Whether he is the manager of Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester United or the Tiny Totts, against the fellow top teams the approach is always the same: make sure the team is defensively as tight as possible and hope for a goal from a counter or set piece. Arsene mostly tried to play attacking football against the self-adoring one and we paid for it every time. Once or twice the Frenchman decided to mirror the approach and that led to a draw on a few occasions.
Mourinho loves nothing more than teams that want to attack and push up, and Pep Guardiola’s Man City were his latest victims. Of course the Catalan carries the highest flag for free attacking, total football and he would not dream of mirroring JM’s tactics in any game. Mikel Arteta will be fully aware that his team is nowhere near Man City is currently when it comes to the fine arts of total football, and he certainly knows how much the NLD means to us Arsenal supporters.
So I am sure Arteta will have no intentions to fall into Mourinho’s only party trick, and I would not be surprised if he will set up in such a way that even the Portuguese will have no other option than to order his players forward in front of 2000 or so Spuddies. Let’s do a Mourinho on Mourinho: sit back, absorb pressure and create turnovers and counter attacks. It is our best chance for taking something away from the toilet bowl tomorrow, and anything else is asking for trouble.
Yet when we do go forward we need a bit of the spirit of Rosicky tomorrow:
How to line up then? I go for 4-3-3, assuming that Luiz is not FULLY fit to play – if he is we should play him in a 3-5-2 formation, between two capable and committed CBs (Xhaka or Elneny would then give way).
I have a feeling that Partey has been prepped for this game all along, but if not then we might see a start for AMN or Joe, and I think they are both ready for a NLD. With such a midfield and quality defenders the Spuds will find it hard to create something meaningful, yet we have the attacking players who can create quick turnovers and get in front of their goal. I am pretty sure it will be a poor game to watch, other than from a tactical point of view. But for once I don’t care. As long as we don’t walk into Mourinho’s only trap, give our all and take one or two of our chances Arsenal have a good chance to get something from this game.
Well that was just fun to watch, especially for those very lucky 2000 fans.. We pressed high, passed the ball round really well and never gave the opponent much time to think or control over the ball. We can analyse the game and Arteta’s tactical changes over the next few days, but here are my player ratings for now:
Rúnarsson: 7 – not much to do and not really at fault for the goal. Good interaction with fellow players and cover behind the defence.
Soares: 7.5 – looked comfortable at right back and worked well with Nelson and then WIllian. There is a nice balance to his play.
Mustafi:7.5 – solid and relatively calm performance. His quick and often accurate forward passing is a big plus in our team.
Mari: 8 – extra point for the goal and his leadership on the pitch. Good to have him back. Close to MOTM.
Kola: 7.5 – less effective in attack but relatively calm in defence – half a point extra for the double block that almost prevented a goal.
Ainsley: 8 – so calm and yet such a force wherever and whenever he is on the ball. There is a total footballer somewhere in AMN.
Elneny: 8 – The Egyptian is a defensive midfielder and Ceballos is not. Excellent positioning and protecting the shape of the team, very nice ball circulation.
Nelson: 7.5 – the gadfly (together with Pepe and Laca) who never let the opponent rest. Give him the ball and he will get things moving and thus add another dimension to our game.
Lacazette: 8 – fabulous goal and great work rate. Really enjoyed playing in the hole and make things happen for the team. Really needed this game and that goal. Close to MOTM.
Pepe: 8 MOTM – what a performance for the team. Never sulked and just kept driving forwards with incisive passing and deadly dribbles whilst also using his head to make the best choices on the pitch. Was simply unplayable. Only thing missing was a goal.
Eddie: 8 – worked very hard and kept defenders busy, and he also got his goal albeit with some luck. There was more for him in this game (and the same goes for Laca) but it will come.
The Subs
Ceballos: 8 – superb 30 minutes of attacking midfield play. Picked passes at will and helped us keeping the tempo up. Plays so much better when we press high rather than sit deep.
Willian: 8 – also a superb 30 minutes of attacking football. Played with renewed vigour and invention.
