Gifts taken with Christmassy gratitude: Ten Observations from Arsenal 2 – 1 Wolves

TotalArsenal

Arsenal 2 – 1 Wolves – a win by the skin of our teeth

Wow we were lucky to take three points at home from Wolves. It was a bad day at the office saved by OG – no not Olivier Giroud (oh how we missed a player with his aerial dominance, yesterday!) – but Own Goal, which is very harsh on the hard working, disciplined Wolves players, but we will take these gifts with Christmassy gratitude.

Ten Observations/Statements/discussion points:

  1. Tempo and intensity, and of course discipline all over the pitch, are needed to crack a low block. We were not at the races yesterday. Too ponderous, too slow, too predictable. Simply too one-dimensional. In the previous post the Duc de Normandie gave a plausible explanation: the boys knew about a two-day break coming up and their heads and legs were already there. We still got the three points thanks to that sweet left foot of Bukayo – his name actually means ‘adds to happiness’ and doesn’t he just! – and the return of Jesus – who of course is happiness personified.
  2. Eze or Odegaard behind the attack? It really is a world of difference whoever plays there. Eze seems to hug close to the D mainly and awaits the ball, whereas Odegaard comes deeper to rotate the ball and look for openings. Neither has (re)found their feet as yet in this position. Work to be done on the training ground.
  3. Martinelli as a starter seems to always disappoint. Lacks the trickery of Leandro and is a chancer with his balls into the box. So few assists are evidence of this. Supersub potential yes, but starter… it’s a no from me. Who should be starting on the left wing: Martinelli, Madueke, Leandro or Eze?
  4. Arsenal conceded a late goal too many times recently. And it seems a similar kind of goal too. What’s going on there?
  5. Rice and Saliba may have returned which is of course good news, but boy did they look sluggish. Declan forced himself onto the game in the second half but he did not look right to me. A short break seems just right right now.
  6. I think Raya may be our most consistently high-performing player in the squad. Often not much to do but when called on he is just there for us. Love this guy.
  7. In a recent post I mentioned how important Big Gabby is for us, and his absence seems to support this, unfortunately. Our set-piece routine has become significantly less effective, and at the back we miss his leadership and aerial command.
  8. Having said that, Hincapie has done a great job replacing the Brazilian giant. Early days but he looks really, really good.
  9. Ben White too injury-prone? We all rate and love him, but it looks like he will be in and out of the treatment room forever. Such a shame.
  10. Gyokeres always puts in a shift but it just does not seem to pay off for him personally. The service could certainly be better, and I am looking at you Eze, Martinelli, Odegaard especially, but he also seems to not have the power or confidence to boss the box and force the ball over the line at the moment. Has he returned too early?

Time for a break and some serenity. 🙂

By TotalArsenal.

46 thoughts on “Gifts taken with Christmassy gratitude: Ten Observations from Arsenal 2 – 1 Wolves”

  • Take them because you ain’t winning the league, Man City all the way, another failure for artwata.

  • How can you be that cocksure, J.A.?
    Broken another set of rules? Already? 134 weren’t enough to do the trick, this time?

  • Adrian C. is in agreement with you on most points, T. … mainly how slow we were, what a lucky charm Bukayo is etc.
    Answering the question: what would your preferred lineup/setup be if (and of course it’s a big “if”), at some point in a not too distant future, Mick’s whole squad was finally available? … is my way to comment upon 2, 3, 4, 10 … at least.
    (I think I said it before but …) under these ideal circumstances, I’d love MA to shift to 4-3-2-1:
    (A) Raya
    Timber-Saliba-Gabriel-Calafiori
    Merino-Zubimendi-Rice
    Saka-Eze
    Havertz
    (B)
    Kepa
    White-Mosquera-Hincapié-????
    Ødegaard-Nørgaard-LewisSkelly
    Madueke (Nwaneri)-Trossard(Martinelli)
    Jesus (Gyõ)

    which means:
    (2) imo, Eze 1st choice is a no-brainer.
    Through his feet, the ball gains momentum (at the price of being given away, sometimes), while Øde plays safe – our possession stats go through the roof with him at the helm, but that goes a long way to explaining why defences are given the time they need to regroup and frustrate us to no end. (I know I’m over-simplifying but you get my drift)
    (3) I’d love both wings to be rid of a dedicated winger. I said it already, but I’ve had a dream of Bukayo being given more freedom on the right (half of the pitch, not just the corridor whose gate 2 or 3 Cerberuses are always guarding now); while Eberechi would be his counterpart on the left – such intelligent players as Jürrien and Cala would know exactly what to do with the pockets of space on the wings when the moves of our attacking stars opened them up.
    (4) We must get back to being a clean sheet team – a (slightly) more conservative setup would help us achieve just that.
    (10) There’s no doubt in my mind 100% fit Kai is a superior player but a 100% fit Gyö (which I think he’s not) will be useful to turn things around when they’re not going our way, or on the break against teams like PSG, Cheaty at the “Etihad“, Bayern etc. against whom we’ll struggle for possession, be pushed back …
    And of course, Mick has to rotate more … How he can have benched Nørgaard saturday – which meant taking Zubi to the limit – I just can’t see the rationale of, for instance …

  • I imagine you have a picture of Lance Armstrong on your living room wall, John?

    Thanks for the post, Total. After the sucker punch at Villa, we were due delivering one of our own. Or, at least accepting the delivery. Two own goals do indeed seem an early Christmas present, mate. Since I was 21 Jesus has always been the best Christmas present, tho’ LG, Kev and Eris’s parents must all have been overjoyed with their December babies. Our Lords name sakes return has got my church bells ringing, Gabby J’s movement, hunger and role in the winner at the 11th hour deserved an 11th point in your excellent summary.

