Morning all.
The perfect way to open the new season. Two goals, none conceded and away from home. We probably should have scored earlier than we did through Gabriel Martinelli but he dragged his shot just wide of the post. When our opener came along, it was a corner. Fired in deep, Oleksandr Zinchenko headed the ball across the box and Martinelli headed home. Later in the second half, any nerves floating around were settled when Bukayo Saka’s cross/shot was headed in by Marc Guehi. 2-0 and that’s how it remained.
The game had everything. Moments of good football by both teams, bookings for Granit Xhaka for diving, Ben White for one too many strong challenges on Zaha but when it came to the Palace players diving and making borderline strong tackles, Taylor turned a blind eye. I bet he felt utterly disappointed, not being able to award Patrick Vieira’s team a penalty.
I thought we did alright. Could have been more clinical in front of goal and Aaron Ramsdale could have been more decisive with the ball at his feet but he made a few really good saves. Considering what happened in this fixture just a few months ago and the fact that it was the first game of the season, it’s hard not to be happy.
I’m glad we’ve got that game out the way, that’s for sure because I think Crystal Palace are going to cause a lot of teams problems this season. Their long ball will catch defences out, their power and aggression will bully clubs into submission but last night, Arsenal stood strong.
William Saliba was superb I thought, My choice for player of the match. Speaking after the game, he said:
It was very good because we start with a win and a clean sheet. It was a tough game, but we won at the end, so very good. I’ve waited a long time, but we (did it) in my first ever game, and I am so happy. It’s very good when you start to have your first (chance) in this amazing club. So I am so happy, and hungry for more.
Gabriel Martinelli, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus also played very well, in fact everyone did their job well barring Martin Odegaard who I thought struggled a bit, especially when it came to his final decision making. There was an occasion or two when he really needed to put his boot through the ball and shoot rather than look for the extra pass.
The drop in tempo was a concern because it allowed Palace into the game as we struggled to go up a notch again, something we found tough last season too. Obviously players are going to tire quicker at the beginning of the season as their fitness levels aren’t at their peak, so I was surprised to see Mikel Arteta make changes as late as he did. Hopefully that’ll change once ESR, Vieira and Tomiyasu are fully fit again. Plus, there’s still expectation that another player or two will be signed.
The away fans were fantastic I thought and I did smile when they started signing Patrick Vieira’s song towards the end of the game. The Palace fans were classless though if the reason for booing Partey’s every touch of the ball was what I think it was.
Anyway, we’re up and running with a clean sheet and three points.
Next up for Arsenal is Leicester City at The Emirates on Saturday at 3PM. If we’re really going for Tielemans, it’d be great to have him signed up and in the squad for that game. I still think Edu and Mikel have their eyes on someone else. They certainly have more than one more signing in their plans.
Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports:
We are going to try. We have a few things going on now and if we get them it will be great – but for now, we have to work with the players we have.
Fingers crossed eh…
See you in the comments..
You have very much written my assessment of the game in general , it’s been a worry about Odegaard that I have had for some time . When he is being bullied his reactions are not quick enough. Maybe Vieira and definitely Smith -Rowe have quicker feet That was the ability that Rosicky and Cazorla had which Odegaard does not.
Saliba looks too good to be true and when Tommi gets fit we may well have a £50 million reserve on our hands , where that leaves Rob Holding I don’t know , perhaps on his way in the next window after the world cup had disorganised things.
Still out for the day , there should not be too much despondency today , so play nicely .
Great one Rico. Yes, first game of the season and despite preseason exploits, the real thing is always different.
Promise, nerves, old fears and a new found resilience, all showed up. But poor Arteta has the headache of Saliba/White/Tomiyasu and Tierney/Zinchenko decisions. Good development for us though.
I think with the squad we have, playing to their full potential, without our usual dropping of the baton, will ruffle feathers.
We however need competition for Saka because he was not the same Saka we wanted to see. And it happens occasionally. Same with Xhaka, you never can tell his love/hate story with match officials.
COYG.
DAN
Ha ha Potter, we do often share similar views. We always play nicely. Lol
Nice problem to have in defence.
Thanks Dan.
I don’t think Odegaard having an indifferent game helped Saka. At the moment we still have Nelson, Pepe and Marquinhos as competition for Saka. Until the end of the transfer window, we don’t really know who will challenge who.
I do hope the armband doesn’t weigh heavy on our new captain.
