I’ve just recently started watching the Amazon series covering Arsenal’s 2021/22 season again and it’s quite illuminating to remember where we came from and where we currently are now. I think that series, despite some reservations within the club, was beneficial and helped in creating a closer bond between the fans, Arteta and the players. But one thing struck me and that was when Man City visited Ashburton Grove, the Gunners were in a decent run of form despite Arteta testing positive for Covid (remember that) and having to stay at home.
We actually played really well in that game where it was probably the first time under Arteta when we matched them across the pitch and at half-time we were leading 1-0. Then in the 2nd half we had Gabriel sent off for absolutely nothing and looking back now, you kind of wondered if the officials were really as honest as we’d like to think they were? How can you not wonder, given the recent revelations or not have serious doubts now about the integrity of the referee and VAR because it only takes those two of them to corrupt a Premier League game.
Of course City equalised against Arsenal and then in added time super-snide Bernardo Silva fell over the legs of an Arsenal defender and the 114 cheaters got a penalty. It really wasn’t a penalty but It’s impossible not to wonder now if the officials had actually been ‘got at’…
Anyway onto yesterday’s game. Eze kept his place on the left wing, Calafiori returned, Bruno started and Meslier got a seat on the bench instead of Kepa. Was Kepa injured or has Meslier taken over as No.2..? With the 114 cheaters winning 3-2 at home to Ipswich the Gunners needed a positive result to keep up the pressure and to remain ahead of surprise pacesetters Brighton. Gibbs-White missed the game through injury but we had the suspect Michael Oliver as the referee so a bit up and a bit down.
Nottingham Forest had not scored at the City Ground all season and with the pressure mounting on their manager Glaisner they went full low block, probably the lowest of low blocks we’ve seen this campaign. The Gunners were not at their best either, I know it takes two teams to make an entertaining match but we really struggled to grt any momentum going.
After a soporific opening spell of 19 minutes Calafiori almost gifted Forest a goal, the chance was smothered and the following corner cleared but it showed that even when you’re camped in your opponents half that you cannot switch off.
After 26 minutes there was a goalmouth scramble but the ‘red wall’ held and then on 41 Rice found Odegaard who didn’t take his customary 3 or 4 touches but he moved it on rapidly to Havertz but his attempt on goal lacked conviction. It was probably one of Kai’s least effective games since he returned from his long term injury last spring. With Arsenal unable to find any answers to the negative tactics employed by Forest the half petered out. H/T 0-0
Noni Madueke replaced the peripheral Eze at half-time and he added some urgency to the Gunners who still found it difficult to open up the home team. Rice probably should have scored but it was the injection of creativity on 66 minutes when Timber, Merino and Gyokeres replaced White, Bruno and Havertz which saw the visitors start to make some headway.
Our corners were still not hitting their target and Odegaard was still not moving the ball on quickly enough but the yellows started to open up the home team.
Then on 80 minutes the lively Madueke jinked inside and then went outside his marker before hitting a blistering drive which was going in across goal despite taking a slight touch on the way. The Forest keeper had no chance. It released the pressure cooker and the Gunners started knocking it around.
Forest made changes and came close a couple of times themselves as the visitors attempted to manage the game, or tried to. Murillo did well to escape and fire just over and Konsa, who else, stopped Delap in added time. From the following corner Raya was fouled and Oliver amazingly gave the free kick and that was that!
People will moan, of course they will, I also did at times, but Arsenal can’t be totally blamed if every opponent we seem to face nowadays doesn’t want to play, despite Brighton showing them the way.
Anyway it’s 3 points, a clean sheet and everyone else can do one…
We March On.
By Kev.
Thanks Limey, it is frustrating at times watching this team as they can be so good but it takes two to Tango. Frankly I couldn’t care less as long as we win, I know many might disagree with that and I understand but that’s me, brought up on Don Howe and George Graham. 😉
If we are to move Saka to the number ten slot we don’t need both Eze and Havertz, neither will be content to warm the bench so perhaps January would be a good time to move them on and maybe promote from within.
