Author: TotalArsenal

A very quick and to the point post, today.

Eight Observations:

1. Arteta and the team have worked hard to change our attacking play. Rather than buy, the manager has opted for a different approach; and although I would welcome an extra attacker, I love it that Arteta is putting up a big finger to all those so called experts who just keep telling us that: ‘Arteta need a proper forward’.
2. Of course, after every game in which we don’t score (enough) goals the pundits will tell us all how much we miss a world-class forward, but making the goal scoring a team responsibility goes also a very long way. We become less predictable and dependable on the one player, and in the long run this may still be our big advantage.
3. What was really different was the movement up-front. Bukayo was seen a lot more in central attack and Jesus ventured more right than I ever saw him do before. Our attacking play was much more fluid and unpredictable and I liked it.
4. The inclusion from the start of Trossard made sense. Leandro takes his chances well whereas Martinelli has been wasteful this season, and it was not surprising that it was the Belgian Zombie who scored the first goal in open play. A pass from the right by the busy bumble bee from the right offered a great opportunity to the Tross: rather than shoot straightaway he manoeuvred himself with the ball into the best possible position after which he scored very composed. That’s the way aha aha I like it.
5. Bukayo is still not firing from all cylinders, but he carries such a threat from the right that opposition teams will leave space on the left, and this time we made much more use of it. The Zinch is a much better player when he does not have to defend in deep positions a lot, and on Saturday he really helped the Ode with spreading the game to both sides, whilst also carrying a threat through the middle. This was one of the better games from the Ukrainian rocket.
6. The two set-piece goals were beautiful to watch. They were well-planned, positional little chess games and Big Gab looked like a monster of an attacker. He scored two goals, even though for some strange reason he was denied the second one because the keeper was deemed to have scored an own goal. Bizarre!!
7. I really like it that we did not stop playing after the third goal. Martinelli benefited from this to the max with two finely taken goals which will do his confidence a world of good. Of course, Palace, who started so disciplined, gave us a ridiculous amount of space to play in at the end of the game, and they were punished for it; but it was still good to see our hunger for goals lasting the whole game.
8. Finally, it was good to get a clean sheet again at home. We have not had many of them and it is important to aim for one each and every game. So, all together a fine game and result, and Arsenal can build on this going foward.

By TotalArsenal.

Well, aren’t we lucky? A midweek PL game and a great chance to put ourselves six points above the cocky Blue Mancs, who have already declared themselves champions today. Thanks for the Pep-Talk, mate! Arteta can now use this for each game this season.

I don’t know much about Luton but an away fixture on a cold night with a fanatic crowd hoping for a Brentford-like giant-killing, is not to be underestimated.

Unfortunately, we will not see in action the brilliantly named Marvelous Nakamba, tonight. I had been looking forward to that.

I think the lineup is pretty predictable given that there’s no change in our sickbay, and the team is doing so well at the moment. Maybe it will be Havertz for the Tross and White for Tomiyasu, but other than that it should be the same players who frightened off the Wolves.

Raya

White-Tequila-Big Gab-Zinch

Ricey

The Ode-Tross

The Buk-Jesus-Marti

Come on You Rip Roaring Gunners!

By TotalArsenal

The real season started yesterday. The interlul disruptions are over and we can look fwd to uninterrupted club football for four months or so. Bliss.

This now is the business end of the season. Time to push, get in the groove, create momentum and make opportunities count. With Pool and Citeh holding each other to a draw, Arsenal had a golden opportunity to go top. But Brentford away is a tough nut to crack, and playing an away game after an interlul is seldom easy, especially with three Brazilians returning late from a painful loss against arch-rivals Argentina.

So there was a great opportunity, a huge away challenge (Brentford were unbeaten in more than a dozen London derbies) and little time to prepare as a full unit for Mikel:how did Arsenal do?

