There had been a fairly clear narrative all last week (mostly on Sky Sports) where it was obvious to me that Sky via its reporting and punditry were hoping, nay desperate, for a positive Manchester United result at the Emirates this weekend, coming hot on the heels of the United demolition of Manchester City a week ago.
The fact that Arsenal, for the first time in living memory, had a fully fit squad of 23 senior players available and had just defeated Inter Milan, last seasons CL finalists and the leaders of Serie A to boot, 1-3 in Milan, seemed oblivious to the chaps at Osterley, Isleworth!
Then we had Pep Guardiola coming out with the dubious claim that Arsenal were the best team in England, or was it the world and anyway, who cares? But yes, you can see all the usual suspects lining up and setting us up to fail again. Oh wouldn’t they just love to see us fail again?
Anyway Arteta made a couple of interesting selections following on from the San Siro performance where Inter had looked very very dangerous on the counter-attack, a tactic well versed in United philosophy. Therefore Jesus kept his starting berth, technical security is the term and Viktor sat on the bench, a selection which had worked well in Italy.
Hincapie returned at left-back with the job of keeping United’s wide attackers in check with Timber keeping his right-back spot. Our bench was full of talent and game changers, finishers, pace and aggression, exactly what you need against a tiring defence. That was the plan and it seemed a logical plan – but this is football.
The opening exchanges quickly became Arsenal dominating possession with Hincapie initially looking sharp and staying tight on the dangerous Amad whilst Saka looked energised and it seemed that it was going to be one of his better days as Shaw struggled to contain our star winger. There were a few promising phases from Arsenal early on but they fizzled out and slowly United began to regain the pose they’d showed last weekend.
A Rice free kick was driven into the United box and Zubimendi got a good contact but his header was straight at the goalkeeper and he saved it comfortably. Arsenal were creating all the chances but that clinical San Siro finish was missing. Up until then United has failed to register an effort on goal or even a touch the ball in the Gunners penalty area. In fact at times United were dropping into a back five to frustrate us, that is until the 29th minute. Hincapie hit a cross field pass straight to Saka who after teasing Dorku and Casemiro slipped a short pass inside to Odegaard who in turn clipped an innocuous pass towards Timber who had drifted into the centre forward spot. His shot came off of Martinez and deflected into the back of the net and that we thought was business as usual. Not so…
Moments later United flooded forward and through the heart of the Arsenal midfield where the ball ended up at the feet of Bruno but he shot wide. Arsenal needed to stay calm and not get drawn into a chaotic contest but on 34 minutes Bruno was in again and only a strong challenge by Big Gabby stopped the United man even if it didn’t stop him trying to referee the game!
Three minutes later Zubimendi whilst being pressed and instead of whacking it forward gave a simple pass away to Mbuemo who skipped into the Arsenal box to equalise and off came the wheels. Arsenal’s controlled passing disintegrated into a series of poor clearances and nervous giveaways as United grew in confidence. Usually dependable players like Saliba, Zubi, Rice and Big Gabby looked decidedly shaky, the stadium lost it’s confidence and on 46 minutes a poor Big Gabby clearance was almost lobbed back into the Arsenal goal by Mbuemo.
H/T 1-1. Put the kettle on…
Ok, settle down now, Arteta will sort it out once he’s got the boys back into the dressing room but no, Carrick’s half-time talk had United dominating and even strutting across the Emirates pitch, bringing back horrible memories of the dying days of Arsene.
Arsenal were struggling to put together any passing movements and then on 51 minutes Dorgu got in between Zubimendi and Rice and fired high into the Arsenal net. This wasn’t supposed to happen!
Brief hope of a handball against Dorgu was waved away by the Manchester born VAR man Mr Tierney who apparently supports Wigan – of course he does! In europe it’s handball, but not in the Premier League. United later got away with another ‘handball’ but if it’s not your day then it’s not your day.