ESR: 8 – just like the boys above, he brought renewed energy and purpose to our midfield play. And a goal as well.
Chambers: 7 – took over well from Mustafi and helped us see out the game.
Balogun: 7 – needed more minutes on the pitch but he showed great movement and had good connections with his fellow players.
These Europa League games are a godsend for Arteta as well as us fans. An island of peace, bounty and beauty in a sea of discontent and shortsightedness. The remaining two games are inconsequential as we have already qualified for the next round, but they still offer something to look forward to. Because what is football other than us enjoying the ball being kicked around in clever and beautiful ways with us hopefully winning in the end? Live in the moment and enjoy what we experience today.
Arteta has a chance to try out some new players and to play some of his fringe stars v Rapid Vienna. He will also be able to make five subs and so he really is presented with a great learning opportunity for himself as well as a great number of youngsters. With the U23 not playing till 18 December, he can also pick some players from the strong squad that beat nr2 in the league, Derby County.
Your guess is as good as mine regarding who will play but I reckon it will be something like this (ignore my initial thought of Saliba possibly starting…. he is unavailable!):
Likely starts for Mari and Mustafi and AMN may also start, but I expect him to play on Sunday. Elneny could do with a game (for sixty minutes as he will be needed at the urinal as well), and it would be good to see ESR in ‘the hole’ again. Nelson and Pepe are likely starters and I guess Eddie will start, unless Mikel wants him to play against the Spuddies as well. In that case, Balogun may get a start and that would be great.
Players to come on will vary from Xhaka or AMN to stabilise our midfield, and then a number of the youngsters who shone against Derby: the likes of Taylor-Hart, Nikolaj Moller, Ben Cottrell and Miguel Azeez. Maybe Arteta will even go all adventurous and play all of them from the start?
I guess for most of us goes that the more youngsters he plays the more we will look forward to the game. Still, a little bit of stability is required so the inclusion of Elneny, Mustafi, Mari and Ceballos would make sense imho.
Tonight we can forget about everything and just enjoy the very essence of our favourite hobby: 11 men doing the shirt proud with adventurous and attacking football without a care in the world. Bliss.
Song to be played before the boys leave the dressing room (is there a more energetic song?):
I’m in a difficult position here, trying to write an emotion-less post/analysis on a subject that involves a lot of emotions and impacts the mental & emotional well-being of many of us in a pandemic- and restriction-driven environment. Yet, I must do my best to keep it to the facts, as – I believe – they add more value than my reactions or explanations. (I have a few theories, I shared some already, but there are one yet to come – consider it a threat.) J
But I have to be up front before you jump to any conclusions. I really like Arteta, both as a person and as a coach. I appreciate him having Arsenal ties as a player, and I think even without past managerial experiences he had great ’schooling’ from one of the best, allowing him to become a success story right in his first employment as a coach. And I do want him to succeed, and agree to give him time and space. Emry had his almost 1.5 tenure (he had early successes – despite no silverware – and it took some time until the board concluded tha he doesn’t have the needed control any more), and Mikel deserves at least the same courtesy.
So please don’t misunderstand this piece as the first source of ArtetaOUT, but according to the numbers: Mikel is the best cup-coach we had for 40 years and the worst championship manager. The reasons behind it are not in the scope of this post; the data behind it, is.
Since Mikel took over Arsenal in last December – almost a full year ago – it didn’t seem fair to base the comparison on his early games. He inherited a disturbed team, and it takes time to gain control. Then the pandemic hit, making both training and playing hard and controversial. But it hit the whole PL, and the teams faced similar difficulties. Nevertheless Arteta got his grips on the team, the formation and tactics, he managed to win the FA Cup and had some lovely moments in the Premiere League too. He managed to spend 77M on transfers (plus Saliba, who were bought earlier but brought this summer as well as Willian, who had no transfer fee, but a substantial signing-on and huge salary commitment) with selling only one – although important – player, it seems fair to compare his PL-statistics based on his first 10 games of the 20/21 season.