Your assessment of last night match is spot on. Not too much to add on. The players will come of age. Remember this team is not really Arteta’s 11. With Tomi and TIERNEY back, we are going to make a good statement of how good we are. Kudos to the players
Thanks Trev. Vieira and Marquinhos too, plus if we do sign a midfielder and winger, Arteta’s options will be deeper.
Morning Rico and all
I understand Saka is not a defender but to me it seems that he has trouble when he is needs to defend.
Good Assessment of the game Rico; especially Palace’s rough house tactics. The games showed that we need a midfield enforcer. Imho, Tielemans is not the answer at only 5’9″ and 160, who doesn’t possess the strength of Makelele or the motor of Kente (similarto Odegaard and Viera). Amoudo Onana, that Everton just signed would’ve been ideal. They got a tremendous player, ready made for the EPL at only 21 years.
Morning Geoff, seriously? Did you not see Saka defending? I thought he got back well.
Thanks Obi, I’d hoped we might sign Onana, Everton have done well to get him imo.
Good morning Rico, I think Ramsdale was suffering a bit with having a new combination in front of him. He and the back four will take a while to gel. Saliba looks the real deal and we can afford to let Tomiyasu recover full fitness as Ben White, for me, looks a more than adequate stand in.
I somehow doubt that we were really interested in Onana, had we been surely he would have chosen Arsenal over relegation candidates Everton.
Morning Cicero, good point re Ramsdale.
Thought the same re Onana, I’m surprised he chose Everton over West Ham though.
Morning Rico. I guess that, in the general excitement of the new signings etc I had forgotten just how dodgy and inept PL referees are. Why did I imagine that it could be different?
Taylor was abysmal yesterday and was easily influenced by the baying masses in the stands. Early in the game there were any number of shirt tugs. Yes, the very things that we were told would be clamped down on. Taylor ignored them just as he ignored some diving by the Palace players. But, in an act of supreme ineptitude, he couldn’t get his card out quickly enough when Xhaka tried it.
He looked to the stands proudly as he was cheered by a lot of drunken men, their faces crimson and contorted in the twilight.
Still, we won and what a disappointment that must have been to Sky and the twin clowns of Neville and Gobber who couldn’t perform his dance on the pitch that he introduced last year after the Brentford opening day debacle. On that point, does it not seem strange that for the second season we are given the honour of a season-opener Friday night away game against a team built upon the Stoke model? Just a thought.
But, we won though I did think at around 75 minutes that Mikel might consider removing an out of place Odergaard from the fray and sticking on a defensive midfielder or a defender to keep the gaps down and head the incomings away. After all, Palace were hardly going to switch from the long ball over the top at that stage were they? I suppose that’s just the way that Mikel rolls right now.
Anyway, 3 points and we move on.
Morning Adam, I thought the same re our fixture. That was deliberate imo. Makes the win even sweeter.
Cicero and Rico, re: Amoadu Onana, let’s not forget that the amount that the selling club is willing to accept also plays a major role. At his age/ experience he can’t demand his destination. Additionally, with many African players (well most players, but Africans and South Americans in particular) at his age their wages/ salaries is a major factor.
But we know all that Obi, I was just saying it’s a shame we weren’t in for him. Whatever his fee was or his wages are, I believe Everton are skint and when he’s sold, he’ll go for double what they’ve paid for him IF the PL is good for him.
Great review of the game Rico, really good, you should start up your own blog. 😉
Clean sheets are a rare and beautiful thing for this Arsenal so the confidence the team garner will hopefully grow to the point that our players would run through a brick wall to stop a goal being conceded, that’s a great quality to have. Build back better – from the back.
Midfield was heavily pressurised by the Vieira mob but we persevered despite Odegaard having an off-day, Palace swarmed around Partey but I think he did ok despite many opining that he was average, I seem to recall on many occasions Thomas tip toeing through a forest of Palace legs to bring the ball clear but then Odegaard being unable to retain it. Xhaka was Xhaka, committed to a fault, some great defending, a booking born out of his past record and reputation among the PGMOL (they must hate him) and some mis-controls that led to turnovers, it’s never dull when Granit is about.
Wasn’t there a story going around from earlier in the summer when Edu was supposedly talking to a prospective new signing and all the player talked about was money, so Edu walked away, I’m not saying that was Onana but if true I like that attitude from our Director of Football.
When you come to a club like Arsenal it doesn’t take a genius to realise that you’ll get well paid so an obsession with money over and above anything else sends out a poor message.
