- Saka is truly back: Bukayo is always effective but it is fair to say he has not been his usual self since returning from his long injury. Today he was in his element again, though, and that for the whole game. By far the best player.
- Arsenal control games these and I never felt that Fulham would score unless somebody would do something magical. That Wilson fella tried – and I like him – but the boys at the back were not to be turned.
- Away games after international breaks are notoriously hard; usually only one or two of the 10 PL games end in an away win. Fulham are a settled and well-coached team, and they made it very, very hard for us. Winning these sort of games is vital for winning a championship, and i loved the way the team achieved this today. To play with this level of focus so soon after the international break is quite something.
- Legall correctly wrote in the last post that we are very reliant on Bukayo for making things happen. Against a low block team like Fulham we missed Martin Odegaard and Madueke quite a bit. I felt this was also a game for Ethan Nwaneri, but he wasn’t used… Has he lost Arteta’s confidence in him temporarily?
- Eze and Gyokeres are still finding their way into the team, but for now their work rate and passion compensate for a lack of ‘final product’. I love these guys.
- it’s really interesting how Trossard and Martinelli are not guaranteed a start in most games, but either of them continue to make the hard difference game after game whether they start or come on as a sub.
- How close was Calafiori to a goal today? He has a good sense for where he can be at his most dangerous and was so unlucky for his superb goal to be ruled out for off site.
- Final observation is for that triangle of calm force and grace that is Raya, Big Gab and Big Will. They never panicked and just formed the base for another clean sheet. We are so lucky to have all of them on brilliant long contracts.
By TotalArsenal
Bergkampesque 
Thanks Total. A “triangle of calm, force and grace”, indeed. Along with two fullbacks in full handbrake off mode, we have a defence of huge talent, obduracy and power. The triangle becomes a fluent irregular pentagon, exploiting and celebrating geometry, space and movement. A defence that in decades to come will be spoken about in hushed tones of awe and respect as, perhaps the greatest the Premiership has ever seen…
I like the sound of that, Stu. Maybe a heptagon with Zubi and Rice linked to the defence. But in reality the whole team defends when we are pushed back, and Bukayo and Leandro did a great shift there when needed.
Cheers, TA. Brilliantly articulated observations, as always.
1. Saka ran the game and persistently tormented their full back, no end; and that chap is no slouch either.
2. Arteta does prefer that we control games; it is fair to say Fulham made that hard for us, especially in the first 35 (or so) minutes of the first half. I suspect late returns from the international break had its effect on our energy levels.
3. Spot on! Gong away after welcoming back key players as late as Thursday evening isn’t ideal for a local derby, not to speak of an Away fixture. We did well. I was never in doubt we would get the win.
4. It is concerning how the manager has recently left out Ethan from the games; I also thought this was a game for him.
5. Eze had a quiet game, by his standards. May be pacing himself for Tuesday. I am happy Gyokeres was forcing saves off the keeper. When you’ve not scored for a while, the route back is usually to aim for the goal area, as against placement. He will come good.
6. Yes, intriguing about Martinelli and Trossard; Arteta dubbed his subs “finishers”. Interesting choice to help team spirit.
7. Calafiori is recorded to have had the most shots at goal of any Arsenal player. Amazing utility player.
8. Our defence is on a trajectory to a sub-20 goals conceded, at the rate we are going. Championship winning form. What great satisfaction for Arteta and his staff, if we can break the record of 15 goals conceded in a season?
For a manager who prefers structure, I am still in awe of how the manager quickly recognized that Calafiori’s ability to play a in free role would do the team more good. The man is all over the pitch causing chaos or quenching fires and you can tell he is under instruction.
Numerous times, he has overlapped Trossard and Martinelli, when he came on. Those two need to trust his runs more rather than use it as a decoy to cut inside.
The, when it was time to batten down the hatches, he was equally immense.
When he lost his place to MLS last season, after injuries blighted his start, he took it so well, as if biding his time, with belief in his ability. Great player for MLS to learn from and improve.
United win it at Old Trafford, against the odds and popular expectation. This league always throws up shocks.
It doesn’t suggest Liverpool are suddenly a poor side (because they did batter that United goal area), but United matched them and exposed some of their defensive frailties.
Spurs, ‘Pool, schadenfreunde Sunday has got me under its spell ; help me Dr. Freud, am I such a naughty boy?
Well, there’s no such thing as a peace-of-minded footbal fan, I guess, ‘coz an absolute control freak like Amorim at its helm might be just what AbsoluteMess United FC needed, and now it starts worryin’ me, all the more so since they have no European cup this season to put them in danger of a depleted squad at some point – or so it seems anyway.
Football’s a funny game indeed. Everything went Slot’s way last season and nothing does this season, how many times did they hit the wood work today? Not to mention the huge, ponderous, £2m a month problem they got on their arms now with the ghost of Salah on the RW. I don’t know who exactly who decided letting Elliott go was the smart thing to do, but as much as they might want to burn him at the stake now, before they do, I want to say here how much I love him.
Anyway, it was great fun. I’ll comment your post and comments tomorrow (I think), lads, even though there’s not much to add tbh … It’s lonely at the top tonight, and it feel oh sooo good !
Thanks Erismus, I really appreciate your responses to the observations.
Yes Calafiori had the most shots and they were all well taken, especially for a defender. He just knows were the space will be.
Spot on re Gyokeres. This man doesn’t give up ever, and soon he will add to his tally.
Yes good results today.
Villa will have gained the much needed confidence from beating Spuds (away!). They will play MC next at home so fingers crossed for a strong performance by the Birminghammers.
