If you had built up any hope for a major turnaround for Arsenal after a three month layoff – or even a glimmer of hope for a minor turnaround – that hope was dashed on the knee of first-half-sub David Luiz as Arsenal ran out to a calamitous 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
You may think this is a bit harsh, after all these are unusual circumstances. We are in the midst of a pandemic, football was suspended for months, and this match was against the current champions who are coached by one of the best coaches in the world and full to the brim with top quality players. Even in the best of circumstances this was a tough match.
And then you also have to account for what happened in the match: Arsenal lost their starting MFer (Granit Xhaka) who appeared to twist his ankle quite badly in the first minute and then brought on a loanee player (Ceballos) who has since announced his desire to go back to Spain; and then lost their starting CB (Pablo Mari) who appeared to strain his calf or achilles and then brought on a player (David Luiz) who it has been revealed had a bust-up with Arteta and who is fighting with the club over a contract for next season. And let’s not forget to add here that David Luiz is, at the best of times, a solid center back but who is well known for letting his emotions get the best of him and then detonating like an atomic bomb in the back line.
There had been green shoots at the start of the match. For those first 20 minutes or so Guendouzi looked a transformed player – he was looking up field for those quick “ladder” passes rather than ball dawdling like he’s been doing for years, and he was even playing good open-field defense, winning the ball back in midfield when he did lose it, picking off passes, and blocking lanes. Andin attack, you could see some automaticisms have been developed by Arteta: players were able to make blind (seemingly) passes into midfield and know that an Arsenal player would get there first, and there were a few possessions where you could see the players were following through on instructions to play in early crosses to try to catch out City’s defenses on counters. But all of that just blew away in a short few minutes.
City seemed to adjust to the new Arsenal plan, Ceballos and Guendouzi started going back into their shell, and City started just running past the midfield and then Arsenal’s defense and getting crosses or shots off at will. And when Arsenal brought David Luiz on, City clearly targeted that side; exposing Tierney’s poor positioning, David Luiz’ mental fragility, and watching alost with melancholy as neither of those players received any help from the two midfielders who were often left with a look of surprise when an attacker was in behind them and a City midfielder made a simple, short, straight pass in behind.
In those circumstances, it wasn’t a surprise that Arsenal lost 3-0 to Man City. The only surprise was that it was all of the worst Arsenal things happening all at once: the Ozil Drama, the Contracts Dramas, the Starting XI Drama, Early Injury, 2nd Injury, Error for Goal, Penalty, Red Card, and the Return from Break Collapse. You can throw in Fans Gnashing Teeth at the Club and Fans Gnashing Teeth at Each Other to really complete the picture.
I had been hoping that things would sort of trickle back into normalcy. That we would see a few little flashes here and there of the problems in the squad and personnel problems. And also that fans wouldn’t start just going crazy on each other and the club right away. But instead of a slow return to normal service football returned for Arsenal like a dam breaking and flooded us with everything we’ve been storing up for the last three months.
Thanks for the post Tim. Disappointing game yesterday. I think we all have to accept the club in the midst of prolonged downturn. Other then perhaps Auba I doubt there is a single player in yesterdays squad that Pep would have considered for his starting lineup and very few would have made his bench. Its not simply because they have outspent us. Its mainly the result of a lot of bad decisions that started during the Wenger/Gazidis era. Our highest wage player does not even make the match day 19 and Pepe our record breaking transfer from last summer had his bum planted on the bench for the entire match. Arteta did the best he could but he can’t go on the pitch and kick the ball and there is only so much he can do until the club rebuilds the talent base.
I am a fan of Ozil but I am not sure he would have been any help with the midfield continually being overrun.
He wouldn’t even have touched the ball.
I have seen a couple of outlets jump on the fact that Ozil was left out of the squad, and they have thrown out some explanations as to why. These explanations usually go into behaviour, application and past away big games, but seemingly ignore what Arteta said and how Arsenal played.
Firstly, Arteta said that Ozil was left out for tactical reasons and after catching the game 15 minutes into the first half last night, and not knowing that Ozil wasn’t in the squad, I saw that Ozil wouldn’t have fit into what we were trying to do. I saw that during build-up, we pushed Willock high up to drag midfielders away from our other two midfielders in the same way that we used Coquelin under Arsene. Guendouzi provided the central option, while we used Ceballos how he was used against Portsmouth in the FA cup recently, where he was basically playmaking on the touchline. Once we moved into the middle third, we tried to spring our forwards as soon as possible, instead of progressing to the ball into the final third by carrying or combinations, or alternatively, use would Willock’s trademark drives through the middle with the ball when the opportunity arose. Defensively, Willock tended to push up to form a 442 when pressing in the City third, but dropped to our right half space when City moved into the middle third. Guendouzi and Ceballos were meant to cover their respective zones and sporadically press City’s ball rotation when it progressed higher and send it backwards.