With the score at 1-2 Arteta tried to liven up his lethargic Gunners and on 58 minutes he made a quadruple change. On came White, Merino, Eze and Gyokeres for Hincapie, Zubimendi, Odegaard and Jesus, Martin and Gabby had been pretty dire. But nothing really changed, United continued to control the pace of the game whilst Arsenal continued to exude lethargy. On 76 minutes Arteta played his last card and sent on Madueke for the disappointing Trossard and to be fair Noni definitely injected some attacking verve but his final ball is frankly hopeless.
On 83 minutes Bakayo Saka got in a blistering low shot towards the near post but Lammens in the United goal pushed it around the post for a corner. Lammens had actually dealt better with Arsenal’s dead ball threat than any other goalkeeper I’d seen this season so I’d imagine that the United coaches had obviously worked hard on that.
From that corner Arsenal finally created the mayhem they had strived for and as Saka’s cross arrowed it’s way into the United box it was like a scrum, the ball bobbled between red shirts trying to force it over the line and black shirts trying to clear it but eventually cool headed Merino stabbed it home, cue celebrations.
The Emirates was rocking again and a winner could have only been moments away and it duly came, only it came to the black shirts from Salford. As Arsenal piled forward looking for a win, the ball was cleared to eventually Cunha who turned inside Big Gabby and fired home from 25 yards. It was like bursting a balloon as any hope just evaporated and United played out the remaining minutes without too much fuss.
Afterwards I went on Arseblog News and after reading some comments you’d have thought that the Samaritans should have been called in. I guess that’s what 22 years without a league title does to some people particularly those who’ve yet to see us win a championship.
Fortunately I’ve seen Arsenal win six titles and none of them were cakewalks, there are ups and there were downs even if you eventually ended up being Invincible. We are still four points in front with 15 games left and I would have certainly signed up for that last August.
We still march on…
By Kev.
Good morning Kev, a hard post-match piece to write I’m sure but you did it well, thanks.
Not looking for excuses but, we are playing three times a week, United once every seven days. Fatigue must be a factor and not all of the squad are fully fit in my opinion.
A bad day at the office.
Morning Gooners, yes and thanks Cicero, I definitely think you’re on to something, United looked sharp and energised especially when it dawned on them that we couldn’t raise our level, their confidence soared and we struggled. I thought that five days between Milan and yesterday would be enough but unfortunately not. Leeds away will be tough and Arteta needs to rotate out most of yesterday’s starters in the midweek game.
Oyyy come on. It was decided beforehand. Pep and Mikel got together and they agreed to lose the games against Utd so they would stick with Carrick for next season as well in the hope that the wheels come off and he gets them relegated and make it difficult for them to find a new coach.
As Kev said in his down to earth match analysis…..4 points at the top with 15 games to play. I would also have taken that in August.
Then again what is frustrating is that 4 points should have been quite much more. This season alone we have lost about 8 points due to carelessness. Games we should have taken more points from but we didn’t because we made the other team seem better than they actually were.
Utd are worse than us. Yet we allowed them to look much better.
This is a game Arsenal has to learn from and very quickly. The game loss for me was down to silly unnecessary mistakes, e.g. Zubmendi’s dreadful unnecessary back pass! Yes we all make mistakes but when you are playing for the top prize you should be switched on at all times. Other factors, nervousness, not thinking all the time, kicking the ball aimlessly, not marking your opponent to the best of your ability and allowing Man U to get the better of them.
Time to move on and put this match down to experiences to be learnt and get back to winning ways.
Every team still has hard and unpredictable games ahead of them as well as the Champs League and the FA Cup. Not all plain sailing.
Let’s show everyone that Arsenal have not lost it!
Is that your deep dive, Cicero?
Brush up on your research and check the comments mate, because I did congratulate Arteta and the team for the performance against Inter Milan.
Stick to sitting on the fence as far as your Arsenal opinion goes.
Thanks Dev, you just have to keep your head whilst other lose theirs. I am just too long in the tooth to join in the general invective, the flip-flopping is exhausting.
Thanks for the match report Kev, you do a great job in difficult circumstances.
I think there’s still a schism in the Arsenal fan-base that is a hangover from the toxic Wenger days, and the reason it still lingers is because we haven’t got over the line.
