Exciting match yesterday but I’m a bit (extra) distracted by (election) events here in the USA. So, this blog is off to a slow start! I wish I could find a way to gussy this up but hey, sometimes you just get my thoughts without some imagery of a guy sailing the seas or whatever!
Ceballos
I watched History of the World (pt.1) the other day and was reminded once again that Orson Welles plays the narrator. It’s a bit of a quirk in what was a brilliant movie career that Welles spent so much of it off-screen. But his voice is so unique, so captivating, that when he speaks he just takes over the whole scene. The rest of the movie rumbles on, the lead actors play their parts, there are laughs, there are tears but then any time Orson Welles pops back up, you’re almost taken out of the film entirely. It actually takes a few voice-overs to settle into the film and accept him as part of it and not as some god-like creature making pronouncements from on high.
And while I love this metaphor, it has nothing to do with Ceballos v. Molde.
Ceballos’ performance went deep under the radar. Everyone was absorbed with Willock up top; as his pulsing runs burst into the box and created havoc for Molde, it was Ceballos, back there quietly providing the platform for Willock to shine.
If there’s a good metaphor, it’s the bass player in a band. Bass players can be stand outs and great bass players stand out whether they want to or not but in most bands the bass player has to take a bit of a back stage to the front player. Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) put it this way:
(Bass is) the warm sound. It’s the support. It’s the bed that everyone sleeps on… for the more melodic instruments, a lot of times the instruments that get more glory, it’s the support for them. And the stronger that the bass can support all the other instruments the more the other guys can shine. So, something I’d like to stress, in being a bass player, is the spirit of givingness.
And like a great bass player in Arsenal’s new band, Ceballos provided such a great platform for the other guys, especially the guys up front like Willian, Pepe, and Joe Willock.
If Joe Willock had a great game (which he absolutely smashed it out of the park) it’s because he had Ceballos playing bass behind him. Like the song Rebel Rebel (Bowie), Gut Feeling (DEVO), or even pop classics like Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Ceballos wasn’t up front and center with his work, he was just there making the bed for the band to sleep in.
And it was an incredible performance from him, one of the best we’ve seen from a CM all season. 239 yards progressive carried and 3/3 dribbles. 430 yards progressive passing on an incredible 92% passing rate with 15/16 long passes completed, 12 balls into the final third, and 11 progressive passes (all but the yards leads the team). And he also added some stability to the Arsenal back line, winning all of his tackles including 2/2 in one-v-one dribble situations, and making 9 pressures, 2 blocked passes, and and interception. And showing off his tireless workratem he made an astonishing 21 ball recoveries.
Pepe and Willock
I have an incredible quote from Arteta’s press conference yesterday that I want to share. Asked why Nico Pepe isn’t starting more Premier League games and whether his 1 goal and 1 assist performance gives Mikel a chance to reflect, Arteta stood his ground saying:
“Consistency. Throughout the game, throughout 90 minutes, every ball, in every action and every time he’s on the ball in the final third he [needs to] make a difference. And do it more and more and more. The final product has to be better, not just from him but if you want to become a top top team and score many more goals then it’s something we have to put higher demands on at the moment. Today he scored a really good goal and got an assist and he can do more. I think he’s on the right path.”
And when the reporter pressed him he seemed to get a little more bristly:
“I said to you that I am talking generally. It’s not just Willian or Nico, I think in general consistency-wise in the final third, with the quality that we have, we have to finish more things better. We can improve a lot. That goes for every player, if Nico scores three goals then his aim has to be to score 10. Willian the same, three assists? He needs 10. If we don’t have that mindset then we won’t become the top team that we want to be.”
Pepe scored a goal and provided an assist and for most fans that probably should be enough but watching the match it’s also hard not to say that Pepe really looked like shit for most of that match. His decision-making was extra poor, he also doesn’t seem to know where he’s supposed to be, and his super-power is supposed to be dribbling but he’s extremely one-footed in that because even if he beats a guy on the right, he can’t really cross with his right (though at least to his credit he’s trying, which means he’s probably working on it).
Worse though, I think he’s got some problems with his teammates. More than once I saw Saka get frustrated with Pepe’s decision-making. And there was a very notable moment when Ceballos saw Pepe wide open and asking for the ball, looked for another option, couldn’t find one, passed the ball to Pepe and he literally kicked it straight to his marker (I think he was trying a clever dribble) with his first touch.
This dichotomy between Pepe and Willock yesterday was stark. Pepe wasn’t terrible – his pass to Nketiah in the 4th minute, his pass for Willock’s goal, the goal he scored were all great moments – but he wasn’t consistently good. He didn’t make a difference every time he was on the ball. In fact, he made the game harder for his teammates in a lot of ways.
Willock on the other hand made good stuff from nothing. In the 2nd minute he put in a cross for Nketiah which would have been a huge chance if the forward had gotten to the ball. In the 33rd minute, Pepe turned the ball over (trying to nutmeg someone) and Willock just kept running, latching on to the ball in the box, beating a man with a dribble and yes, turning the ball over, but it was the exact kind of play you want to see more from Pepe.
Almost at the stroke of half time, Arsenal scored an equalizer and it was Willock bombing forward which made the goal. His defender was pulling him (multiple times) and had he not be allowed to get away with that, surely Willock would have scored or created a penalty chance. It was karmic justice that he ended up scoring an own goal there.
In the second half, Willock was constantly popping up between the two banks of four to collect the ball and help recycle possession. It was intricate play between him and Xhaka which created Arsenal’s second. Again an own goal, but also again created because Willock got into a great position and played in a dangerous cross.