Eight Observations:

1. Aaron started with living through his, no doubt, recently regularly returning nightmare. We all felt for him. Ramsdale is all about presence, energy and talent. At the base of this needs to be confidence, and this cannot be magicked. He clearly went through hell in the first half but his team mates helped him out. No shouts, no finger pointing, but hugs and love. Togetherness, kindness and positivety are the answer to everything. Humans can move mountains when they are in that space. VCC. Result: the Ram had a great second half.
2. Reading the game is what great footballers do differently from mere good ones. Zinchenko’s goal line clearance and especially Rice’s were the result of that precious attribute. Declan had another quietly demanding game. He gets everywhere and makes it looks simple; he rules like a Kutuzov rather than a bombastic, self-adoring Napoleon, and that makes him such a fine human being. He has got his fellow players’ back as a result of this.
3. Bukayo does not like to be imprisoned. Space and movement is what he loves but opponents study him, try to shackle and disrupt him. But the Buk doesn’t stop there: he keeps trying without wasting energy unnecessarily. He knows he will get a moment or two to make the difference. Nine assists are already in his backpack and last night he produced one of his finest ones to date. He made space for himself and looked up, and his silky left foot delivered one of those passes every forward dreams off. Late in the game with tired legs and heads, Saka delivered and that’s what makes him so fecking special. A very cool, intelligent head on a young, very strong body.
4. Kai the Killer. Yes, last night Havertz finally found his inner beast and delivered a goal in open play. He met Saka’s peach of a cross with the venom of a striker in top form, nutmeging the impressive Flekken in the process. Oh how sweet and precious that goal was for him and for us all!
5. Arteta tried to give Martinelli and Jesus some extra support by pushing the Tross into the hole behind the attackers. The Ode had therefore more freedom to aid the attack wherever he felt he could add the most value. They did not crack the Brentford walls as well as hoped for beforehand, but they managed to find a few chinks in the armor nevertheless, and Leandro was very, very unlucky to see his goal chalked off for having a few toes apparently off-site. A work in progress, but playing with these four attackers more often is a very exciting prospect.
6. Gabriel Jesus still does not look at ease to me. He looks grumpy and irritated, and his touch and passing are off. Rather than creating chaos and despair in the opposition’s box, he seems to be creating it for himself and his team mates at the moment. Now that the international games are over for a while and he is fully fit again, we should start seeing a calmer and more effective, yet ferocious and effective central forward again.
7. Next to the joy of watching our superb duo of central defenders strutting their stuff, I also enjoyed our full backs yesterday. Tomiyasu is a cult warrior and Zinchenko had a decent game defensively, whilst contributing well in midfield and attack. There is a lot of feeling in his left foot and we need to make more use of it.
8. The eight observation I will leave up to you; I have nothing left to say. 🙂

By TotalArsenal.

Arsenal have almost played 1/3 PL games and so we should be able to come to some early conclusion about our chances this season. The Spuds and Aston Villa are hanging in there, but I expect the title race to become a three-horse one over the next 8-10 games. Pool have almost got identical stats to Arsenal, with just one more goal scored (27 v 26), equal number of goals conceded (10) and equal number of games won, lost and drawn (8-1-3). Citeh are one point above us with nine wins, one draw and two losses. They scored six more than Arsenal but also conceded two more.

Citeh have to play Pool, Spuds and Villa in the next three rounds, and this may give us an opportunity to move above them. Of course there is no such thing as an easy game in the PL, and the best thing to do is simply focusing on our own games on an OGAAT basis. Pool, who have a decent set of games coming up after they have played Citeh on Saturday, have, like Arsenal, a good opportunity to collect a lot of points in the next six+ games. They may well become our nearest rivals for a while.

After three inter-lulls, the season will now truly start and it’s Hammer-time as they used to say in F1 races when Lewis Hamilton had a car he could compete in. Arteta and the boys will need to get the bit between their teeth and power forward.

The first 12 games have shown that we can defend very well, although for some reason we have let in goals at home too often. If the team can get this right, then the defence is as strong as any in the PL, and give us a real edge. I thought they were awesome and against the Oil-dripping Barcodes this month.

Midfield is getting stronger and stronger and Rice-baby has just been a joy to watch. A fit Thomas Partey would be very, very welcome, especially when we play Pool at the end of December. Jorginho adds a lot to the team and I somehow feel that Kai will start settling in next month. The big question is whether the Ode can get back to his best and shrug off his injuries now: let’s flipping hope so!

