasn't quite a surprising as others have been, the formation certainly was.

Far be it from me to criticise Mikel Arteta - and this was Manchester City they were up against, after all - but I do wonder if he out-thinks himself occasionally. And, of course, I'd rather have it this way than get smashed by Manchester City, as has happened all too frequently recently, but if I had to sum up the performance I suppose I'd go with timid, uninspiring, tentative and... a little boring. After all, this lot had shipped 5 in their last home game!

And so to the game itself. And firstly - why the blue kit? There was no reason why Arsenal could not have played in their 'proper' kit - the red and white. But there's merchandising to consider, isn't there. Ridiculous!

And then - and much more importantly - the formation. On paper, with neither Lacazette or Nketiah selected, it looked for all money that Aubameyang was going to be up top. And yet... and this is where I question the over-thinking - Arteta chose to play an inverted formation with Willian up the middle. And it simply didn't work. Both Auba and Pepe were too wide to influence the game - when Arsenal had possession, that is - and it also inhibited the ability of the wing-backs to make an impact. One could see what the plan was, but it was essentially all too crowded out wide, but with a gaping hole down the middle!

The only player who got to express himself properly, I would say, was Bukayo Saka. He found himself 'between the lines' more often than any other Arsenal player, and had one of Arsenal's most serviceable chances - good save from Ederson here:

Throughout, Manchester City dominated possession, as might be expected, but as a whole Arsenal held them off fairly comfortably. Of course, they had chances - Mahrez had one as early as the second minute, cutting inside and firing just wide with his left foot - and they continually pegged Arsenal back.

However, there were opportunities to get forward, and I suppose that I was a little unhappy with the lack of ambition from Arsenal. It wasn't until City had scored that a little more attempt to get forward was shown, and there were immediately that chance for Saka, and others for Auba (finally in from the left) and Pepe.

And when Arsenal needed to switch formation and up the tempo late on... well, their hearts didn't seem in it. It was almost as if they'd prefer to settle for a narrow defeat than really go for it and end up losing by two or three. And I suppose that it's a measure of how far this team has come in just a few months that we can be disappointed by that. And I really wanted to see Aubameyang start up top!

And so, on another weekend of thrills, spills and controversy all over the Premier League, our game was rather insipid. Of high technical quality (particularly from City, of course), but we could have done with a bit more excitement. And a bit more excitement would have involved - and here's a theme oft mentioned - some more chances created by Arsenal, whose chance creation stats have been low for a while. I'd almost be thinking about mentioning Mesut Ozil here, but perhaps Thomas Partey (who sneaked in a 10 minute cameo) might help in that regard.

A few other points to mention. Firstly, I counted no less than 9 cynical fouls by City players during the game. Tug-backs, niggly tackles from behind, blocks etc. That's how they keep teams pegged in; they pile the pressure on, and then when they lose the ball commit a foul as high up the pitch as they can. As an opposition supporter, I don't like that.

Secondly, Sergio Aguero. What was this about?

He's touched an official. A female official. So not only is it out of order because he touched an official, but it looks like a sexist act at the same time. Words should be had, at the very least...

And finally, this:

Walker on Gabriel. I'm not saying that it's a penalty, but it's a high foot, and it's frankly reckless. It could easily be a penalty, and the thing that annoys me is that VAR did not even review the incident!

I'll now just quickly cover what else went on over the weekend - I'm writing this on Monday, so if there's any controversy tonight it won't be included:

There's the two incidents in the Liverpool derby. The reckless 'tackle' - I'd prefer to call it an assault - by Pickford on van Dijk that will see the latter out for the season, Should have been a red card for one; but the loss of this wonderful and vital player could easily scupper Liverpool's entire season.

More points dropped from a winning position by Chelsea. Great going forward; a right mess at the back. Good.

And then there's Tottenham. 3-0 up in no time at home to West Ham, and cruising. If they'd have gone 6 or 8 up you couldn't have argued. And yet... with less than a quarter of an hour to go a daft free kick given away leading to a goal, followed by an own goal by the ever unreliable Sanchez, and then a completely needless challenge by Aurier that led to a goalmouth scramble and Lanzini's thunderous 25-yarder. Oh, how we laughed! 

Not even Jose Mourinho can prevent the inherent Spursyness of Spurs. It's simply in their DNA.