Tactically, Ozil can press and has been doing it as part of the team since Arteta has come in, so pressing wasn’t going to be an issue. But, Ozil is also a player who is technically precise and his best attribute is his decision making, so he will not waste a pass by hoofing it or hitting a ball in hope. This tends to make him a bit slower and more selective in possession as he contemplates his options, but it also means he would not be the player to play through if you plan to bypass the midfield or move the ball through it quickly, unless he has intelligent and consistent runners upfront, and movement around him to create space like how Madrid would do on the counter for him, which we don’t. It only seemed to be Eddie who was moving behind the opponents. Ozil is also not the type of player that can be used to neutralize an opposition attacker, which Willock had to do with Silva who has caused a lot of damage in that left attacking half-space, which he did to a certain point. They really started doing damage when Sila and Kevin switched sides. On our left side, we might have had more success with Ozil by freeing up Aubameyang in the same way that Vardy did against City, but the deficiencies of the players playing there were plain to see, and if Xhaka was the first choice, Ozil is not a good replacement for what Xhaka provides. Centrally, I actually think Ozil could do the deep-lying job, as he has been doing a bit it for most the time since Santi left, but we do not have the type of players who protected Pirlo in our side, so that is a no go.
I think Ozil as a second striker in a 4222 is what will get the most out of him, in a similar way that Joao Felix plays or Griezman played for Atletico Madrid, and in our pre-season game against Barcelona. He is a very good player, but as part of a double barrel midfield 3, I don’t know. Maybe he could have been played on the wing in the same way that Arsene utilized him and Mikhi in his last 6 months’ Europa League games. Outside of the Madrid away game, playing out wide with Ramsey and Wilshere behind him, who also had Xhaka behind them, liberated him a little bit. Against City though, he would have struggled to get past Mendy or Walker without support, like how Auba and Saka were asked to.
Secondly, I have not seen nor heard Arteta hide anything anything from the team or the fans. With every player, he has been loud and clear about what he expects of them, and after they applied his words into their actions, he has rewarded them. Arteta has been very honest since he arrived and nothing has given me any reason to doubt what he says. So if he says Ozil was left out for tactical reasons, I look at the line-up and how we tried to play before concluding that he is lying.
I don’t think there is Ozil drama and players being punished for misbehaving happens everyday in the footballing world. This will only be a big deal, if you want to make it one.
Good post!
Tim – belated thanks for the Melville posts – helped me maintain my sanity during the covid break. I have started Moby Dick about 5 times but never finished. That’s second to the Sound and the Fury, which I’ve started 11 times but still not finished. Before I die. I swear.
We were all reminded yesterday there’s a big rebuilding project ahead. Which players on the squad don’t have either serious performance issues or an expiring contract situation? Arguably not a single player. The entire midfield and central defense, for sure. Then Auba, Laca, Ozil, Pepe. The youngsters are unproven. Bellerin isnt back to form, Tierney hasn’t proven he’s durable. So much uncertainty that I understand the team selection yesterday. Let the kids play. The Arsecast today made a good point- we’ve been trying to band aid our way back to the CL, after which we would figure things out. But our half measures and band aid purchases like Luiz, Sokratis et al just aren’t going to get us there. The rest of the season should be tryouts for the kids and squad assessment. Who’s worth keeping? And yes, we should sell Auba if we can get good money, and reinvest in a new, younger, more athletic squad. The rebuild that’s been so desperately needed. If not, the descent will continue. I am worried whether Raul is the right man for the job, but that’s another issue. Welcome back Arsenal!
Cue arseblog’s “Angriest man on twitter” impression:
Everything is shhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…
Sorry if it came off as a rant Doc. I’m not feeling anger at all. Maybe just a bit more sober and objective than before the pandemic hit. I have gone along with the half measures enough to know they won’t work. Instead of hoping we will pull off some kind of turnaround, I’m hoping we pull off the rebuild. It’s just nice to have some football again though.
Oh this wasn’t addressed to you, just a general sentiment that descends upon us after a demoralizing loss like this. Suddenly the world seems glass half empty in all respects when really nothing has changed…
A nil-3 spanking by one of the best teams in Europe would have been expected by many in normal times. Cue gallows humour: So hey, maybe things ARE returning to normal!