Some people love Arteta, some just don’t want him, but if he wins big the whole narrative and attitude shift massively and the doubters like me will need to eat humble pie and have a complete mental re-set.
If he doesn’t he deserves to be questioned.
SAH, my apologies I missed your comment altogether. Such a shame because they are normally so amusing, if just a tad repetitive.
Morning Rico and all.
The problem with fans not complaining give a false impression to the owners – players and managers that the fans are happy with the performance of the manager and the players.
At least I have an opinion, Cicero, and they would be less repetitive if others debate, but people hide away like they’re scared to discuss issues around the club and the gulf in performances between the PL and CL, including you.
I’ve seen you have an odd moan about Madueke and Eze, but no deep discussion, you mostly toe the party line and accept being the nearly men.
Lots of posts last night here and elsewhere were born from frustration mine certainly were. I don’t often sit screaming at the tv but throughout that match I did. From Sky’s narrative including having Neville commentating to the inept performance of many of our players, I was fuming.
It wasn’t that we were outplayed , we did it all to ourselves , giving the ball away , sloppy passing , running down blind alleys and horseshoe passing . Going forward our midfield was crab like , going sideways rather than forward with the get out of jail pass back to the keeper .
Our only method of attack is on the wings and our midfield was non existent going back and far too slow going forward .
I can accept the argument about games played and there is the relief being shown by their players having got rid of a manager that they never wanted.
Seeing that things were not working ,we made changes but apart from Gyokeres giving their back line more trouble in his cameo than the totally ineffective Jesus did all game . I would like to see his heat map because I reckon he spent more time in midfield than he did up front.
Strangely we are where we are and I can’t help feeling that any of the top 6 put in a run they could win it . ‘
However if one of them does , I reckon Arteta and his coaching staff may well fall on their swords.
Well thank you, another amusing take on your part.
Very good comment, Potter, and a more rounded opinion of where Arsenal are.
Well done Cicero, that’s how many comments now without offering a valid opinion on Arsenal?
Potter your first line at 11:47 sums it up the fans are getting frustrated at the style of play.
it’s 11pm in oz and it’s 25 degrees Celsius, tomorrow we are looking at around 45 degrees Celsius or 114 Fahrenheit
SAH, thanks, I never consider it difficult to write my match reports I thoroughly enjoy it actually and have had some memorable matches to report on this season even if that’s hard for you to believe that or not as the case might be.
The people on here are all grounded and are pretty much conciliatory in our views although we aren’t all of a mind and disagree on many aspects of the club and manager but we don’t rant and rave, that’s for other more less considered social media platforms and I’d imagine that you may well get caught up in that maelstrom of extremism, which is fine if that’s your thing, but it don’t really work on here thankfully.
In essence SAH, you need, if I may humbly suggest, to chill and learn to be more positive about Arsenal, assuming you are an Arsenal fan. You never know, you might even start enjoying the football.
Afternoon Geoff, I’d be astonished if the club didn’t know how the fan base is feeling, also there is nothing wrong in criticism of the club/manager/players etc but if you behave like a lunatic you lose credibility and we don’t want that here do we digger.
Hi Kev
I understand the gentle, friendly tone here and no-one needs extremism in their face constantly demanding answers, but that’s quite different to offering or leaving comments that invite discussion.
As for the football, the CL has been a breath of fresh air (being top of the league stage didn’t do Liverpool much good last year), but few and far between in the PL, especially against our main rivals.
There is a lot to enjoy (the Spuds and the Villa games at the Emirates were great, a teasing little insight into what Arsenal are when they want to play, but they don’t show it enough.
Potter’s summary above explains it perfectly.
So plenty to feel good about, but equally plenty to be concerned about too.
Nice one Kev,
It’s good to hear a positive view,although I enjoy the comments from SAH too. I always stay offline after a match,it’s mad out there,especially if we don’t win.
I bet a few of us,wanted Nwaneri last night,and he would have been ideal for Wednesday. It’s not hindsight either,to me it’s crazy he hasn’t played more this season.
It’s a mystery how Eze has gone from being one of the best Premier league players to now,it’s painful to watch when you know how good he can be. I admit I never wanted Madueke,he was another useless yesterday,to be fair he at least had a go,zero end product as usual.