Liverpool will bounce back but this is good for us right now.
Yes Legall, a good day for us. Amorin often has his best games against the top teams somehow. Let’s see what his team will do in the next couple of games.
This defence, eh?
Power, strength, focus, discipline, togetherness, talent but “no-bullshitness” when using the ball … it gets harder and harder not to reminisce George G.’s days indeed.
There’s a beauty to it now, as there was then, but the articles about negative ArtetArsenal will pile up soon, if we keep annihilating any attacking intention in its bud – we should get ready to love being hated again, lads.
Hats off to the coaching staff. Everything we’re being treated to – clean sheets and set-piece-winners – comes right out of the training grounds. BigBill is the evidence of it. When you watch him play for France (Deschamps’s training sessions are notorious for their absence of content) he looks unsure, hesitating, constantly sitting on a fence, defensively and offensively, he makes mistakes no Arsenal fan has ever seen him guilty of, etc. On the other hand, in an Arsenal shirt, he’s imperial, Beckenbaueresque (but for the goals-assists!), and it all comes down from the clarity of what’s demanded of him, and from the way he’s been prepared to deliver exactly that kind of performances. I don’t watch all of Italy’s games, far from it, but I have a feeling the same could be said of Cala …
We’ve been a fortress for several seasons, but I think Heinze’s appointment was the final piece of the puzzle. There’s something about how South-American defenders – Argentinian and Uruguayan in particular – are developed from a young age, which turn players who’d have been average if born under other skies, into formidable warriors. “Grinta“ it’s often called but it’s too general imo, I think there’s an actual method to it which GabtheCoach might have been injecting into the bodies and minds of our already maturing, eager-to-learn boys at the back.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we were told he played a part in Hincapié’s move as well. I watched quite a few games of Bayer’s title season – because I wanted to check on Granit – and he’s the kind of guy whose tackles your ankles can feel the weight of even when sitting on your couch.
As for Ethan (and Myles) what can I say? The “pure profit“ rule for academy players’ transfers has put an end to any possibility of a career in their boyhood club imo. Berta spent a lot of our American sugar daddies’ dough last summer; now Ethan and Myles who have done enough to attract wealthy suitors, are just kept in good health so as to cash in on their sales asap …
But then again, I’d be very happy to be proven wrong, and see them being given a run of starts other than in case of our sick bay being full to the brim!
Good shout about the defence/defending there, LeGall. Second game in a row that we have conceded Zero shot on target against Premier league opposition. If that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is.
I feel Myles and Ethan will get their chances and grow. Those lads, along with Dowman, are the future. I posit one of them starts tonight.
That’s indeed a fine comment, Legall. I think you are right re Heinze.
I didn’t know William plays less solid for France.
My preferred lineup for tonight
R
BW, Will, Gab, MLS
Zubi, Merino
Ethan
Saka, Gyo, Eze
Eris, I agree with you re ETHAN and MLS
Line-up
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Martinelli, Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Setford, White, Calafiori, Mosquera, Hincapie, Norgaard, Merino, Nwaneri, Trossard.
Atletico: Oblak, Llorente, Le Normand, Hancko, Gimenez, Gonzalez, Koke, Barrios, Simeone, Sorloth, Alvarez.
Subs: Musso, Pubill, Molina, Ruggeri, Lenglet, Galan, Gallagher, Baena, Almada, Martin, Raspodori, Griezmann.
Wow the refereeing in Barcelona is atrocious, absolutely diabolical. Guess who is benefiting from it?
So, Lewis-Skelly dies start; I fell short of stating his name when I responded to Legall above. This is the kind of game where he would prove useful, plus Simeone would have been watching Calafiori and setting up to exploit spaces behind him. This throws his tactical plan out the window for a bit.
Barca do benefit from some very questionable refereeing decisions. That was no foul and didn’t deserve a second yellow for the Olympiakos player.
Let’s hope the selection out there does the job. We are generally more offensive in Europe; one of the advantages of this new UCL format. No one is thinking of a reverse fixture so the focus is usually on getting goals. I see a lot end to end play instead of one team staying deep and hoping for an away goal on the counter.
COYG!!
No tv for this game, so listening to the radio. Sounds like a tight game, shame we didn’t score early on when we seemed to be on top.
Well, it is 4-0. The floodgates opened after the first goal, as is wont to happen in the UCL. The team that conceded would likely lose shape and be easily got at.
Happy for Gyo and Martinelli.
A raft of changes now, with the likes of Mosquera, Ethan and Norgaard on for Gabriel, Eze and Zubimendi, respectively (?).
Timber and Gyo off for Ben White and Merino.
I hope Ben White is up to speed for this, but Timber deserves a rest.
What a great night in N London! All agreed, Eris
What
A
Team
Set-piece FC marches on with another clean sheet in the bag.
What happened to Napoli at PSV; and Leverkusen losing so badly at home to PSG. This new format just gets teams playing freely, methinks.
An incredible evening in Wurope. Big scores and some unexpected ones. I watched the PSV game whilst listening to the Arsenal one. Napoli were poor in midfield and PSV have some very technically complete players to punish this.
Still not able to watch the full match, Duke. The tax dodgers of Amazon took the right to broadcast this one from the TNT paying subscribers on Tuesday. Waiting for Arsenal.com to share the full game.
That is a fab ‘summary’ of the game. Would you mind if I turn it into a post?
It’s all yours, T.
Thanks Legsll, only just saw your message for some reason
New post 🙂