And so to the indefatiguable Arsene Wenger. I say indefatiguable because he's not stopped doing interviews! But... for all we hoped for something hard-hitting it's all a little bland; the book, as well as the interviews. It's lovely to hear his dulcet tones once more, but the book is entirely uncontroversial, and the interviews don't reveal much either. To be expected, I suppose.

Except that he has let slip at the book launch how much he and Sir Alex Ferguson actually hated each other at the height of their rivalry. 

And the other thing that interested me was how disappointed he was at the 2006 Champions League Final loss; as he said, it would have put the seal on that era, starting in 1997, when Arsenal had a truly fantastic team.

I also couldn't help fail to notice that at the launch of his autobiography, at the London Palladium, the theatre looked packed - with very few people wearing masks. Now haven't we got this all wrong - you can pack an indoor arena like that, but you can't watch a football match outdoors? Indeed, I hear that clubs can run hospitality at grounds, but if there's a view of the pitch it has to be hidden and one must watch what's going on right under one's nose on a television screen instead. Utter madness!

Anyway, Arsenal are back in Europe on Thursday, followed by a tricky game against Leicester City. I hope that there'll be good news all round to report on next Monday. Cheerio.

Interlull - but it certainly hasn't been quiet!

Well, despite it being an 'interlull' - whoever thought it was a good idea to have footballers jetting off all over the world during a pandemic needs locking up, if you ask me - there's quite a lot to report on from Arsenal Land. So this is another long one...

Travel arrangements made it impossible for me to blog in a timely manner on the Sheffield United game. So I'll start there, and then dwell on the shock results of that weekend.

So, compared to some of the excitment elsewhere, this was a fairly routine win for Arsenal over an obdurate Sheffield United side who, whilst they remain without a point this season, I see in no danger of going down. 

Talking points were: 

a) David Luiz's pull on Burke's shirt, for which he was fortunate to go unpunished (cue the normal headlines, and it's difficult to put his treatment up against that of 'poor old Harry Maguire') - but weigh that against the thuggish challenge from Berge on Aubameyang which left him writhing in agony and clutching his ankle, and led to his withdrawal from the Gabon squad (small mercies), but which was airbrushed by Sky and the press, and

b) Another promising show from Bukayo Saka, culminating in a well-taken headed goal. And the noticeable difference in the side when Pepe was introduced; let's hope that this game will be a watershed for the latter's Arsenal career. He looked to be combining well with Willian and particularly Bellerin, and took his goal beautifully - making it look easy when, moving at the pace he was, it was anything but

And so three more points bagged, making it 9 out of 12 and the only defeat at Fortress Anfield, home of the Premier League Champions and favourites this season too. But wait... Liverpool's entirely unexpected and crushing 7-2(!) defeat at Villa Park was merely the second of two headline-grabbing results; the other being Manchester United's humiliating 6-1(!) home defeat to Spurs (and that despite the award of a first minute penalty). A quite extraordinary three hours of football, with the result at Old Trafford causing much mirth all over the country (although it's obviously somewhat unfortunate that it was Spurs who did the damage, of course).

On these games; firstly, this embarrassment follows on from a previous home defeat to Crystal Palace, so something is clearly very wrong at Old Trafford. The momentum of the end of last season has come to a thumping halt, and United suddenly look like a very ordinary side. Yet Solskjaer still clings to his job; lest we forget that he took Cardiff City down a few years ago... 

On the other hand, Spurs look awesome - going forward at least - with Kane and particularly Son rampant. That's 18 goals in their last three matches! Fortunately a) they don't look quite so hot in defence or central midfield and b) they're Spurs, so..., well, you know.

And as for Liverpool; well, unless Villa have suddenly found the blueprint for playing against them - their uber-high line was exposed again and again - we can probably treat that result as a massive aberration. With Thiago and Mane to return, and hopefully for their sakes Adrian never to be seen in goal again, I reckon they're still as good as we all think they are. The pressing against Arsenal was almost super-human.

And in discussing those two results, Manchester City's two dropped ponts at home to Leeds almost sneak under the radar...