Everyone was below par,we started good but as Kev said,it was like going back 10 years. Arsenal start well,fall apart as soon Man United attack,deja vu all over again.
Looking ahead Leeds at Elland road will be tough,we’ve bounced back from setbacks before,another winning run is needed.
For Wednesday White and Mosquera will probably come in. Eze and Madueke probably get another chance. Merino and Martinelli are possibles but if they are required for Leeds I would leave them on the bench.
The next winning run starts Wednesday !
Cheers Limey, yeah Norgaard has to start on Wednesday, Zubimendi needs a rest, Timber also needs a rest, Myles has to play, Eze, Madueke, White, Martinelli as well and start Jesus, he loves the CL, as you say Mosquera to start, hopefully Hincapie is ok?
I’m quite looking forward to the game now…
I’m sorry Kev but I think that it’s much more important to get Gyokeres scoring regularly than it is to play Jesus . We have 15 league matches left to play and we will need our full strength to see us over the line . Bring on Jesus maybe or let Martinelli play through the middle they have let in 19 goals so far . Lets get a few more to boost confidence .
God knows we need it .
Afternoon Kev, guys. Good post Kev although makes sad reading.
Off to catch up with the comments..
I think Zubimendi and Rice are suspended for our CL fixture so at least they will get a rest.
Fair comment Potter, I guess that Viktor has had a couple of sit downs so he can play both Wednesday and Saturday.
What’s the general atmosphere around the stadium, has it got more tense now or has it been like that for awhile and when did you feel it changing?
It sounded a big quiet on TV yesterday even after we’d scored.
I said to a friend of mine last night, if Arsenal don’t win the league, it won’t be for any other reason than self destruction.
Re the Arteta stuff, I absolutely agree that come the end of the season, if we are trophy less, questions need to be asked of him. He has pretty much a perfect squad which should be doing better and in our last three league games especially, should be playing better. Imo anyway.
Funny enough Potter, I have something written ready for tomorrow loosely connected to your 2.37 comment.
To me the players we bought to strengthen the team have been a failure bar Zubimendi (generally) and the promising Mosquera too, but Odegaard who is meant to be the engine,continues to disappoint .
It is taking it’s toll together with the fact we are not scoring enough from open play.
Not a crisis but the warning signs are there and not sure if Arteta knows what to do, and probably neither does he.
We spent a fortune on players last summer to have a better squad and none have been a success so rotating with players without an impact is hindering us together with our approach going forward.
How often the commentators say “look at Arsenal’s bench” but nothing happens of note when subs are made.
Was aimed at attacking players ,sorry
I think Hincapie has been a great addition, Norgaard too but we don’t get to see him much. Kepa is a great second keeper too. Not ready to write the others off just yet.
I replied but my comment got swallowed up.
Anyway I was only reffering to attacking players rico.
I like Eze Kelsey, but something is amiss but as you suggest, Odegaard has been disappointing too.
You duplicated your name so it went into moderation.
I assumed as you’d included Mosquera and Zubimendi you were referring to all signings.
What’s the atmosphere like on Le Grove these days Kelsey? Are fans disappointed? I only ask as most posts are paywall so cannot read for myself.
From what I hear Rico it’s not a happy place, but when has it been..
Thanks Kev. True though..
Re Le Grove :It’s a vast audience and as you know American based and there are good,bad and ugly as is the way with a number of sites.
Ok..
Zubimendi is possibly the Arsenal player with the most appearances, and I don’t understand why. He’s suffering from muscle fatigue and also “brain” fatigue because he doesn’t execute as quickly as he thinks, nor does his thinking keep up with his movements.
He definitely needs a break Jm and Arteta imo, should have rested him more often. On the other hand, Norgaard hasn’t been played enough.
Great post Kev!
Good job I’m sat down Lee. 😂
If we happen to lose first place, I think we’ll unfortunately never get it back.
Thanks Lee, funnily enough I was thinking of you earlier today, you must be psychic…
Depends if and when that happens JM, but I don’t think it will…
New post up guys.