I finally managed to watch the entire game and what a joy it was. Here are my quick-fire 8 Observations:
- Arsenal are so fit. It was very hot but the team played as if they were half way into the season. Leicester were well set up but eventually they had to crack as Arsenal’s tempo and pressing were too much to handle for them.
- Gabriel Jesus, the terrible tornado, was mesmerising. Two goals and two assists and he could have had more. To work so hard and still be so clinical is the hardest thing to do in modern football, ask Laca! I feel sorry for those Foxes’ defenders: nobody should have to endure such recurring nightmares.
- The partnership between Jesus and Martinelli is such a fruitful one, and Martinelli is blossoming under the tutelage of his older brother. Arteta bought one but got two clinical goal scorers now. Early days of course, but Martinelli is bringing home the bacon now.
- As a team we veer to the left and this leaves Saka and to a lesser extent Ode a bit isolated. Xhaka, Martinelli, Jesus and Zinchenko form a very effective partnership on the left but on the right we are struggling to get enough numbers in the area to attack effectively. Partey sits naturally deeper and White is still finding his feet, and he is also less of a passer than Tomiyasu. So Bukayo, who clearly gets plenty of attention from the opposition, is struggling a bit to get involved in our attacks. The return of Tomiyasu may help with this but as a team they need to work on getting Bukayo better support. That way we will be even more effective in attack.
- Arsenal hardly gave anything away in ninety minutes, yet we conceded two. To be fair the OG was just unlucky and the Maddison goal was classy, with Ramsdale a little at fault with his positioning. But we did know before the game that Leicester have very good attackers and we gave them space by being so attack minded. Still, there is work to be done in defence.
- Xhaka was everywhere and with a goal and assist he showed another side of him. On another blogside, I recently cheekily predicted 12-15 PL goals/assists for Mr Versatile…… He may surprise even his hardest critics this season.
- A special mention goes to the Ode. Martin may not have had a goal or an assist but boy did he work hard yesterday. His closing down and link up play was fantastic. Thanks to him the machine kept purring and for that I salute him.
- The supporters were amazing, absolutely amazing. The support for Saliba was simply heart warming. Two wins in a row is just what we needed to get a good start to the season. Next up are Bournemouth away. Of course it is OGAAT all the way this season. Remain humble, work hard and fight for ninety minutes in every game.
By TotalArsenal