Damn, it was a hell of a game with all the drama we don’t want to see when Arsenal is playing. We conceded when Gabriel made a mistake and gave the ball away, levelled up within 10 minutes and Gabriel made it 2-1 with 10 minutes left on the clock.
Key takeaways?
We can win games even after conceding first. That’s a big improvement from last season. Win against Fulham last night must have instilled confidence in our lads and will pay it’s dividend the next time we are 1-0 down.
Odegaard was brilliant and we are seeing a peak Ozil-esque performance from him. I always had concern that he slows down the game a bit in comparison to ESR, but last night he was magnificent. His passing is visionary and he dictated the game.
Arteta is learning and improving his in-game management. We were 1-0 down, and he subbed off Tierney and brought Nketiah. It showed his intent to win, we didn’t wait for 80th minute to bring a sub. Eddie was immense even if he missed those 2 chances, and on a good day, he ain’t missing any of them.
Thing to worry about?
Midfield! Elneny is not the answer when Partey is unavailable. He had a very limited game, is vulnerable when pressed and slow on the ball. Passing back or sideways do not help when you are building the momentum.
Saka! He is not up to the standards he set himself last season. This could be because we are stronger on the right with addition of Zinchenko and prefer to go that route mostly. It could also be because of his chemistry with Ben White is still developing, but we need him now more than ever. We have options though, unlike midfield.
We were not clinical! Believe me, if we were a bit more clinical last night in finishing up the chances we created, we would have gone 3-0 up by half time. Even in second half, Eddie missed two sitters, Martinelli missed a few, Jesus and Saka could have got one each to their name. Great teams do not miss half chances, hopefully we improve in this department.
Wrapping Up
All well if it ends well. We continue our winning streak and collected all 12 available points. We will have tough run of games soon, so it’s very important we grab every point we can. Next is Aston Villa at home on Wednesday before we play a shaky Manchester United. Win those two and it will be one of the best starts of the season.
Right, that’s all for today before I go see some friends on a Sunday afternoon with a happy mood.
Are you feeling lonely at the TOP OF THE TABLE? Me too 😉
Another top level piece Ambarish. I agree with all of that except one thing. Saka has been coming in for criticism from various quarters for his display yesterday, but to my way of thinking he had a pretty good game. That first half chance he created when he skinned their left back was wonderful. That he didn’t put it away was a shame but he made the opportunity. He was also at the heart of everything we did on the right (and latterly the left) when the game was being chased. I think he got a 7 out of 10 in a report and that felt about right.
Shipping that goal in retrospect seems like a positive. It galvanised the players and the crowd. I know I poo-pooed Fulham before the game but when we went behind, Arsenal’s response gave me confidence that we’d win. Luckily there was still a good chunk of time left to put it right. It’s conjecture but without that judogoal by Mitrovic it could have been goalless.
Confidence seems high after a rare comeback win. Let’s hope it carries into Villa and Manure.
Great post Amba!
I followed the game via Arseblog as I am on hols so can’t go in too much depth bit I agree that it felt like we missed quite a few chances which could have helped put the game to bed sooner.
I agree with Kroenke above. I am not too worried re Saka and it was mentioned that he was being doubled, even tripled, down by Fulham. This may explain why we see “less” of him.
@Kroenke: in reply to your post yesterday: well I think you got your answer about how we can get back from a goal down. Tbh, I was equally stressed out that we would not get that 2nd goal and was massiveky really relieved when Gabriel made up for his defensive error!
Onwards and Upwards The Arsenal!!!
My personal take on the match and I haven’t seen the highlights so it’s purely a first impression.
1) Arteta’s subs were again appalling – he only made an attacking sub when we went a goal down when in truth we spent 80 minutes chasing the game yesterday. He made 3 subs in total 2 of which were defensive what the hell has ESR got to do to get even 10 minutes? He spent £35 million on Vieira and we still haven’t seen him do anything more than warm up.
2) Elneny is not the problem as always the problem is Xhaka. Back in the day we had Grimandi and Vivas who provided cover for Vieira or Petit etc the difference is when one of them was out we still had a top quality (or better) player in CM. When Party’s out our CM is Xhaka plus backup, imagine if our midfield yesterday had been Tielemens (or whoever) plus Eleney do we think our midfield would have been so poor? You might even see Lokonga be trusted to get a run out.
Yesterday was a match that if you have a good season you look back on and say “we did enough and got the points” when there’s still a huge question mark over the manager it did nothing to dispel those doubts. To make it even worse we are not going to sign a player as a replacement for Xhaka – Arteta really is going to die on that hill -I just wish he’d hurry up so we can move on and bring in the players to have a top quality CM.
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I masked the foul word and it went through on my Poco F1G3 now
🤣😁
Hoopah
Maybe the Arsenal establishment has placed a worldwide ban on you ever mentioning the word ‘Arteta’. That’s what you get for telling the truth mate!
DB
Good stuff. I think you’ll enjoy watching it once you catch up with the highlights. You have to factor in the opposition – and Fulham historically are as weak and as flawed as they come – but I had a strong sense that we wouldn’t lose when the Cottagers went ahead. I heard an astonishing stat in the midst of yesterday’s game ie that Fulham have failed to win in their last 24 London derbies (I assume when they’ve been in the PL).
Bournemouth have played us, Liverpool and Citeh so far this season and won their other game at Villa Park. They may or may not be fucked and bombed already, but that is tough treatment from the fixture lottery. Enjoy your holidays mate.
Marc
I agree that Eddie crossed the white lines far too late. He’s clearly got the energy to make an impact. He seems to be getting stronger too and is more effective when we don’t have the ball. I’d like to think ESR will get a start against Villa but I’m not holding my breath.