Yeah, I remember that Geoff, I think something was added to the water, something to help clear the congestion, honey and lemon is good as well the problem is finding some proper honey, nowadays we import a lot of it from China I believe and it’s rubbish.
Kev, I remember as a kid, my mum used to make us put our head over a bowl with hot water and then cover our head with a towel so the steam could help and clear the head,
God bless you Kev for staying positive,that was dire to watch for most of the game. We have won 9 out of 10 though 10/11 if you include the community shield. Our haters will be fuming. They can go to hell.
As seems to happen every week,the subs changed the game. Maduekes energy and quality on the ball makes him first choice at the moment.
I like Eze but it’s probably League cup/FA Cup for him,maybe the odd Champions league appearance. I like Havertz too but at this point surely Gyokeres deserves a run of games. Probably won’t happen.
Max Dowman is another worth a try.
Got a bit scary at the end but job done.
Merlin, I like Saka, but I have said for a while know that Saka is too easy to read, and feel that it may be time to try Dowman in Saka position
Morning Geoff, nah mate, I still feel a bit crook, but the Lemsip helps, it’s the cough, I always get a cough.
Thanks Rico, yeah I didn’t make any 2nd half notes from the Madueke half time sub up till when he scored except for the subs on 66, it was tough going but to me Forest are the main culprits, their best period was at the end of the game after they’d sent on some forwards and actually created some chances in added time!
Cheers Cicero, the Gyokeres conundrum eh? Would Viktor have been as ineffective as Kai from the kick off if he was surrounded by fresh defenders, I don’t know mate? It’s the current football world we inherit where by catanaccio is the order of the day, I mean it’s getting as bad as Serie A.
Let’s wait and see if the opponents of Brighton start parking the bus and see how that goes? But Arsenal need to move the ball quicker and Odegaard sets tempo and it’s too slow. Raya doesn’t have Martinelli to stretch the opposition anymore so if he gets possession he rarely has an option to initiate play quickly. I don’t think that Martinelli would have been effective against Forest either, he would have dribbled into blind alleys, where we miss him was from defending sets plays and having him as an option to spring turnovers. Up front we’re so pedestrian.
I actually think we miss Trossard more than Martinelli because Leo was great at operating in tight spaces but we should have Tzolis back soon and that may help?
Moving Saka inside is an interesting idea , it would also free up space for Dowman who does have quick feet .
Our dependence on the right has been something that I have been harping on about for at least two or three seasons and it’s one of the major reasons that Trossard and Martinelli were both used as a last resort and for ages hardly saw the ball.
Saka has always been fed by Odegaard and with White overlapping we tended to go that way 90% of the time . It only came left when the crab like square passing needed to adjust by which time the space was constricted and nine times out of ten it got passed inside to retain possession.
Playing a compact defence is easy when you only have to defend half of the pitch and it’s something we don’t take advantage of because if there are three players on Saka there should be room elsewhere and that’s where Gyokeres would be more effective as opposed to Havertz who would probably be looking for space anywhere but in the middle.
Morning Geoff.
Exactly, if we don’t shoot, we don’t score and thank goodness Madueke did both. We’ve seen Arsenal shoot more recently, our three against Lille show how things can go right but it’s almost like in the PL we try to pass our way through defenders which seldom works.
We do have to find a way to get round this because expecting other clubs to open up so that we can play isn’t going to happen. I also think the Eze on the left experiment needs ditching.
Morning all, the only team with a reliable system of overcoming the low block is Man City and Haaland and he’s a freak. The Arsenal tactic is grind down the opposition, wait for fatigue to kick in and then send on fresh legs, it doesn’t make for great entertainment but Coventry showed what happens if you take us on. Brighton are where they are on merit and they beat us fair n square, let’s see how we do with Bayern?