Rico I still feel Saka needs a bit more guidance when it comes to defending
I wrote a long reply to you Kev but it disappeared. Crux was, I agree. 😆
We’ll have to agree to differ Geoff.
Fulham is playing some really good football. I know it’s only half a game, but they will not go down as predicted by some of these pundits if they play like this.
I get that all the time Rico, it’s so annoying, think of all the pearls of wisdom I could have imparted on HH, lost forever in the mists of time, like seabeams off the coast of Orion. 😀
Marquinhos crosses for Sagoe Jr, who shoots over. 3 minutes ago
Goal. Arsenal 3 Manchester United 1. Good finish from Azeez. Superb assist from Marquinhos with outside of his boot. 6 minutes ago
Marquinhos passes to Olayinka, whose shot is saved. 8 minutes ago
Goal. Arsenal 2 Manchester United 1. Marquinhos scores his first goal for Arsenal. The winger’s initial effort hit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 9 minutes ago
James Sweet is replacing Tomiyasu at the start of the second half in a pre-planned change. Tomiyasu underwent a w…
Fulham hold Liverpool to a draw 2-2
Kev how does Tomiyasu look
Liverpuddle drop two points away to Fulham.
Geoff I’m getting info via Tweets from Jeorge Bird, Tomiyasu played 45 minutes came off at half-time as pre-arranged, just getting minutes into his legs.
Marquinhos has been impressive.
Well done Fulham, did Leno play?
It will be interesting to see what the plan is for Marquinhos but he won’t stay in the U21s for long if he continues to perform like this. He’s always looking to make something happen.
Full time. Arsenal 3 Manchester United 1. A winning start to the Premier League 2 season for Arsenal. First 20 minutes of second half in particular were very impressive.
Marquinhos very good. Azeez, Monlouis, Awe and Graczyk impressed.
Leno on the bench Kev.
Ha ha Kev, darned frustrating though..
Good on Fulham, beginners luck probably, a bit like Brentford last season. 😆
Thanks Kev
Leno was on the bench,
Torreira gone. Galatasaray.
I liked Torreira, he was an honest and hard working player who gave his best in every game, just a pity that he was unable to make the kind of impression that was needed in the circumstances. Good luck to him in Turkey.
Cicero totally agree about Torreira.
Torriera wasted for whatever reason , Maybe it was his wife’s dislike of London for which in many ways I don’t blame her. Maybe the weather but for what ever reason if your not settled at home there’s no point in staying. As a player too small for Emery and the rot was in before Arteta arrived .
Another crashing financial loss for the club but it won’t be the last with Mari and Bellerin to follow .
Leno and Torrieira gone within a few days of each other, well done Edu & Co, clearing the decks gradually.
Leno left with his head held high, totally professional, but personally I can’t help but think that Lucas blotted his copybook with his and his agents/fathers whinging. If football is too stressful for him then he could always become a cowboy.
he could always become a cowboy. At fra.y Bentos , I like a bit of corned beef
Seems pretty clear that the referees are one of the biggest problems the PL has (again) this season. Tierney’s performance today was a horror show. VAR was shocking. How McTominay stayed on and the failure to award Danny an obvious penalty was mysterious, or worse.
The Dark Hand of Mike Riley still pervades all….
True Kev and Dean commanding VAR through his master monitor while using all his unbiased experience to come to the right and fair decision.😎
After watching United beaten at home I can only agree with Adam, that was the worst combination of outright incompetence and bias by the entirety of the officials participating in the game that I can recall. McTominay should have been off, Brighton should have had the penalty and, had it been granted, there was a fair chance that Lisandro Martinez would have been red carded too.
Even without the help of the officials, and five extra minutes of “Fergie” time, this United side were incapable of getting even a point. Long may they continue on their downward trajectory.
I think we dodged a bullet were Martinez is concerned.
Mike Dean is sitting in his office, like some James Bond villain, the master of all he surveys on his super VAR monitor…
Man City 1-0, time to do something else as that games over…
I’m glad you thought that Cicero. I was hoping it wasn’t just Kev and myself.
Not many games so far but ours and the MU game today make a mockery of the greatest league in the world schtick.
I’ve just switched off the Hammers /City game, what a boring side Guardiola has produced this team around. There were 62,000 people in the ground, most of them must have fallen asleep by the sixtieth minute. Boring, boring City.
Lets hope the refereeing improves by next round
How long have we been saying that Geoff.
The standard of officiating won’t improve until Riley goes imo.
Morning all.
New post up now