Moving on to Transfer Deadline Day, and the Eleventh Hour signing of Thomas Partey - 'the new Patrick Vieira', we are told - from Athletico Madrid. The manner of it (including the shenanigans with Houssem Aouar) has been well documented, and what I can comment on what went on is that firstly if you're going to impose the strict requirements that Athletico did on the Partey contract and totally refuse to negotiate, then you shouldn't expect to be angered by what Arsenal did - which was, of course, completely legal (if a little underhand). And secondly, it's all the more amusing for being underhand because if you're Diego Simeone, the Master of Anti-Football and now with a forward line consisting of Diego Costa and Luis Suarez, then it must be quite difficult to take the moral high ground and still be able to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning...

So what will Partey bring to Arsenal? Is he the 'missing link' that we've been waiting for since Paddy left? Well, by all accounts he's quite a monster of a player; strong and athletic (and quick with it), capable of playing as a DM or in a box-to-box role, and a decent passer too. How he fits in remains to be seen - especially who Arteta partners him with - but I'm wondering if this will soon mean that the Manager switches to his preferred 4-3-3 formation -  the one that personnel shortcomings have meant he has been unable to do since he arrived. That remains to be seen, but I suspect that there'll be no formation change for the next game (Manchester City). Anyway, I'm sure that we're all intrigued.

What's just as important as far as the City game is concerned is whether Kieran Tierney is permitted to play or forced to continue to self-isolate. He is of course Arsenal's best defender.

It is worth reflecting at this point that Arsenal did not do a good job of moving players on in the Window. Martinez sold (to the disappointment of many), and Torreira and Guendouzi out on loan, and that's it. So Arsenal remain 'stuck' with Sokratis, Kolasinac, Mustafi and Chambers, William Saliba is in limbo, and then of course there's Mesut Ozil (what's going on with him one can only speculate, and I'll come back to him later). This is  as a result of a poor transfer policy over maybe the past 6-7 years, and it's going to take this regime at least another year to sort out.

Moving on, it was good to see Bukayo Saka get his England debut; and not long after AMN. That's testament to their quality, and to the work that Arteta is doing with them. Saka looked a little lost early on, but grew into the game; it would have been nice if Grealish had passed to him a bit more often, though. Plus in passing; Eddie Nketiah has broken the England under-23 scoring record - he's very much a work-in-progress, however.

And now to Mesut Ozil and - and I never thought I'd have these two in the same paragraph - the saga of Gunnersaurus Rex. 

There are at least two aspects to this, and I'm sure it's far more nuanced than we can possibly know, but I believe that the football world are unanimous in being appalled at the treatment of poor old Jerry Quy (the man in the dinosaur suit) - laying him off is another Arsenal Football Club PR disaster. And then to see Mesut Ozil hoving into view as Jerry's saviour?... well, some might say that this was a pretty cynical PR opportunity grab by the Ozil camp.

Whatever is going on with Ozil - and I'm personally very upset by it - cheap point-scoring is not the answer. The club and the player need to reach an amicable agreement, as the current stand-off is an embarrassment for all concerned. From a personal point of view, I am extremely upset that we are unlikely to see Ozil in an Arsenal shirt again. Thinking about the greatest Arsenal players of the modern era, he's up there with Bergkamp and Henry; with Fabregas, van Persie, Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez. In fact, he's one of the most skilful players I have ever seen, and I love to watch him play. An outstanding talent, going to absolute waste - and at £350k a week - plus an £8m 'loyalty bonus' to boot! Madness.

I think I'll cover the two big autobiography stories of the past couple of weeks in my next post. I haven't read Arsene's yet - it only arrived in the post yesterday - and I am yet to order Lord Bendtner's (although by all accounts it's very interesting). However, I want to quickly cover Project Big Picture.

It is clear and obvious that football finances are skewed badly in favour of the Premier League and especially its biggest clubs, and that this needs addressing. That has been known for years; the rich with all the advantages - and getting richer - while the rest suffer. And yes, just a small adjustment in the percentages would make a massive difference to the finances of the pyramid below. However, this ill-thought plan has been seen for what it was - a cynical, opportunistic power grab (led by Liverpool and Manchester United, but make no mistake they're just the fall guys - I'd be certain that the rest of the so-called Big Six are involved). By all means make the gesture, but make it sustainable and above all don't seek to take advantage of others' misfortune. Shame on you!

Right, that's me (finally) done. Easy game coming up... back on Monday.

Stay safe, whatever Tier you're in.

Back To Reality

This is a bit late posting. Sorry; I was travelling all day yesterday...

And so we Arsenal fans come back to earth. 