Attack has been a bit of an issue at times. We lack a bit of bite up-front at times, or is it fluency? When Jesus plays we certainly have an extra dimension to our attack; something Eddie just struggles to offer to us. But Gabriel looks now injury-prone and a title-winning team needs a CF who can play week in, week out. Eddie has still done a very good job, and so has my favourite, the versatile Trossard. If we can add a fine CF in January then that would be the icing on the proverbial, of course.

Finally, I would like to talk about Arsenal finest guns on show: Bukayo and Martinelli. They have not had as good a service as they got during last season with Odegaard and Xhaka just brilliantly spreading the ball as they saw fit. This season, at times, we have looked static, lack creativity and are too slow as a result. Still, Saka and Martinelli have given us an edge in almost all games and the better the service they will get – and that includes movement and continuous threat from our CF – the more they will shine.

So my question to you, fine fellow Gooners, is what would you like Arteta to do to get the balance right in our attacking game so we can start scoring more goals (especially against the park the bus/ low block teams)?

TotalArsenal

The month of October is nearly over, and it has been a busy one for me. I had little time to write posts but was still able to watch all the games and witness the establishment of Arsenal’s backbone for the season – and maybe many more seasons to come. This backbone is the most wonderful thing to witness for us Arsenal supporters.

I am a huge believer in OGAAT but also realise that a team has to brace and spare itself sometimes. It was obvious that we did this when we played Lens in the CL: a big, big game v Man City was up next and the boys were holding back a bit. Many second balls fell to Lens players and this happened simply because they wanted it more. Still Arsenal started well in that game and scored the first goal, but when there was a bit of adversary the team did not seem to lift itself as it so often is able to do. Ultimately, the players knew (deep down) that they could afford to lose that game, but the one up next v Guardiola’s Oilers was simply a game we had to get a result. One Game at a Time is a great and necessary principle, but sometimes a manager and a team just have plan for the much more important game.

I think something similar happened v the Chavs. They were winning the battles in midfield too often and we seemed to lack our usual intensity. We then had a bit of adversity – the penalty caused by Tequila’s handball – and had to dig really, really deep to still get a result. The reason for starting so calculated rather than full-blooded might well have been our game v Sevilla that was up next. With playing Sevilla away and then home again, it was really important to get a result in Spain first. Would we lose that game, progress in the CL would have been much under threat: it simply was a must not lose, ideally go and win, game. Our boys played with much more intensity in that game compared to the one at Stamford Bridge, and once again it all made sense: choose your battles, resources and tactics carefully. The season is long, and to win the war not every battle has to be won. Our manager and players are more mature now.

To be on equal points with Citeh at the end of October, after playing the likes of Man City, Man U, Chelsea, Spuds already, is a great achievement. The team is still gelling and learning to live without Granit on the left – who, btw, is doing very well with Leverkusen in the Bundesliga – and embedding Havertz and Rice. Up-front and in attacking midfield we still lack the automatisms of last season: too much is expected of Ode in the middle and Saka on the right. Teams know what to expect from us and we have to work much harder to find the openings and move the game from left to right, and right to left, whilst also carrying a threat through the middle. It will come and ESR may well be the answer to the vacuum left by Xhaka.

The left is so important and not only do we miss Xhaka, we also miss Jurrien Timber, who was impressive on this wing from the start but sadly got badly injured. Zinchenko is clearly struggling in the Left-Back-Come-Extra-Midfielder role for which he lacks physicality and passing ability. Luckily, we have Tomiyasu who is so solid and enthusiastic and becoming a cult-hero at THoF.

The other good thing is that Martinelli is starting to regain his top-form, but for this to continue we need Gabriel Jesus to stay fit and play regularly with his fellow countryman.

Ultimately, it all needs to be gelled together on the left by an attacking midfielder, and I hope that Kay or Emile will fill the gap as soon as possible.

The really, really good thing, though, is that Declan Rice has given us such a thickening of our backbone since joining us, and this more than compensates for our current little struggle on the left side.

I have always believed that Rice would be a replacement for Thomas Partey rather than Granit, and I think this is obvious now. Rice offers something that is so rare to find all in one player: drive, tacit knowledge of the game Mikel wants us to play, a great engine, a nose for where the danger is, extra drive when others are starting to tire, leadership, hunger, and a great, great love for playing football and leave it all on the pitch. This intrinsic, passionate motivation to give his all combined with his footballing qualities and intelligence, is making a real difference this season.

