football – Page 6 – Bergkampesque

“Behind what hills does happiness hide, to lurk and plot its return?“ (From ‘At the Loch of the Green Corrie’ by Andrew Greig).

I cannot deny that the last 10 days or so have been difficult. Losing six points against West Ham and Fulham was not expected and could hurt our challenge for the title. It sucks.

But there is no reason for despair or doing something crazy on the transfer market this January. Every team has had a slump this season, and Arteta and the team just have to work hard to get out of theirs again. One or two tweaks could make a real difference, and so could a clever loan-deal or the purchase of an unexpectedly available gem of a player. One of the arguments for our recent lack of goals is that Arsenal have become predictable; that they have been studied and found out. Teams sit deeper and deeper and play us on the break and hope for set pieces. But surely this is nothing new: we have been playing like this for a couple of years now and our team, like any other top team, gets studied all the time.

My main argument for being less effective in attack is, which will not come as a surprise to regular readers, the departure of Xhaka AND the injury to Timber. The left side is much less effective this season, and it looks like Timber was the one who would move into midfield from defence to support the attacking game from the left as much as possible. Jurrien started the season with an incredible engine and energy, and neither Zinch or Tomi are as effective. On the right we may be experiencing something similar with the loss to injury of Partey.

But there is also an argument for a lack of a maverick in the team: someone who is unpredictable, can move through the lines with the ball quickly and puts fear into the opposition constantly. I think we all agree that Odegaard does all of this but that we may need another midfielder to do the same. Xhaka was certainly not that type of player, and Havertz is a work in progress. The Ode is a joy to watch and he is working his socks of but he just cannot do it all on his own.

So how can Arsenal improve their unpredictability and effectiveness in attack with the currently available squad?

The above team is what I suggest would make a change. Zinch is a liability in defence but the boy can pass and harass the opposition like no other. His energy and drive are great, and any mistakes he makes are likely to be less costly with Declan mopping up behind him. Tomiyasu is a much better defender and he can push up and play next to Declan better than any other available option for the RFB. Oleksandr and Odegaard high up in midfield would form a stronger footballing duo than the current one of Ode and Havertz.

But Zinchenko is not the maverick we are after. In my humble opinion, the biggest maverick we have is Jesus, and we need to give a bit more space and freedom to him to utilize his strongest skills. As a CF he has freedom to roam but this season he seems to be struggling with creating mayhem in and around the box area, and I think he would be much more effective on the left at the moment. Together with the to him well-known Zinchenko, Jesus can reinvigorate the left flank. And boy do we need this.

I do not think Kai is a maverick but there is something Kanu-like about his play: unpredictable, hard-working, weird fox in the box, and a player a team simply needs to have in its midst. He is also better in the air than Jesus and more likely to score the ugly sort of goals. I don’t see the German as a typical CF, and he does not see himself like this either, but he can play with his back towards goal, link up with other attackers and thus create space for shots and runs into the box for the likes of Jesus, Odegaard and Saka. I think Eddie and Marti – for Kai and Jesus – can be good back-up players in this formation. Of course, a fit ESR can be a great backup, if not first choice, for the ‘new Zinchenko’ position.

Now, I will always welcome a new purchase, especially a CF, and we certainly could do with a plan-B CF addition, but a tweak or two could also make a real difference. I like it that our goals can come from anywhere and that we have multiple scorers, and I don’t think introducing a beast of a CF will be a step improvement. We just have to get the left flank working properly again.

The really good thing is that Arteta’s unexpectedly fabulous 22-23 season was not a fluke; and how different it is for Eddie Howe and Erik Ten Hag right now! Every teams has ups and downs, and Arsenal are still a work in progress (just look at the age-profile of the players above!), but (future) champions know how to overcome these (mostly) from within. Trust the squad, trust the process, trust the values of the club, trust the manager to get it right.

Come on You Rip Roaring Gunners!

By TotalArsenal.

Merry Christmas to you if you are celebrating this most magical time of the year.

The season is almost at the half-way point and for the second time in a row Arsenal are TOTL at Christmas. Last season we did not quite pull through at the end, but there is hope Arsenal now have what it takes to go all the way. What is different this season, and what needs further attention?

The obvious one/ the biggest joy: Rice has added steel to our defence. Did you notice how the last 15 minutes of key games simply belong to Declan? He is good throughout the game but when everybody is starting to get tired, Rice puts the turbo-boosters on. There is something super-human about him, and he becomes a joy to watch when it really matters. People might go to live games to watch a quality striker, but the purists will watch Declan to witness a true artist at work.
Having said that, we do still miss Granit on the left. What a shame it is that we don’t have the trio of Rice, Xhaka and Ode on the pitch this season. I am convinced we would not have lost a single game until now if that had been the case. Martinelli is missing Granit. Saka is missing the quick switch-overs of the Swiss master’s laser-accurate left foot. The Ode is missing his fellow pass-master too. I love Havertz, though. He is just another type of player compares to Granit, and it is taking time to get him embedded into the team. If this will progress further this season, we will have a really good chance to win the league.
Arsenal are much more measured in their efforts, this season. They are constantly saving energy when possible. We need players fit towards the end, and we just cannot afford to play every game as a must win cup-game. That is what we were doing last season and we paid a high price for it at the end. Arteta should really rotate more and dare to give the likes of Rice, Saka, Ode and the CBs more rest-days, but every game is vital and he rather plays the same players but with less intensity.
Calm control at the back is key, and we are this much more than last season. A lot has been made about the technical qualities of both Raya and Ramsdale; and yes, they perform similarly. But Raya is more of an introvert and makes the CBs feel in control. I love Aaron and I hope he will come good, either at Arsenal or somewhere else, but his style is unlikely to survive under Arteta. Can he change it? I don’t think so, and I don’t think he should try and change his style either. Eventually, they will lift him up where he belongs.
We have a full back issue on the left. Timber looked so promising and what a difference he could have made this season, but it was not to be. The left back pushing into midfield and helping Rice and Ode to stabilise things there seems a clear tactical change from last season. Zinchenko is doing his best to fill the new role but I don’t think he can do this at the required level. Tomiyasu is better in that role but he just cannot stay fit for long, it seems.
In summary of some of the above points raised, Arteta needs to get the left side sorted. I would love to see how many goals we concede and produce from the left side of our team; I am pretty convinced the right side is much stronger.
Can we keep Jesus fit for the remainder of the season? And will he be able to combine the hard work with more (vital) goals going forward? Eddie always does his best and he adds value to the team, but he is no replacement for the type of attacker Jesus is. Not sorting this situation out in January could cost us the title. I don’t believe we need a killer-CF up-front and like the sort of attacker Jesus is – chaos and movement, space and chances for others, works for me - but we do need cover for the injury-prone Brazilian.
We may also need a plan-B in attack. Eddie again does well in this respect but ideally we have something extra.
That brings me to the point of whether Arteta should introduce one of the youngsters: is anybody good enough to be given the go-ahead, fellow BKers? Somebody who realistically would bring something different to our attack?
In summary, we are calmer and better at the back, more balanced in midfield, our left flank needs to click better and our attack could do a little better. A smart move or two in the transfer window and/or by promotion of one or two (ready to rock) youngsters seem needed to put the team in the best possible position to go all the way.

What are your thoughts, wishes, dreams for 2024?

By TotalArsenal.