In the words of that great poet and bagpipe player, “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock n roll!” City is rockin’ but we are playing polka music. It’s going to take time (years?), luck and non-existent money to change our tune.
There’s a reasonable possibility that our kids may grow up fast and learn under Arteta. If that happens Mertesacker and Arteta would be gods.
Devlin
I think that sounds like overly complicated over-analysis. Even if what you say is exactly correct the reality is the tactical situation changes and evolves over the course of a game and managers have to adjust. It says a lot about how far Mesut’s abilities have faded that Arteta did not think he might be useful on the bench. Arteta must not have believed there would ever be a scenario where Ozil might help the team.
If you listened to Artetas conference you should understand the reasons behind the whole drama.let it go.players are human.i understood why Mikel didn’t start luiz but many don’t give a damn that they’re humans.its said luiz wants a 2year extension but arsenal says 1.these tins affects players atimes.ozil has a medical issue that has been on since wenger, maybe it’s what’s bugging him that Mikel talked about.now we have an opportunity to play some games without ozil so let’s move on.i agree with Devlin,ozil isn’t a high risk player unlike arshavin,Alexis.
I know you want to see something that isn’t here but Arteta made statements today about why he didn’t play Ozil.
Just FYI, I’m as far from an Ozil fan as can be without being a hater but I don’t see anything else in this other than what Arteta said which is that Ozil wasn’t ready.
Arteta also didn’t bring Torreira and didn’t play Pepe or Martinelli. So, let’s just take him at his word.
I just don’t care about this Ozil thing – which admittedly seems contrary to what I said when I said “Ozil drama”. I meant it in that weary way “Oh fuck, more of this stupid ass Ozil drama”.
I won’t ever mention his name here again.
@7 my comment was to bill and not in reaction to your post.i follow you on twitter so I know where you stand just giving my opinion to bill.
I think he was talking to Bill
Much too over complicated. The simple fact is this was a midweek game in a wet and windy Manchester against an excellent City team who keep possession and get you running around after them. Arteta knows his players. He would know which ones are “up for it” and which ones aren’t.
Ozil still has supporters and good for him but I was over this guy shortly after that fabulous Ludogorets goal. The best use of his wages has come through his various philanthropic work for which he deserves full credit. But that paycheck has done little to nothing on the pitch for Arsenal Football Club. I think he may be one of the worst signings in Arsenal’s long history.
I disagree he’s arsenal’s worst signing.lets talk about pepe.he could be arsenal’s worst signing.at 25 ozils name struck fear into teams and countries but Pepe keeps getting benched.nelson at 20 is even preferred to him.that should bother fans rather than ozil whose done it all.i fear for Pepe,he will be the next when ozil leaves and fans need a scapegoat.i pray he picks up cos I love what he can bring
It would be foolish to offer Luiz any extension. So he’ll probably get 2 years.
Season is done. Let the kids play – we’ll need them sooner rather than later.
There’s an awful load of talent there – but we do need a creative midfielder (or two.)
I like Luiz and more importantly so do his teammates and coaches. When he is part of a stable infrastructure he can be effective in both phases. He is one of the finest passing CB’s out there. He doesn’t do well (what CB does?) when there is no continuity, no match fitness and he gets thrust into a match against a highly skilled side. I don’t think we can judge him on this game. I do think he was an excellent part of the rearguard that kept consecutive clean sheets before COVID. I dint think he should be part of our future but I don’t think a two year contract for a reasonable salary is an outrageous thought.
i don’t agree that the season’s done. that’s absurd. you have to compete as long as it’s possible to get results. arsenal has 24 points to play for. likewise, you have to recruit and you’re not going to draw the same talent with an end of season collapse and a 12th place finish. you fight for each of those 24 points and try to qualify for the champions league.
doc, i don’t share your sentiment with david luiz. to say he’s good only under ideal conditions (fair-weather player) is unacceptable. he’s supposed to be the senior guy that can come off the bench and settle everyone else down, not the victim that get’s tossed about in tough games. while i agree we can’t judge him on one game, we can see that this season alone, there’s not another TEAM in the entire premier league that has more sendings off than he has by himself. in 3 games against big teams, he’s wet the bed with three sendings off (2 in the league). i also read that he’s the first person in the premier league in 5 years to be at fault for a goal, concede a penalty that leads to another goal, and be sent off in the same game…and he did all of that in 25 minutes. that’s not to mention how giroud used to abuse him when arsenal played chelsea. nah, he can take the one year deal or he can leave…go back to brazil.