But before doing that, let me summarize his cup records: 6/6 FA Cup (wins/games), 2/2 league cup, 1/1 supercup and 5/6 international – in this case Europa League – games, totalling an unprecedented 14/15 games won in cups in (less than) a year. Comparing it to Emery, he had 14/20 in the EL (in his defense, he played against some more serious teams as well), 1/2 in the FA Cup and 3/5 in 2 Carabao Cup seasons. The 18/27 is still not bad (especially when we consider that out of the 9 games he didn’t win there were 2 draws), but clearly not as impressive as Arteta’s record – which he is expected to continue at least in the easier fixtures of EL and against Newcastle in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.
So moving on to the top tier comparison, I spent about 2 hours compiling the data from the last 35 years, focusing on the balance of the first 10 games in each season. That is more than 25% of the games, so it seems less random as if I were focusing on 2 games only.
George Graham
Rioch
Mixed
Unai Emery
Mikel Arteta
year
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
average
1995
1996
2018
2019
average
2020
goals for
9
18
22
16
18
19
12
12
14
15.6
15
19
24
15
19.5
10
against
6
5
13
10
5
15
11
6
11
9.1
5
8
13
14
13.5
12
difference
3
13
9
6
13
4
1
6
3
6.4
10
11
11
1
6
-2
points
15
20
18
17
23
14
14
20
14
17.2
21
21
22
16
19
13
Arsene Wenger
year
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
average
goals for
27
12
13
17
22
25
19
29
12
17
20
22
33
22
20
15
22
18
18
23
19
20.2
against
10
5
8
10
11
11
8
10
7
5
7
10
15
8
20
7
9
11
8
10
12
9.6
difference
17
7
5
7
11
14
11
19
5
12
13
12
18
14
0
8
13
7
10
13
7
10.6
points
22
17
19
21
18
23
24
25
16
21
26
20
22
20
16
15
25
17
22
23
19
20.5
The first 10 games of this season is bad in 3 out of 4 categories, and average in the last (# of goals conceded)
In fact the total points and the goal difference is the worst of the last 35 years, and the number of goals socred is not the ‘all-time-low’ only because Arsenal managed to score 9 in the first year of George Graham’s reign 34 years ago
Arteta indeed managed to improve on the defense, but the 20% less goals conceded came with the price of 30-50% less goals scored (depending on the comparison)
Arsenal scored more than 3 goals 3 times under Arteta, and 9 times under Emery (who had 40% more games to achieve that)
Arsenal conceded more than 2 goals 3 times under Arteta, and 12 times under Emery (who had 40% more games to achieve that)
During Arsene Wenger’s last 2 years Arsenal conceded more than 2 goals 20 times and scored more than 3 goals 22 times
Arteta changing Arsenal is not just a meaningless phrase. Under Wenger and Emery we were a ’reliable’ team, capable of winning against most weaker teams and surely losing against the bests (Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Liverpool, Man City). Mikel changed all that. Arsenal now is a team that can beat anybody, and we can lose as well against anybody. The former is a welcome addition to our portfolio, but the latter is a heavy price. The margin among the PL teams are clearly shrinking, but Arteta has his obvious responsibility in that – just like in beating MU at Old Trafford.
Just some (cherrypicking) examples: While Emery and Wenger won their recent 6 encounters against Aston Villa Arteta lost both, however on the other hand he managed to defeat Liverpool in 3 occasions out of 4, while Emery and Wenger equally lost 3 and drew 1 in their last 4 games against Klopp’s team.
While we should support Arteta (which does not contradict criticizing some of his decisions) and give him time to find the balance between defense and offense, I think we have the moral obligation to voice if we don’t necessarily agree with the direction Arsenal is heading.
This is not a debate between Mikel and us, but rather among pundits, as they keep saying that the club has a new identity, the players are full of energy, that Arsenal is heading towards the right direction, there is an unprecedented team spirit, etc. Well, I respectfully disagree. I think the changes are a mixed bag, and focusing solely on the positives would flatter ourselves beyond reasonable. I don’t really know what is Arteta’s philosophy that is fundamentally different from how Wenger and Emery were trying to play (please don’t hesitate to share your answer), and there were several games in recent months where we had 11 talented athletes on the pitch – often working hard, too – but cohesion or team synergies were missing. That doesn’t make MA a lousy coach, but it doesn’t make him the messiah either.