Whilst it’s clear that progress has been made under Mikel Arteta, this match revealed the gulf in class between the very top sides - and I don’t think that there can be much doubt that this Liverpool are one of the best club sides that there has ever been - and where Arsenal are at the moment.

Of course, Klopp’s Liverpool project is 5 years (and the best part of £350m) old now, and Arteta is only just starting out and is only part way into his first transfer window, but there is a huge amount of ground to make up. While there seems no reason why Arsenal cannot compete for a Champions League spot this year, my feeling is that a title challenge is going to remain out of reach for at least another three seasons.

If anything, however, it gets people’s feet back on terra firma, and reinforces Arteta’s need for... er... squad reinforcements with the ownership.

It is clear that Liverpool have better players than Arsenal in every single position - I’m not sure that even Aubameyang gets into their side (it would be harsh on Firmino) - and they dominated Arsenal pretty much from start to finish. 

Which we expected, of course; and whilst Arsenal took the lead it was totally against the run of play and merely a blip - that Liverpool would score more than once was frankly inevitable.

And so to the game, when before it started Arteta sprang a couple of selection surprises. I suspected that AMN would start, but wasn’t expecting Holding to keep his place and Gabriel to be dropped to the bench. And I’m not sure that anyone could have expected Elneny to start alongside Xhaka. 

The thing about the midfield selection is that this is where Arsenal are most in need of reinforcements; where apart from Ceballos there is a distinct lack of both creativity and the ability to move the ball quickly in transition. Long balls from Luiz or Xhaka cannot be the solution, and what Arsenal do here in the next week is crucial to the development of the squad.

And so to the match itself; and the first and most obvious thing to note was the hyper-aggression shown by Sadio Mane early on. In the second minute he went in hard and completely unnecessarily from behind on Bellerin (to my eyes an immediate yellow card, irrespective of the fact that it was so early in proceedings), and a mere minute later fended off Tierney with what looked to the naked eye - confirmed by the replays - to be a hand/fist to the face. Immediately booked by referee Pawson, but not reviewed by VAR and if it had been would surely have meant a straight red instead. 

The infuriating thing for Arsenal fans was not just the failure of VAR here, but the fact that Sky also failed to highlight it. And far be it from me to ever agree with Jose Mourinho, but his pointed comments the previous afternoon about the most ‘titled’ clubs getting the rub of the green more than others could be seen to be borne out by this incident.

Whether playing with 10 against Arsenal’s 11 would have made the difference by the end is moot, considering Liverpool’s domination, but it would certainly have helped! 

Of course, Arteta’s game plan against the top sides is weIl-known now, and to counteract it Liverpool pressed Arsenal hard, fast and deep throughout. Out balls were at a premium, as a red tide swarmed all over Arsenal’s continued efforts to play out from the back. All the way to minute 90 and beyond. And for them to be able to do that so early in the season is testament to their fitness and the fact that every single player knows his job so well; plus they’re all so very good. 

I’d particularly like to mention Salah - a world-class talent - who at times was completely unplayable. But he’s just one of several absolutely outstanding individuals on the Liverpool side. (The fortunate to be on the pitch) Mane and Alexander-Arnold were also superb, and Fabinho dominated in midfield.

Yet, miraculously, Arsenal took the lead just before the half hour mark, on one of the few occasions when playing out from the back actually worked. A swift break, and Lacazette had the benefit of a sliced Robertson clearance from Aubameyang’s cross that dropped at his feet inside the six yard box. 

Totally, totally against the run of play, and it was disappointing - but no surprise - that Liverpool got back into the game almost immediately. The strength, determination and skill of Salah leading to a shot that Leno failed to deal with sufficiently, and it dropped at the feet of the unmarked Mane two yards out. As much as anything, too many Arsenal defenders were attracted to the ball and that was what left Mane on his own. Less than three minutes. Hey ho.

And for 2-1, Willian failed to see or track Robertson’s late and clever run to the far post. A lovely dinked finish, and Liverpool were ahead, but an Arsenal mistake nonetheless.

And so to the second half, where Arsenal came out early with more aggression and - for a short while - pushed Liverpool back a bit. But it was short-lived, and it was thereafter only the introduction of Ceballos that helped to stem the continuous red tide for a short while. 