Josh
I don’t really follow French football but I was was very happy when we signed Pepe because he was a true stat sheet superstar in France. Unfortunately So far he has been another example where the stat sheets are misleading with regard to a players true ability to have a positive influence on the game. Xhaka, Elneny and Lucas Perez are other recent examples. Time will tell how it all works out and perhaps he can find a way to contribute but I think it’s unlikely he will be the superstar we had hoped for.
Bill
I just think we have a coach who seems to have a clear plan and if anyone doesn’t fit into it, I’m fine with that. I like Ozil and appreciate the player he is, but I don’t have to big him up all the time, he is human, isn’t perfect and will play good and bad games.
Now if you don’t like him, that’s cool, but this whole thing of dragging him down, and calling him finished is just a drag because its not true. It has been such an problem for the fanbase because he becomes the topic, to the point that people forget to analyse the game.
We end up with ridiculous statements about Ozil being a problem and yet are surprised that we continuously lose without him? And we even perform worse. If we do not look into the details for our failures and keep focusing on a player who wasn’t there or just played his part as best as he could, we end up missing the actual problems to solve.
But I guess proving your own bias can feel great, even if its on the smallest and most insignificant of things. I hope you can leave Ozil alone, and focus on the team, its performances and how to move forward. The “everything is shit” point of view just stops you from caring or even trying, its the easy way to go.
So Bill, I would love to read your detailed view on things, like formations, philosophies, types of players you like at Arsenal (I only know who you hate) and at other clubs. I would love to read about other clubs you watch, what you would like us to emulate, and etc.
Just anything outside of “Ozil is finished and the players bad, so what’s the point?”
Don’t mention the O word.
What Bill said in spades.
‘Did a lot of good work for charity, mate’ – Reference Harry Enfield. But he hardly kicks a football…
look bill, we all recognize your disdain for mesut ozil. you deem it necessary to bring it up every time you can. for crying out loud, arsenal just got spanked and mesut didn’t even feature but you’re talking about mesut. just give it a break. we get it…you don’t fancy him.
the club are likely the main culprit in mesut not featuring against city, not the supposed lack of quality you suggest. they’re mad because he didn’t accept the club’s 12.5% pay cut. his request for transparency is reasonable. they’re trying to force him out but he’s not going anywhere. the club just need to accept that fact and leave arteta to manage the players as best he can to win games. for arteta to get up and say of ozil’s omission, “it was tactical” with no elaboration is untypical of arteta…especially considering mesut has featured in every league game since arteta’s been at the club. we’ll see.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Devlin bring up the subject of Mesut Ozil, not Bill?
what’s it mean that both saka and nelson got the nod ahead of pepe?
my take is that pepe is an extra-ordinary talent but he’s not yet a good player. with that, he’s young so i’m not throwing him out with the trash. however, he’s got to release the ball quicker…the premier league is too fast for a guy to hold the ball that long and only dance around. likewise, under pressure, he’s going to do what he knows he’s good at and that’s dribble. the speed of his link-up play has got to improve.
i know a lot of people were excited when arsenal signed him but i thought arsenal over-paid for him. i think arsenal should have kept iwobi and brought in a cdm. when we talked about it in the summer, i said i thought zaha was the more ideal player for arsenal as he’s played in the bpl for many years. we’ll see how pepe does.
a win against the seasiders tomorrow and we go above the chickens.
chin up. we’ll meet again and all that.
The Covid-19 suspension allowed some players to regain fitness but it didn’t transform frogs into princes. This unbalanced squad is a real challenge for a new coach at the best of times but in the current financial situation with a non-playing owner, I fear that we are in deep trouble.
Well, that’s Leno done for the season, and probably a lot of the next one as well. One of the top three players at our club, gone for the foreseeable future.
So unbelievably frustrating. Our injury record is bad, one of the worst in the league, and has been for over a decade. Some of that is down to the refs, absolutely, but some of it must have something to do with our training. Or evil spirits?
Evil spirits controlling the refs on the pitch against us
HT: A good half for Arsenal, I thought, apart from the nightmare injury to Leno, of course. I liked our passing, we retained possession ok (a little rusty still, but generally we did well with the ball), and we created some good scoring chances. We really should be up by one or two goals, and that’s the negative, I suppose: we just weren’t clinical enough, and, given our inclination for comical defensive lapses, it matters more when we fluff our chances.