I, personally, don’t like the direction we are heading. Especially if we remove those goals from the equation that couldn’t be attributed to anything but blind luck (including but not limited to 2 against Norwich and both goals against Liverpool last season). For the last 10 games I was mostly satisfied with the one against Fulham and Manchester United; both on the road. To paraphrase Adrian Clarke, the person behind Arsenal’s ’Breakdown’ column: most times it is not only the result that is disappointing, but also the way Arsenal played. I would rather see more goals conceded if it goes with more chances created and more goals scored (with a more exciting & entertaining game overall), hence I would prefer a 4:2 victory to a 1:0 win, but I take cognizance of belonging to the minority on this matter.
To sign of on a high note: I think we are going to have a happier December-January than our November. The game toll is insane, but that affects most of the clubs (especially the top teams who have international and domestic cup ties in their calendar). But I think Arsenal is in a better position than most, as our backup XI is nearly as strong as the first squad, so the inevitable rotation will not lead to a significant decline in quality – or at least less than with most opponents. We are still a few players overstaffed (I don’t expect Sokratis playing a lot, Saliba should have been sent on loan and Özil cannot be utilized either), but Chambers, Mari, Cedric, AMN, Elneny, Nelson or Martinelli, will be useful additions to the PL-contingent.
I sincerely hope that by March will be in a better position, and have more data to evaluate Arteta’s – as well as Arsenal’s – performance.
Another home game lost against a team we needed to beat, is anything but good. There is plenty to say about what needs to change but I would just be repeating myself and other BK bloggers’ views. I also have no doubt that Arteta is fully aware about what’s wrong and needs changing. The difference is that he is actually responsible to make the change whereas we just have passionate opinions.
It is easy to think we are stuck in a rut and Arteta is doomed. Yet had we won yesterday we would feel very differently. I reckon the early clash of heads was a turning point. Their player went off badly injured and such moments galvanize a team. Our player stayed on and appeared to have lost his ability to think straight. At the end of a disrupted half we conceded twice from two shots on goal in Luiz’s (and Bellerin and Ceballos’s) area, and we managed to score only once. The second goal was an unlucky one from our perspective but also showed that we cannot afford to not play without two proper defensive midfielders (who have good positional awareness).
The second half showed a willingness by the team to make things right again. Yet we lacked the intensity and force to really hurt the organised Wolves. 60000 home fans would have helped to spur the team on, but we need a strong resolve from within the team. I don’t believe this is down to a lack of leadership or hunger, or indeed a lack of quality within the squad, but to a lack of belief in Arteta’s system of play and instructions.
Every new manager seems to experience a big dip at some point after joining a new team, and this especially goes for those managers who are trying to play a different way – who go against the grain. I guess Mikel currently has three options (other than resigning which I am sure he is not contemplating):
Stubbornly/categorically continue with his evolutionary plan and explain to everyone that things will get better and ‘just stick with me’;
Make a U-turn and play a safer, more success-guaranteed style of football;
Sit down with the players and get their opinion and insights on what could save the PL season.
A deductive, vision-top-down, approach is clearly what Arteta is going for. This is exactly what Pep Guardiola and Jurgen with the Teeth have been doing. But they were experienced managers when they came to the PL and Mikel has only just started, so it is likely to be much harder for him. An inductive, experience-upwards, approach is unheard of to a ‘system coach’ like Arteta, but this often works best in the UK is my (management) experience. If Areta – and I say if because we don’t really know – is sticking to his vision too dogmatically, there is a real chance he will not be able to get the team behind him. We know us Gunners are rubbish in being loyal to a manager for long, so Mikel may have to do a bit of option 3 above and find some sort of middle way.