  • That is a great response to the post and much appreciated, Duc.

    I think you have a point re Eze and Ode’s style of play, but, and this my main challenge for you regarding your responses to the points in the post, how effective is our Englishman when we face a low block? Eze is an attacker and Ode is much more a midfielder imo. When we are in counter-attack or create a turnover, Eze is fabulous, but when there is little space and time, I am think Martin is the one to find the gaps and combinations. That is a quality only few possess. Having said that, I think Martin has not hit form for a very long time. Is he trying too hard, too impatient?

    I love the thought of Eze and Saka with freedom behind the CF, and I agree that both Calafiori and Timber can bring some great wing play. Again, I worry about this line-up against the low block teams. These teams do need to be cracked from the wings with a great threat through the middle as well, of course. Saka with good help is a master at this, one of the very best in the world. On the left I think Leandro has found another level this season. The Belgian has such a fine awareness of space and his movement is balletic at times. A joy to watch. So for me it is wing play, wing play, wing play!

    I agree that your lineup would make the team more solid defensively. Against the top teams, who try and come play football against us, it would be really strong.

    Let’s give Gyokeres another 10 games or so. But I also look forward to the return of the German assassin.

  • So it seems that Ben White is liable to miss around 10 games from next weekend, not all of them PL but enough for us to be concerned.

    Jurrien Timber has been exceptional this season at right-back he’s also done a sterling job standing in as an emergency centre-back but I sense that fatigue is taking the edge off of his game. Playing him in all of our next 10 or so games would be an enormous risk because losing Timber to injury at this time would catastrophic…

    So what are the options? Playing someone out of position like say Martinelli who can actually defend or Odegaard, sounds mad I know but needs must? Failing that integrating Josh Nichols off of the bench if the game state allows or Marli Salmon who is t a full-back?

    We seem to be straying back into the strange world of Thomas Partey at right-back territory once again…

  • That is a good and relevant question, Kev.

    Saka is also an option with Madueke in front of him. That would scare the lot of them.

    Hincapie or Norgaard may be options. MLS with Calafiori on the left. Zubi?

  • Too bad Ajax have just signed up Tomi … fans, coach, teammates, you name it: everybody loved him – and he could play anywhere across the back line, too …
    Fortune’s fools, aren’t we?

  • Good morning gentlemen. Nice article, Total. Raya has made some astonishing reflex saves which, as you suggest should have been noted. His concentration levels are also noteworthy, he seems always 100% attuned to the match, hence his interception stats.

    Toffees have some injury doubts and may have a softer centre without Gueye but, as promised, I won’t prognosticate. We need the win to be top for Christmas, three points, a goal for our Swede and a bit of sparkle is the order of the day.

  • Doesn’t this fixture remind you of the fabulous Eduardo, one of my all time favourite Arsenal strikers, his career cruelly cut short by savagery. And the unfairly maligned Denilson with his 25 yarder and head shake celebration,

  • Good points, Stu. His concentration levels are indeed amazing.

    Good to know Everton have their own injuries to deal with. This needs a very professional approach by the boys. Keep the crowd quiet from the start. CoyrrGs!

  • Indeed, that Denilson goal from a Fabregas assist was brilliant. Eduardo was class.

    My first ever live PL game was at Everton. I went with a colleague, a fellow wine waiter, and I met his family in an Everton pub. I loved the feeling of history of the beautiful game i experienced that day in 1993.

  • That’s what I call a no BS way of taking a pen, well done kiddo.
    Ain’t Bukayo a class act to have stepped aside?
    COYG

  • Crazy, stupid defending. I remember Cesc doing something similar against Tottenham (I think). VAR is always going to spot raised hands.
    Great penalty, emphatic.

  • Not exactly a thrilling half, but very professional. Declan and Bill my main men so far; I loved Bill’s through ball to Gyö, I hope we’re about to see more of these incursions in midfield. It appears Bukayo has been given more freedom to wander about the pitch and get away from the RW where his usual three guards have been posted; great things will come from this you read it here first.
    Now we’ll need a 2nd goal asap, otherwise they’re gonna pull a Sunderland/Chelsea on us, with Barrott’s blessing of course; the last 15 minutes will be Alamo all over again, with the risk of a scrappy goal like a sword of Damocles over our heads …
    COYG

  • Trossard never, ever misses those …
    A chiil has gone down my spine, can’t shake it off now.

  • Boys fought for every ball and won soooo many. A deserves win. Not beautiful, but that will come again. And there were still some fine moves too tonight.

  • Our best half in weeks, but … how can we be so superior and not end up on top of at least a 2-gaol-cushion? Have mercy on our old hearts, lads …
    Time for the Carabao’s Great Rotation now … or so I hope
    COYG

  • Yeh, again a tense moment or two but generally a good level of control throughout the match. I know Keane and Tarkowski are big, tough lads but it seemed our Gyo couldn’t hold the ball up against them, something, I think Kai does well. We can look forward to him and big Gabe back early in the new year.
    As LG mentioned we should expect the entire bench to be starters v Palace.

  • Good controlled performance and even better result. The players overcame the pressure nicely and hopefully, answered many critics.

    On to Tuesday night.

  • It may take awhile for Havertz to regain his complete mojo even after he’s back on the field so we need to be patient with him, as has been the case with Jesus, so Gyokeres is going to carry the load for the most of the rest of this season.

    It’s going to be like yesterday pretty much all the way to the end of next May with some light relief in the Champions League. The Premier League is morphing into prime Serie A with every team uber organised and space being at an absolute premium. Enjoy!

  • Rogers, now … Have England ever had such a formidable crop of attacking players? The firepower Tuchel will have at his disposal next summer is just insane.

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