Seems like everyone else is drawing these days, so I’ll predict the game finishes 1-1. Honestly, at this point, I’d be thrilled to bits if we just managed to see out the game without another serious injury.
I was so close!
Let’s see: lose the game in which you also lose a key player to a long-term injury? Check! That’s Arsenal. Nothing if not consistent.
Don’t forget the penalty non-call, or conceding the bobbling set piece goal. Also crucial parts of the Arsenal experiences.
I’m so angry I’m almost speechless. For all the things that have changed since COVID, nothing in the PL has changed. Martin Atkinson today:
-Allows serial fouling by ONE Brighton player without even a talking to
-Ignores clear foul on Kolasinac in the box due to phantom push by Nketiah
-Ignores obvious foul on Lacazette for advantage, despite the next pass being an offside
-Books Lacazette at the first opportunity even though the keeper actually kicks into him
-Doesn’t let Arteta make the subs he wants for unclear reasons, then yells at the 4th official when he tries to fix the mistake
Disgusted. I’m ready for robot referees.
Yep. Shocking that English refs don’t get invited to the World Cup. What are they thinking?
That third one was particularly egregious.
I am sick and tired of the anti-Arsenal bias of the referees. It goes beyond normality and should be investigated. The first ‘challenge’ of the game on Kolasinac deserved a yellow at least and it continued the entire game. It is particularly painful to see Brighton 7 scoring an excellent goal at the end, but that’s a detail. He shouldn’t have been on the pitch. Disgusting. I will stop watching these ‘games‘. There are too many different rules for different teams. It is unbelievable that their 8 finished the game without a card. The travesti show for the substitution was a highlight. And the push on Leno: no intention to play the ball. The player knows he will at least destabilize the keeper acting the way he did.
This being said, the substitutions at the end cost us a point. Bad decision from Arteta. I think he was too upset to think deeply. Willock and Nelson should not play.
Overall, the midfield three is weak and not up to a top 6 level. Same for defense. The highlight is clearly Saka. But he will leave this sinking ‘project’. Wonderful goal from Pepe. He is clearly a superb player, but not used to his skills in this team. An entire clear out should happen. Luiz, Papa, Mavro, Ozil, AMN, Willock, Ceballos, Douzi, Laca, Auba, Nelson and … Cedric. I think that Hector has a mountain to climb. I wonder if Micky, properly coached should not have a place in the 20-21 lineup.
I will keep watching, because I am a fan (and clearly a masochist), but those 40 days will be very long and very painful. I don’t dare looking at the next referee’s name. Dean? Moss? Mason? At least two of those in the next games for sure. And then back to Taylor and Atkinson. I can’t calm down after this game.
Been a supporter since 2009. Another 7am Gooner. But honestly, I may be done. Can’t believe I feel this now.
As tim has pointed out, even during our unbeaten run, our underlying stats hadn’t improved any since Arteta became manager. I guess this is regressing to the mean.
I hate it.
I’m over Guendouzi. Runs around a lot, passes sideways to great effect and acts a petulant child.
For how long are we going to rebuild? Wenger rebuilt, Emery rebuilt and Mikel is rebuilding
Let’s be frank what ars need is loads of cash for top quality proven young players
It’s really sad how Emery’s 352 with Ozil behind laca and auba sounds rosy right about now.
I am not suggesting that Emery was a good manager but not that much has changed with Ljundberg or Arteta. The real problem is the composition of the squad and there is no manager in the world who can turn lead into gold. I doubt that Pep or Klopp or any manager would be doing a whole lot better with this group.
Spot on Bill. I think Arteta will develop into a good coach.
However, these performances are down to
1. Bad recruitment. It seems to me that Raul has the “ear” of certain agents and is inclined to buy anything thats offered. Some of the deals that have been cut, have been embarrassing to put it mildly. Money thrown to the wind.
2. Leadership. There is none. Stan is an absentee landlord. He has found a job for his son, as most dad’s would. Zero leadership on the pitch. I don’t see any “officer material” in the ranks, whatsoever. Not even a sergeant. When it gets just a little bit difficult, they stand back and look at each other. “What are we meant to do now?”
Historically, Arsenal have been obdurate, difficult and sensible with their money. They have always had a strong sense of pride and identity. When they went 1-0 up, it was end of story. Away fans would literally start to make their way home. Arsenal fans could put their feet up and light a nice cigar.
Mental strength is EVERYTHING in sport. You don’t think Federer and Tiger are mentally weak, do you?