Or maybe that is all rubbish and now is the time to stick with his vision and do his utmost to get his players on board again. As Marcus Aurelius said: “Indeed, no one can thwart the purposes of your mind – for they cannot be touched by fire, steel, tyranny, slander, or anything”.
Nuno and his magnificent Wolves are coming to the Home of Football and what a game it will be. As a Dutchman I have a great dislike of the Portuguese way of playing football (in general): Oranje have lost more against the Portugal national team than any other nation. They sit back and absorb all pressure to then spring the deadliest counters and the Dutch fall for it every time. When Man City were beaten by Mourinho’s ‘Portuguese’ boys last week, it was so reminiscent of the way the Dutch used to get defeated by ‘them’. And of course we know that Arsene’s Arsenal succumbed to the same faith so many times when playing a JM team.
The beauty of Nuno’s Wolves, however, is that they play a more attacking kind of football without giving up on their strong defensive shape. They position really well and pass the ball round with a plan from out of the back, and with precision and a keen intent to get it forward. It is easy on the eye, unlike anything Mourinho comes up with. I have asked myself a few times whether Arsenal should set themselves up in a similar way with the added benefit that we have more money to both keep hold of our best players and buy the better players to make this system really work. I am still not sure whether the MC and Pool models of pushing the opponents into their own half and dominate possession with tons of passes and triangles is the way forward for us, or indeed top football teams in this decade. A change might be in the air.
Arteta is rebuilding the way we play and he will need to set up the team carefully as to not suffer a similar fate as against the Villains or Foxes earlier this season. The team news is: Elneny is available but Kola is not; Willian is available but Partey is not.
Wolves have managed three draws in a row at Ashburton Grove recently, and once again this will not be easy. Yet I have a feeling Arsenal are ready to push on and this is just the sort of game the team needs to make a good start of the ten games that lay ahead between now and the end of the year.
I would like us to line up 3-4-3 as to incorporate Luiz in defence who is too exposed in a 4-3-3 set up. We need his organisational and leadership skills, plus he does that ball over the top really well. The full backs are clearly Tierney and Bels at the moment even though the latter remains unconvincing in defence at times. The centre of midfield are likely to be Xhaka and Elneny.
Up-front we have options. Saka is fit again, Auba will play, Willian is fit, Nelson had a strong game, Pepe is suspended and Laca could well be fired up after a disappointing game v Molde. Eddie and Balogun may also be in contention.
My preferred, and half expected, line up is (replace Partey by Elneny):
Alternatively, IF Arteta goes for a 4-3-3 formation (not wise against a ‘Portuguese’ team imho), we could see something like this (once again, Partey is replaced by Elneny):
It is a long wait till Sunday evening but it will be worth it.
Well that was a dreamlike Thursday evening game of football in the City of Roses. Molde stayed in mold with some disciplined positioning and determined defending, but we had all the answers for it. The Gunners pushed up high and had plenty of footballers in and around the opponent’s box, and then the chances came as by magic. If there was a game that shows a typical creative nr10 may no longer be needed, it was this one. Combine, probe, run and pass and the chances will come. Arsenal had 18 shots, nine on target; our opponent had 1 shot on target.
The four at the back stayed in position and all played a decent, traditional defensive game. The only way Molde were going to score was via speculative crosses into the box, and initially both Soares and AMN were guilty of letting their opponents cross the ball without being chased down quickly enough. That let to a few hairy moments and Molde got very close to a goal, but poor – in more than one sense – Sinyan missed the goal by a whisker only then to violently hug the post with both of his legs as well as his manliness! Aiaiaiai!
I loved that Arsenal pressed Molde in their own half but also the way we worked the ball out of defence with both Xhaka and Willock playing some fine midfield football, working the ball forward quickly and decisively so our wingers could be reached in time and in the right areas. As a result we saw some quick and easy on the eyes attacks and some good old fashioned wing-play by both Pepe and Nelson, who both tormented the sturdy but mostly unexciting Norwegians all night long.