But despite the home side’s domination, Arsenal had their chances. Lacazette was offside for the first, but fluffed his finish, and for the second - created by a wondrous through ball from Ceballos - he again showed the gulf in class between a very good striker and a great one. Credit the keeper, but had that been Aubameyang he would probably have scored. However, our star striker was stranded out on the left wing all night. I’m not sure if it is going to be a priority in this transfer window, but getting Aubameyang playing down the middle is critical for me. 

When he was substituted with a quarter of an hour left, the Frenchman hid his face in his shirt. He knew how key that missed chance was. And his replacement Nketiah missed a decent half chance late on. But here’s the difference - Eddie is a callow youth compared to the Liverpool strikers, and they had the luxury of bringing on Diogo Jota. Who duly scored late on to give the score line a more realistic feel.

However - and whilst the score line was identical to last season’s - Arteta and Arsenal can take pride in the resilience that has been instilled in the past few months. They were still in the game until very late on, and that’s progress. This is a Liverpool side that is almost unbeatable anywhere - and even more so at home - so we can take heart that our club is moving in the right direction. But the road is long (with many a winding turn)... - I keep slipping in song lyrics, don’t I?!?

And so to an important week. Mainly centred around the transfer window that closes next Tuesday, but there are a couple of matches too. Firstly, a Carabao Cup game (again at Anfield, and there’ll be lots of changes to both sides but this is a tough one) and then a Premier League game at home to a woefully out of form Sheffield United. An opportunity to get back on track.

Just a quick mention for the new handball rule and VAR here. The rule needs to be changed - because when Arsenal fans have sympathy (sort of) for Tottenham Hotspur it must be serious. And when VAR can miss obvious things like the Chelsea handball that led to their late winner, that only goes to indicate its continued shortfalls. Come on IFAB/Premier League; get a grip.

Until next Monday, then. #COYG

Getting Away With It

Well, when compared to last week's romp at Craven Cottage this was an entirely different experience. 

Of course, coming up against a somewhat callow, naive and inexperienced Fulham manager and team is chalk to the cheese of West Ham (for all that they were dreadful in their first game) and their craggy, experienced Manager, David Moyes. And, frankly, Arsenal were extremely fortunate to come away with all three points.

So what did I take from the game? Firstly, that Arsenal still have plenty to do in order to compete at, or even near, the top of the table. For all that Arteta has found, and drilled into the side, a way to play against the top sides - who will carry the game to Arsenal - there is still some way to go to solve the puzzzle of how to deal with hard-working sides who are prepared to sit deep and hit on the break. And West Ham can rightly feel somewhat aggrieved to have left The Emirates with nothing on Saturday, having dominated for considerable parts of the game. The major difference between the sides was clearly the finishing capabilities of the respective strikers.

Secondly, that plenty of work still needs to be done on the squad, with players needing to be moved on and replaced. And brought to the fore here, because of his sub-standard performance in this match, was Kolasinac. He only started because Kieran Tierney went down with a hip injury (not serious it transpires), and clearly Arteta did not feel that David Luiz was fit to play 90 minutes, nor that he wanted to blood William Saliba against such a rugged outfit as West Ham. But Kolasinac is simply not up to playing on the left hand side of a three, and has been overtaken by not only Tierney, but also Maitland-Niles and Saka for the left wing back position. So in this window we ought to see Kolasinac leave, as well as Sokratis. With likely three further centre backs to be moved on in the next year. The West Ham goal came about because the Serb failed to read Fredericks' run, and then Holding - also sub-standard in this game - found himself on the wrong side of Antonio.

There is also something lacking in midfield; which we all know of course. Seeing Arsenal overrun in there for long periods - sometimes losing possession due to inexcusable over-elaboration (complacency?) - is difficult to stomach. There's a shortage of numbers (with Torreira out of favour and surely on his way, lack of clarity on Elneny, and Willock needing further experience - and that's leaving aside all thoughts of Guendouzi). For all that Xhaka's numbers were tidy, and Caballos had the late assist, in general play there's an element of the light weight about the current setup. So whether it's Partey, or Aouar, or somebody of whom we are not aware, it needs to be made to happen by the time the window closes. Clarity on Guendouzi and Ozil would obviously also be helpful.

Up front Willian had a conspicuously quiet game, but the link play of Saka and the class of Aubameyang led to an easy opportunity for Lacazette for the opener (I thought that it was certain to be ruled out for offside)...