Declan, but also Raya, Gabriel, Saliba, Odegaard, Saka, White and Tomiyasu (and a few others) simply through their continuous development, are giving Arsenal a very impressive backbone. It will take something to break this team and beat it, and this is what will make us title contenders again this season.

By TotalArsenal.

Something quite different:

I know some of you have been following my daughter’s band No Windows’ journey, and I have some great news. No Windows won the coveted award of ‘The Sound of Young Scotland 2023’ last Thursday.

After what seemed an eternally long interlull, Arsenal are back in action v the Chavs today. Yippee! It is seldom easy playing an away game after an international break, especially not when the team has to play an opponent that recently started to find some form and confidence again. Arsenal’s visit to the Bridge will be a challenge for the boys, of that I am sure.

As usual, the club remain vague about injuries to some of our key players: Bukayo, Leandro and William did not play for their nations and it is unclear whether they will play today. Good wing play makes all the difference in attack, and I guess that if Bukayo and Leandro do not start, which I am anticipating, it is likely to be Martinelli and Jesus instead of them, with Eddie central. Two of the Brazilian Gabriels played a full game v Uruguay on Wednesday (a 2-0 loss), so I am hoping that they will not be too tired to star tonight.

Not starting with Saliba would probably be the worst scenario of the three injury-doubts. We can usually nick a goal or two, so being solid at the back is vital once again. The really good news is that we can play both Rice and Partey in midfield today, which should give us the edge, especially if the Ode is able to continue his fine form pre-break. At left back we will probably see Zinchenko, although I would prefer Tomiyasu there.

Although selecting the right players is important, much more important is to play with energy, passion and focus throughout the 90+ minutes. Will we have those three critical qualities on the pitch today? If so, Arsenal will win; if not, we will struggle.

Predicted Line-up:

Raya

Tomi-White-Big Gab-Zinch

Wall of DecThom

Jesus-Ode-Martinelli

Eddie

Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners!

By TotalArsenal

What to say about this game that has not been said already? We can talk about the line-up, but it’s so hard to tell whether Saka or indeed Partey will be fit enough to play. We could talk about the GK who will start today, and who would replace Bukayo if indeed he does not start. I am going to leave it all to Mikel, and of course you may fellow bloggers.

It is important not to lose today for obvious reasons, and a win would be sweet, very, very sweet. Yet, I don’t believe this game will determine much at this stage of the season. Citeh, as we have seen tend to finish strong and we have only just started. I think we will benefit psychologically from winning or even not losing, and we owe it to ourselves to turn our excellent recent home games against them into a result this time round.

Preferred Line-Up:

Raya

Partey-Sal-Gab-Tomi

Rice

Ode-Havertz

Saka/Nelson-Jesus-Tros

That is possibly our strongest starting line-up with Timber out.

We need focus, energy and belief.

Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners.

By TotalArsenal.

So it is Bournemouth tomorrow and possibly another banana skin in waiting. We have injuries and it is all quite unclear who will be available for tomorrow. Injuries are of course part of the game but the biggest worry is always losing multiple players for a key position. It looks like Declan will still be unfit and Partey is certainly out, and that means we may have to use Jorginho in the deeper midfield role once again. He may not be the fastest and is prone to a mistake or two in the game, but I still like the friendly and gifted Italian. We also have multiple injuries on the wings with Tross and Marti definitely out and Saka still a fitness-doubt. Salibaaah is a further fitness doubt. So all fun and games.

Hopefully one or two of the above will recover before the game, otherwise we will be a bit thin on the ground. I have a lot of respect for Bournemouth that just keeps punching above its weight 🏋️ . The home fans and players will love these games more than any other: nothing to lose but always capable of an upset; low expectations and it is always nice to ‘see the Arsenal’.

Predicted lineup:

Raya

Tomi-White-Big Gab-Zinch

Jorginho

The Ode – Havertz

Saka – Jesus – Nelson

Come on You Rip Roaring Gunners!!

Now, you know I am a big believer in OGAAT – One Game At A Time – and today Mikel summed up this approach better than I ever did:

“It’s about now. It’s about Bournemouth, and this is the most important game that we have now in the season. That’s it.”

Well, Mikel, I fecking love you.

By TotalArsenal.