Match report – Participant scores – Arteta response – Video
I very not often begin with a line from the day past’s weblog, however I feel at the moment is a little bit of an exception, so:
I’ve to say, as troublesome because the Rice/Odegaard factor is, I’d be extra frightened if we had related issues on the again. The solidity and continuity of the again 4/5 will probably be examined at the moment, however we all know what they’re able to.
Yesterday’s 1-0 North London derby win was constructed on the defensive platform we now have constructed over the past variety of years, and whereas I feel the again 4 and the goalkeeper are clearly the mainstays, what stood out to me most yesterday was how onerous the complete staff labored from a defensive viewpoint.
Not everybody was flawless, however that previous cliche of defending from the entrance sprang to thoughts once I noticed Kai Havertz closing down excessive up the pitch to cease them from getting the ball ahead. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli ran themselves ragged in each instructions, Leandro Trossard buzzed round interchanging with Havertz, and even the 2 veteran midfielders – each of whom I feel struggled at occasions – did their bit to shore up the centre of the pitch.
We all know how Spurs prefer to play by the center. They stored attempting. They stored hitting a brick wall. It was type of like an anti-Pavlovian response. They stored doing it and it didn’t work, however they didn’t be taught something from it. It was, in as a lot as something will be through the tense 90 minutes+ of a derby, fairly humorous.
Early on David Raya needed to be alert a few occasions, and William Saliba picked up a fifteenth minute reserving for ‘delaying the restart’ after he gained the ball. The truth that this rule solely appears to use to Arsenal gamers is doing my head in, but when it’s a reality of life for us and no one else, we’re going to should adapt – no matter how nonsensical it’s to see us choose up yellows and reds whereas no one else does.
We had one of the best probability of the primary half when Trossard despatched Martinelli by. If he’d received his head up, he may need seen the chance was there to play in Saka on the again publish, however he didn’t and went for aim. I don’t essentially blame him fro attempting to attain however the end lacked conviction, which is a little bit of a working theme for him for the time being. His final aim got here in March, he’s badly in want of one thing to unblock the expertise we all know he has.
The second a part of the primary half was punctuated with a collection of yellow playing cards, extra for them than for us, however Jurrien Timber’s was the one within the highlight. To be sincere, I don’t even suppose it’s a reserving, he didn’t contact Porro who writhed round on the bottom but required no remedy for one thing which evidently was so severe. Pure playacting. He’d get his ultimately, and the dialogue on TV about how he was fortunate to not be despatched off was absurd. I additionally cherished the afters, not simply Timber himself, however look how shortly Bukayo Saka was in there to take care of his mate. Good.
Their finest moments got here from our carelessness. Jorginho misplaced it they usually countered; Partey’s sloppy touches round our field offered them with alternatives that had been snuffed out by our defenders; Trossard received caught on the ball outdoors our field. I wasn’t in any respect shocked to listen to the supervisor references these features of our play afterwards, saying:
I don’t suppose we’ve carried out, particularly with the ball, the easy issues proper in any respect.
He was spot on. That felt just like the factor which may value us excess of what the opposition had been doing with the ball themselves. Which was, as I’ve identified, not a lot in any respect past attempting to drive down the cul de sac of damaged goals which our self-discipline and organisation snuffed out time and time once more.
The opposite query was: how had been we going to harm them? The reply got here halfway by the second half. On 62’18 Gabriel made a massively essential block after a free Partey contact offered an opportunity in our field to Brennan Johnson. Arsenal countered and gained a nook. Porro took a breather, exhausted from no matter. Chump. Saka took it, and on 63’42 the ball was behind the web, courtesy of a thumping header from the Brazilian.
Once more, the absurdity of the TV dialogue a few attainable foul on Romero was stark. It was simply terrible, terrible defending from the Argentine. He knew the place Gabriel was the complete time, however nonetheless discovered himself the improper facet of the Arsenal man, permitting him all of the house and time he wanted to move house from a wonderful Saka supply. By the way in which, in 4 Premier League video games this season, it’s 1 aim and 4 assists for him. He has made a aim contribution in every recreation, and it’s type of flying beneath the radar as a result of the expectation ranges he’s constructing are so excessive.
As for Gabriel, it felt just like the aim gave him vitality. If he was Popeye, scoring towards Spurs is his spinach, and it powered up the remainder of his efficiency. If there’s a greater man to have in your staff whereas the opposition are slinging in hopeful crosses then I don’t know who it’s. He gained every little thing, together with one other one the place one other poor Partey contact meant he needed to be so exact within the problem or it might have been a penalty.
I additionally simply wish to point out the sense of calm that comes with David Raya in aim. In these excessive stakes video games, similar to he did at Villa Park, his dealing with and determination making helped ease stress. The way in which he kills time have to be infuriating for the opposition followers, however I really like the way in which he buys us these few seconds so we are able to get into form and organised once more.
As now know, Spurs had nothing a lot to supply from an attacking perspective, and what they did have was shut down by a defensive effort that was simply excellent. All of the speak pre-game was how Arsenal would deal with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, and you possibly can see that we missed them in sure phases of play, however maybe the extra pertinent query was how would Spurs deal with an Arsenal staff whose defensive solidity and self-discipline is so good from entrance to again. And the reply was, they couldn’t. Arsenal had been with out Odegaard; Spurs had James Maddison ambling round interested by easy methods to be the primary man at a Sunday roast. Anybody who needed us to signal him forward of the Norwegian, please do your penance.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta was requested about his pre-game preparations, as a result of not solely did we lose Odegaard to damage, we went into this one with out Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The bench was massively inexperienced. He stated:
I didn’t take pleasure in it as a result of I didn’t sleep a lot. I checked out Spurs for 4 or 5 days. I had an excellent clear plan, easy methods to do it. I ready every little thing, the session, the assembly, and so forth, after which one information, we lose a participant. One other information, we lose one other participant. One other information, we lose a participant. So I needed to utterly change it. I preferred the plan for the gamers that we had out there, so it was an incredible problem.
And on the trouble his facet put in:
Folks which might be more durable, they’ve thick pores and skin, they love the sport they usually love successful. As a way to love the sport and win, you must do quite a lot of issues – typically individuals name them ugly. It’s a giant week arising and that’s going to provide us quite a lot of vitality and perception.
Had we not come by this, there would have been questions on how we had been unable to dwell with out Rice and Odegaard. It wasn’t simply an enormous win as a result of it was the derby, it wasn’t simply an enormous win as a result of that made it three in a row at their place, it was an enormous win as a result of we confirmed that there’s enough depth and high quality to do it with out some actually essential gamers. Wins like this instill that little bit further by way of perception. We’ll fortunately welcome these gamers again, in fact, however doing it with out them was so essential.
Now we take inventory forward of a visit to Italy within the Champions League, after which Man Metropolis subsequent weekend when that defensive high quality will probably be examined once more. For now although, it’s a day to bask, to benefit from the end result and the three factors. And to snigger at Tottenham. As a result of that’s what you must do. No exceptions. It’s necessary.
Proper, let’s depart it there. We could have an Arsecast Further for you a bit later. Preserve a watch out for the decision for questions on Threads @gunnerblog and @arseblog with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or when you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, depart your query within the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
Pod needs to be out mid-morning. For now, have a superb one.