Arsenal scored three classy second half goals and have now qualified for the next round in the UL. I don’t think this has ever been easier for us as all three opponents were not of EPL standards, BUT it is still not easy to gear the team up and put in a committed performance on a dark and cold night in October and November, and Arteta has managed to do so in all four games. And that goes a long way.
Player Ratings:
Rúnarsson: 7 – I liked his composure and body language and at times I thought Leno was in goal. Did almost nothing wrong and will feel good about his performance.
AMN: 8 – Loved his maturity and ease on the ball at the back and in attack. Really showed he is ready for the PL games. Arteta must play him more or we lose him.
Luiz: 7.5 – Committed and Led by example.
Holding: 7.5 – Took over from Luiz seamlessly.
Mustafi: 7 – Tidy job.
Soares: 7.5 – Tiday job with some nice link up play with midfield and attack.
Willock: 8.5 – Mature and measured performance in central midfield with two fine assists. Very close to MOTM.
Xhaka: 7.5 – Solid, calm and driven.
Pepe: 9 MOTM: Found his inner-Robben and his left-peg was on fire all night long. Great goal, great balls into the box and good helping out in defence and midfield.
Nelson: 8.5 – Also very close to MOTM. Just wonderful to see a player attack players and make space and thus chaos and opportunities. Took his goal well from a peach of a Willock cross.
Eddie: 7.5 – Unlucky not to be on the score sheet after a great poke-in, but also missed an easy header from a sumptuous cross by Pepe’s left wand. Worked hard to keep defenders busy and create space for others.
Laca: 5 – Was he at the game all that time or did he have a little hide-away under the pitch? It’s like the game more or less passed him by; I wonder how many touches he had. Lack of form or motivation? Or am I too harsh?!
Subs (other than Holding):
Ceballos: 7 – Took over well from Xhaka when the game was won. Some fine passes.
Tierney: 7 – Arteta just added class to the final 15 minutes of the game.
Smith Rowe: 7.5 – Loved his added drive and half a point extra for a well measured assist. Welcome back ESR!!
Balogun: 7.5 – Did not get much time from Arteta but needed even less to get on the score sheet. Fine goal reminiscent of Wrighty: good first touch, quick turn in the box and just hit the fecking target. Well done and welcome to the first team, Folarin. I can see a song coming for him: Fooolarin Oho, Foolarin Ohohoho… 🙂
Not much time today so I shall be brief. The big question for our fourth UL group match is: do we go all guns blazing for a win and with that qualification for the next stage OR risk dropping points by not playing our strongest team (on paper)? We have another big game against Wolves this weekend and then nine(!!) games in December. Arteta will want to wrap it up asap but he also needs key players to be fit and stay fit. He also has a keen group of ‘second-tier’ players and they need games for various reasons.
Your guess is better than mine as to how Arteta will start v Molde. We know they are no pushovers and it will not be warm in central Norway despite this seemingly gorgeous town being situated on the shores of the North Sea. The home team will fancy themselves and will give it a real go, and we need to mix steel, experience, hunger and youthful enthusiasm with the right skill sets. My team would look like this:
Luiz needs a game, Kola is out so AMN to play, Soares is a good replacement for current nr1 RFB Hector, Mustafi will be up for it. That is the defence sorted. Keeper could be Leno but I guess Runarsson will get another start. In midfield we need Xhaka as both Partey and Elneny are not available for the game. In front of my favourite Gunner I would like to see two/three attack minded, ball-tidy midfielders and Willock and Nelson, and ESR a bit ahead of them will do a sterling job I reckon. Finally, I would play both Eddie and Balogun in attack with a licence to roam and help out midfield and full backs as much as possible. Hungry bunnies with a zest for goal.
Looking forward to the game and remember it is an ‘early’ kick-off (17.55h).
Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners!!
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 06: of Arsenal during a friendly match between Arsenal and Charlton Athletic at Emirates Stadium on June 06, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Unless you are old enough to remember first half of 1940s, it’s very likely that you live in the worst era of your life. Era of pandemic, lack of trust, paranoia, fake news, inflation of informations, Spuds managed by Mourinho finishing weekend as top of the table…all happening live and at neck-breaking speed.