...and when a team has such quality it can atone for a multitude of sins. And Nketiah very much did his job in substituting for the tiring Laca late on. With Pepe and Nelson - and later in the season Martinelli - to add to those numbers - I think that we're well enough stocked up top.

(Dani and Eddie have made it up...)

So I'm hoping for quite a bit of movement in the squad over the next couple of weeks.

The other main talking point was the penalty that West Ham were not awarded. II think that it should have been; especially in light of the ludicrous award at Old Trafford for a non-handball by Lindelof - two things to mention here are a) that's karma for Manchester United and b) have I not been complaining for months about Martin Atkinson?).

And finally, Leno. Not his finest showing in an Arsenal shirt and it did illustrate the concerns that some of us have about him. He made mistakes that we didn't see from Martinez whilst he was between the sticks, and it makes you wonder... but the die is cast, and we shall see.

And so to Carabao Cup action at Leicester in midweek (tricky, and especially with loads of personnel changes expected) and then to Anfield (where I suspect Maitland-Niles may well be back in the side). An acid test; and especially with the special talent that is Thiago Alcantara expected to start for Liverpool. I'll take a point right now.

Back next week. Thanks for reading; and stay safe, please.

Off and running

And so the new season kicked off on Saturday; with Arsenal adopting their rightful place on top of the table...

OK, I'm joking, and there won't be many 'easier' opponents in this season's Premier League than Fulham. However, there have been occasions in recent seasons when Arsenal have struggled against such opposition (I can think of quite a few last season) and you can only beat what's in front of you, so kudos for putting them away with the minimum of fuss.

There are a number of positives to take out of the game, and I'll just run through what I particularly enjoyed:

1.    Gabriel's debut. Apart from a very early mix-up in communication between himself and Leno, he had a solid game, leading the team in many stats, and got a debut goal - the first Arsenal centre-half to do since since Thomas Vermaelen

2.    Just how well-coached this side looks. Everyone seems to know their place - in or out of possession - and there is a solidity that we've not seen for a long time

3.    Aubameyang. Not much more to be said about him, as he started as if he's never been away. I'm sure that teams will learn how to deal with the movement that led to his goal - Willian's assist was remarkably similar to Saka's in the Community Shield - but he's a threat whether he starts down the middle or on the left. Let's just have the official announcement that he has 'signed da ting', please

4.    Willian. Of course, it can hardly be a surprise that he found it easy to integrate into a new side; he's a very good player. But to come away with three assists - and hit the post - in his first competitive game is very promising. Here's what Aubameyang already thinks of him

And now a few other bits and pieces:

1.    The squad still needs work:

a)     only Arsenal can find themselves with 8 central defenders on their books - and no less than 5 of them are injured! But ideally two or three need to go (although due to injury it may take a window or two). Saliba to chuck into the mix will of course be interesting

b)     if there is a hole that needs to be filled, it that of a midfielder. Numbers are fluid here, with Torreira likely to leave and Guendouzi's re-integration very much up in the air despite his attempts (finally) to repair the post-Brighton damage. So we're light in there, and the addition of a 'heavyweight' figure would be useful. Somebody who can help transition the side, and better than what we already have

c)     Competition for places. We now have that almost all over the pitch. This can only be good. But I can also see a number of younger players who would benefit from a loan to another Premier League club, and from playing regularly. We shall see how this develops over the next three weeks

2.    The Arteta Factor - our new First Team Manager (no longer Head Coach - good for him) continues to have a massive influence on way the team is playing and the direction the club is taking. At the moment I don't see a ceiling for him, and it's up to the club to show that it matches his ambitions

3.    Emi Martinez is off to Aston Villa and a guaranteed first team place. He did a fantastic job following Leno's injury, but Arsenal need to sell in order to buy, the German has considerably more experience, and pragmatism would suggest that Emi's value won't go much higher than it is right now.  I will not be alone in wishing him well

4.     It's too early to be too amused, but it was fun to see Tottenham get off to the start we'd hoped for yesterday. Long may that form continue; and I'll continue to enjoy All Or Nothing on Amazon Prime (spoiler - it's Nothing...). In the meantime, I think we might be able to find a stream somewhere for their 'key' Europa League qualifier in Plovdiv on Thursday...

And so to West Ham next weekend. They were poor in their first game, so that bodes well. After that, it gets harder.