Having watched it again MADUEKE STRIKE EARNS ALL THREE POINTS! | Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal (0-1) | Premier League – YouTube.Looks like it was going straight at the keeper but as they say , if you don’t buy a ticket etc.
We really do have to formulate a system against this low block / retreating defence that it is seemingly only used against us . Give someone a complete hiding when they use it and the others might start to think about using it,
We all have theories about how to do it and certainly playing with pace is one and as yesterday proved so is shooting and that is something that we have to get better at .
One curious stat is during 1st half, virtually 70% to 80% plays are at our right side, with left side ignored. Can’t blame Eze for not seeing the ball with plays all at right side.
Forest deployed 3-man press against Saka whenever he got the ball. Two pressing him instantly to close off his passing angles, forcing him back. Whenever Saka dribbled passed them, Murillo was directly in front of him to sweep away the ball, easily a yard or two ahead of Saka. Saka does not have superb, closed control like Latin players (or Bergy or Henry) like ball glueing to his feet.
Saka is extremely predictable and compounded by Arteta very predictable and one-track tactics.
Saka had lost his explosiveness and quickness as a RW. As discussed, few years ago when a versatile Saka can play across the forward line, and pundits were toying with the idea of Saka as no. 10.
I see Saka more as an inside forward with the guile and skill to off-balance defenders to gain a split-second and a yard of space to shoot accurately at goal. And this is why Saka is so precious, his potency in front of goal. This season, we see Saka cutting inward more and more frequently and shooting more instead of passing. That is a right inside forward in a 4-4-2. Saka has the football intelligence and the guile to play in the Bergy Hole to support Goyeres.
Havertz or Gyokeres?
HIs instinct is to drop out of the box in midfield and never an instinctive targetman like Gyokeres who has a centre forward instinct to move into space inside the box to anticipate passes … but those passes never arrived.
I believe it is time Arteta trusts Gyokeres to lead the line and to build the team around Gyokeres and Saka Pairing as our goal getters.
Morning Rico and all
Hope you are feeling better Kev.
As long as any team don’t press hard you can just sit back and let them play kick to kick and wait for the loose pass to counterattack
Morning all.
I think we have 74% possession in 1st half without a shot on target, 12 attempted shots in all?
And we have 91% pass completion out of 331 passes.
That said it all – movements without penetration in attack.
Silver lining that we learn how to win “1-0 to the Arsenal” ugly football.
Teams usually clicked during Oct/Nov and move up a gear in Dec, bedding in new buys and new tactics.
Arteta needs to bed in the team by end-Oct/Nov, i.e. before 10 Nov International Break with his tactics in place and team moves up one or two more gears.
We can’t depend wholly on Defensive Unit to bail us out all the time with clean sheets. Leeds United is a warning shot across our bow.
The decision to sell Martinelli gets harder and harder to understand as each game comes and goes.
Morning Cicero.
This persistence with Havertz makes no sense to me, I just don’t see what Arteta and others do. It’s ok to oik Eze off at half time, understandably I hasten to add, but not Havertz even when he’s having a stinker.
Good morning Rico,
Nice one Kev, our build-up play was so slow that even the slowest of Forest’s defenders had plenty of time to amble back to join the parked bus.
One of the culprits was Captain Odegaard, playing deep and rarely carrying the ball into contact, did he actually get into the penalty area in the first half?
If Arteta has so little faith in Gyokeres that he kept him on the bench beyond the 60th minute when Havertz was having an absolute mare of a game, then the January window and a prolific goal scorer can not come soon enough.
It’s late October and our leading scorer is Saka with three in all competitions.
Nice one Kev, thank you.
Morning to you and all.
My goodness that was a tough game to watch. A really unimaginative performance from Arsenal. Arteta needs to wake some of the players from their slumber because we’re playing more like a team at the end of a long and hard season rather than the beginning of one.
I know this can happen after a World Cup, we’ve seen other clubs start slowly, including City in the past so hopefully, we’ll pick up soon as the injured return and start improving. The key word being hopefully.