Given all that, it’s perfectly logical to presume we have been sucked into a worm-hole due to which Multiverse has been going to compression. It’s only matter of time when we will see a T-Rex becoming a goalkeeping coach at Napoli where his great-great-great-great-great-grandson David Ospina plays, late Herbert Chapman becoming a pundit at Match of the Day, late Michael Jackson winning the U.S. Presidential election or aliens from Roswell acting like VAR and – instead of red cards – making abductions of players who commit a violent conduct.
Or even more incredible – that Mikel Arteta, who was supposed to be our own bridge between Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola, is actually a George Graham v2.0.
You don’t believe me, right?
Well, listen to this:
In his first (full) season Arteta has managed Arsenal through nine league games. We have won four, drawn one and lost four – 13 points, nine goals for and 10 against.
In his first season, Graham had picked 12 points in his first nine league games. We won three, drew three and lost three while scoring mere six goals and conceding five. Two of those three victories were against Manchester United (at Highbury) and Sheffield (Wednesday, though). In our third league game we lost to Liverpool away. At home, we won our first two league games only to fail to score in the next two.
After a roller-coaster of a season, we finished fourth, behind eventual champions Everton, runners-up Liverpool and, gulp, Spuds but ended a trophy drought by winning League Cup.
Oh, and you know what happened in the League Cup Final against Liverpool?
They scored first before our Charlie Nicholas scored a brace to win us a cup at Wembley.
Sounds familiar?
You know, Aubameyang scoring a brace after Pulisic’s opener.
If that’s not enough for you, take a look at few other things.
Before Graham took over, Arsenal had been going through a barren spell in terms of league titles. We hadn’t won the league since Graham’s playing days – 1970-71. As you probably know, we won the league at White Hart Lane, on the last day of the season.
So, Arsenal had gone through 15 full seasons without winning the league between 1971 and Graham’s first season in charge. Arteta took over halfway through our 16th barren season, Graham was appointed at the start of our 16th.
Graham’s first season in charge was, as I’ve already written, a rollercoaster. Our team wasn’t the most prolific (to put it mildly) but our defence was the second best in the league (only Everton shipped fewer goals). Our attack had just one scorer with double digits (Martin Hayes 19) so no wonder we had only seventh best attack in the league.
Two years later, Arsenal won the league in what will probably remain the most exciting title decider of all times.
What is, exactly, my point?
Arsenal put trust in George Graham because he was obviously changing something in the club that had been in the mud of mediocrity for over a decade. He restored defensive solidity and brought in talented youngsters. He gave the keys of the defence to a young lad with No.6 on his back.
Now, Arsenal have put trust in Mikel Arteta, also a former Arsenal man, to steady our ship and then turn it into a battleship “Arsenal”.
In the era of neck-breaking speed in which months have become hours and years have become months, a few years in mediocrecy equals a decade from the old days. Arsenal have slipped out of Top 4 in 2016-17 and out of Top 6 last season. We have had quite a few poor transfer decisions in the same period despite increased transfer budget and right now, we are in Top 4…of the bottom half of the table!
I won’t say Arteta will repeat Graham’s feat (or his betrayal from the late ‘90s) but maybe we are yet to find out how his meal looks like. It may not have the best look or, indeed, smell right now but we have to be patient until we hear the beep from the oven.
When reviewing an Arsenal game I take the wider picture, as I see it, into consideration: Arteta took over the team in very difficult circumstances, made much worse by the C19 crisis. After the football lockdown he worked with what he had and achieved three massive things: we won the FA Cup, we qualified for Europe AND we beat big teams over the summer months. I will never forget how Arteta gave us so much pleasure during these dark times. Now Mikel is working on building the team up from scratch and this will take time. I don’t expect anything this season but just hope to see gradual progress towards a team and way of playing that will conquer all. There will be bumps in the road and that is okay.