Gilles and Nelson – what a pair. Vivas was a slight guy but he had that moody stare.
I’m going to try and be generous towards Elneny. Now matter how you prepare, it cannot be easy to come on every dozen or so games in such a crucial position and look like TP. That said, his passing was very conservative and ordinary. I guess that will abate as he gets EL and Carabao run outs. But it really underlines the need for a new, better CM.
Did you enjoy the buzz yesterday?
Kroenke
It was a good day out with a few beers, a mate I haven’t see for a while and a result.
I wouldn’t hold your breath for a new CM either Arteta will shoe horn Xhaka in no matter what.
Tavares with his 3 rd goal.
Guess just needed getting away from generational confusion to show his worth. Watched his first game at OM, and found his ball control was way away from the rest of team mates
when you get max points from your first four matches, there’s an overwhelming tendency to disregard any and all constructive critiques, which would be a rather unwise and typical short-sighted post-Highbury reaction on our part…of course, especially considering our recent history of stumbling out of the gates, this sort of start can leave one prematurely salivating at the possibilities, but this is the exact kind of thinking that this club and it’s fanbase must avoid leaning into at all costs…instead of settling and hoping for the best, like last January, we simply must strengthen in key areas before the closing of the window or face the all-too-familiar consequences…we have a squad with a handful of unknowns, a myriad of potential injury concerns and several players whom are overly relied upon, some justified and others not so much so, which suggests that we can ill-afford to stand pat…here’s hoping that commonsense will prevail and some midfield and/or wide side help will be forthcoming in the coming days…on a side note, I will be very interested in seeing what the starting 11 will look like against Villa in mid-week, as it’s imperative that ESR and Vieira get some significant minutes…onward and upwards
Hoopahsays:
August 28, 2022 at 2:06 pm
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I watched the game on a French stream. My French isn’t great but for them the pre match hype was all about Odegaard. He didn’t disappoint.
He’s answered questions about his attitude, often thrown at more cultured players, by stepping up every game so far.
I think Elneny is adequate, no more than that, cover for Partey, but I don’t know how we’ll operate without Ode pulling strings. I expect we’ll see in the EL ties.
Hi Aitcho
Elneny clearly isn’t trusted to rotate regularly with TP, so only being brought in sporadically will do him no favours whatsoever. Arteta evidently doesn’t have sufficient confidence in him (nor the combination of him and GX). So it asks the begging question: why isn’t he changing it up by getting a more accomplished CM. It all seems really obtuse.
Bonkers season already – Chelsea losing again and Fulham beating Brighton tonight.
Arteta’s really going to screw up an amazing chance to get top 3 (top 2 if the stars keep aligning) because he won’t replace Xhaka.
Huston we have a problem in the midfield. Partey and Mo not 100% and Xhaka not very good unless there is someone to cover and he plays in a more advanced position and doesn’t have any brain farts. Neves would be nice to have or a capable cover for Partey.
Agree with your sentiments Marc…the fact that Partey seems to be so incredibly fragile since his arrival in North London, makes matters infinitely more problematic…imagine what could be in the offing if we had someone with goals in his boots playing in more advanced positions, instead of the underwhelming Xhaka, then acquired some much-needed steel in the midfield….maybe he should try playing ESR or Vieira in the Xhaka “advanced” role, then deploy White as a deeper-lying DM…after all we have a fit Tomi, so it’s not like we don’t have proper RB coverage…the whole thing reminds me of the latter Wenger era, when we never properly redressed our midfield deficiencies…hopefully we don’t continue to travel down that rather tragic path
Thanks a billion and twenty three Ambarish. You sincerely care and this is the place where Arsenal fans feel the Arsenal
Crystal ball time.
We win tonight despite Villa trying to rough us up, but it feels hard earned and tight at times. We dominate but can’t convert many of our chances. 2 – nil.
Late one for you bharat-based lads. Hope your alarms are set!
March on 12 minutes
Mad scramble and Odegard shoots out.
Martinez is flapping, maybe on periods 😇
Lovely cross from Martinelli. This boy has so much intensity?
Saka shoots out in front of goal
Martinez was iffy and Jesus slots it in fir 1-0
Martinez is still a bull in a China shop. Let’s await another brain fart from him
Dominant, energetic and creating chances. Ref on the other hand is a complete bastard. Villa’s midfield on the verge of all seeing red.
Kroenkephobe alarm seems to have let him down, siesta time
Gerard seems to have course corrected. Vila is intercepting our passes.
We need another goal
Coutinho last year’s mojo is no longer there
Back on top 2-1. Martinelli. That boy got so much desire
Weighted pass from Saka, top notch
Odegard injured. ESR in
Ramsdale with cramps.
Looks like Liverpool have inherited Fergie time.
I was wrong about Haaland – he’s not going to beast the PL he’s going to be even worse.
Hi Marc
Ominous isn’t it, although given we’re unlikely to be contenders at the business end of the season, it hardly affects us. He’s a physical beast with pace, power and technique in abundance.
Despite both being close-ish games, the Villa game was sweeter than Fulham in my opinion. We regained full control after the second goal and stood up to AV’s physicality. I thought Lakonga looked good. Neat solid and covered lots of ground. I think he also brought more out of GX than Elneny managed to. A pleasing night with a some other favourable results.
This entire saga about Auba potentially being sold by Barca for a fee is making my blood boil… I’ve proffered this opinion on here before but Arteta should be fined by Kroenke the exact sum of money equivalent to the transfer fee. That might be the only way to cure his fondness for trashing player values.