I think Allezkev summed it up the game excellently last night:
Argentinian manager, therefore Leeds are very adept at all those irritating snide elements that Argentinians are very good at especially at our corners where it was a wrestling match, but again we aren’t cynical enough, you need to go down when you’re being obstructed at corners, make the referee make a decision, he pretty much gave us sweet f a all afternoon anyway.
Some of the Leeds challenges were borderline reds especially the two footed lunge on Gabriel that left him hobbling, poor poor performance by referee Taylor but not for the first time with him.
And the hand ball in the box off of the Aubameyang shot, is it ‘only’ Man U who get those and the late tackle on Saka, again ignored. Leeds walk a thin line between aggressive tackles and recklessness, I though we were lucky none of our guys were seriously injured.
As for Tierney it’s a shame a few more of our players didn’t gang up on the cheat who got Pepe sent off, as a team we’re just too passive, we really need an injection of Vieira/Lauren/Keown into this mob of nice guys.
Great performance from the 10 men, they showed some bloody mindedness and that was welcome. Pleased to see Willock start but gutted he was subbed off, no choice really. I thought Nelson did ok, he was certainly an upgrade on the useless Willian, I’m really beginning to dislike that lazy ex Chav layabout.
Leno put in a great performance and he seemed to be releasing the ball quicker, which was encouraging, shame that Aubameyang didn’t get a break, sometimes you just need a bit of luck to end a goal drought but he can’t buy a goal at this time.
Yeah, Pepe was being wound up but what he did was just dumb and now we lose him for 3 League and League Cup games, so it’s the Europa for him and Nelson taking his place.
We really need to do some serious and I mean serious, no larking about, serious work on corners, free kicks and throw ins because we are just so so poor in that discipline.
As games go after international breaks it was pretty standard fare and I’m not surprised that we looked a bit disjointed, Leeds pretty much had their entire squad together during the break and it showed. All the shame I’m a bit concerned by the negativity I’m seeing elsewhere, it’s both irritating and surprising at how quickly Arsenal fans turn these days, I do hope that the ownership show some resolve because never mind the Wolves game, if we get a tanking by Tottnum then it’s going to really get toxic.
It was a strange game from the start; it felt like a cup game in which both teams needed to win. We sat deep but also tried to push up, with Granit protecting the defence and Ceballos and Willock trying to connect with the attack. Neither of them shone last night with both lacking the overview and nous to dominate the midfield. Xhaka sat too deep for my liking but it was necessary as the opponent really loves to get in front of our ‘D’ and shoot from there or make deadly passing combinations. Leeds did well to keep us from establishing our formation and dominate the game; they had us rattled and only strong defending in the box kept us from conceding.
Our attackers were too isolated and the chemistry between them was once again missing. In fact, all over the pitch we were lacking that much needed connectivity between the players AND between the lines. It felt like the first game away from home after an….. interlull. There were so many bad passes and we had little flow throughout the game. I also fully agree with Kev that the standard set-pieces stuff needs much improvement. We played poor for big parts of the game and were seldom in control, and I don’t think that would have happened with either (or both) of Partey or Elneny on the pitch.
Pepe’s sending off was a painful and avoidable set-back but very much out of character, so one he hopefully will learn from. He needs to speak out on how he was provoked by the Leeds’ casualty of grievous bodily harm as to make contact with his head.
The introduction of Saka made a big difference and he was involved in our two best chances to go home with all three points, but both Auba and he fluffed their opportunities. Of course we were lucky not to concede at least one goal last night with the woodwork favouring the boys from the home of football all night long.
Leno was in his element, Gabriel was a rock, the full backs did their bit with verve – that measured billiard-ball pass by Bellerin to Saka late on has totally restored his credit for me – Holding and Xhaka put in a shift, Auba is getting close to scoring again and Nelson and Willock put themselves about. Saka is class.
Of course there is much to improve on, but once you have accepted that this is inevitable – that we are watching a restoration progamme – it is a lot easier to enjoy the game more and take the positives from it. The boys did us proud and fought for that point and more – there is steel in this team.
Bring on Molde and Wolves in just a few days time!
Bergkampesque 