From there the game kept coming to Willock and Molde had no answer. Luiz bombed a long pass to him and his gossamer touch almost created enough space to get a goal from the 11m spot. Willock hit in a cross a moment later which Nketiah headed wide and had another shot miss just a few minutes later. And it was his run through the half-space which presented the opening for Pepe to slot the ball for the fourth goal.
Even out of possession Willock was superior in every way to Pepe: he led Arsenal with 27 pressures and an incredible 10 pressures in the opp. final third and 9 pressure regains. Pepe had 9 pressures total. Willock tackled, Pepe didn’t. Willock blocked passes, Pepe didn’t. It was actually a pathetic defensive performance from Pepe. And when you consider that his passing was pretty poor and he was turning the ball over without really creating much, it was a real stinker of a performance. I know! He scored and assisted!
Pepe – EVERY PLAYER – needs to be more consistent for Arsenal. Every player needs to give everything, front to back, in training, on the pitch, 90 minutes, 50 games a year. These are the non-negotiables.
Y U NO 433???
The only question I have is “why don’t we play this way more often?” The main reason we had such a dynamic midfielder and such an incredible attacking front line was because Artea played a 433 with Willock in the hole. When they announced the lineups, I felt certain that Arsenal were going to play 343. And even in the first five minutes or so Xhaka was dropping into the back line and playing left center back.
But whether Arteta just decided to go for it or something else happened, whatever it was, suddenly, Xhaka was moved up the pitch to play alongside Ceballos. The ball was taken away from David Luiz and Mustafi and given to Ceb and Xhaka to get things started.
I’m curious what the trigger was for that lineup change. Is it Molde standing off? It didn’t entirely feel like that was the case. When Arsenal conceded to Molde they were playing the 2-3-5 in attack. That left space between Xhaka and Kolasinac (who was too far up the pitch, which is what he does all the time) for Molde to get into and made it difficult for Xhaka to close down in time. That was also a wonderfully struck ball to beat Leno but it was a goal that probably wouldn’t have happened if we were playing a back three.
Is it a formation from the opponent? I’m curious what triggers the lineup change. Just saying “Arsenal in possession” is simplistic and not entirely true. We played a 442 out of possession quite a bit yesterday. Teams have triggers for formation changes and for when they want to switch players and when players are allowed to go forward. I’m just curious what the trigger was here.
If there isn’t one, then why don’t we play like that more often? It could be a personnel problem: Willock is great but it might be a little premature to suggest that he should start in the (dead) #10 role at Arsenal in the Premier League. I can accept that. I can also accept that maybe we don’t have any other players who can give what Arteta wants (see above) from that role.
This seems like one of those lessons in patience I keep stressing to myself: sorting Arsenal out is going to take time, you can’t climb a mountain in one step, 433 is coming one day, and learn to enjoy these performances as a sneak peek!
Pepe last night reminds me of a lot of Theo Walcott performances. 4/10 overall but one goal and one assist to add gloss to a weak performance overall
The difference with Walcott is that he could consistently do 2 things. Break on the right and cross well, break through the middle and side foot into the net. each time the ball goes to Pepe you feel the game stall. Arteta is trying him in any available position to see if he can click with the team but it’s pretty fruitless.
Your blog is right on the money. I might add Willian to your list of Pepe failings. Willock was pro-active, had great ball control at close quarters, showed vision, quick feet and was always on the move. So often we criticise the Arsenal defensive midfielders but often there is so little movement in front of them. It was instructive that Saka’s introduction (for Willian) gave them an extra target. How about a front line of Aubemayang, Saka and Willock?
No more tears by Ozzy. Awesome bassline and an appropriate song for better times ahead.
Hope you are well Tim.
Dah dah, dah dah, dah daaahh, DAH DAH DAH DAH
Love that song
Epic analysis, Tim. Really good.
Have you ever heard (or seen on YouTube) Muse’s cover of Prince’s “Sign O The Times?” Prince fans will kill me for saying that I like Muse’s live cover better. Matt Bellamy’s pore raising vocals will probably get the plaudits, but my guy was the bassist, Chris Woltensholme. The bredda was lost in the music, seemed to be having the most fun out there, and as you said, laying the foundation for everything. Super piece of bass playing.
You’re right… we didnt really notice how good Ceballos was. Sometimes, he looks a really good, intelligent, complete midfielder. He’s not that quick but he ferried/ ferries well. And he works hard defensively, harrying and tackling. He’d definitely be an Arteta guy. Willock? You said it all. The finish was pure Thierry. He was sensational, and he must be close to an EPL start. Suddenly, our midfield options (Partey, a revitalised Elneny, Ceballos, Willock) look decent to good.
Woltensholme is a very underrated bass player. Had his personal problems too, I hold the man in high regard for the way he’s handled them.
On Pepe, clearly Arteta’s got him working on his right leg (he scored a goal last week with his chocolate leg!), but youre right… he can be painfully one-legged. He can be easier to play against because of that. To me he looks short of confidence at the moment. I’d guess that the coach is being very demanding of him. If he can get it all together, he’ll be some player.
Several vids of Muse covering Prince, so excuse my pointing to THIS one 👉🏽https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbrIRqWxZzA&ab_channel=Taratata
Could you explain what you mean by the #10 being dead? I assume it sort of means there are few people who can do it, and yet on the other hand everyone still plays with one striker and a coupe of inside forwards. So is the “hole” just left empty?
Analytics twitter is fond of saying that the “#10 position is dead” by which they mean that having a player who’s main job is to float and create is no longer an option in modern football.
What I’ve learned from reading way too many books on football is that no position is ever dead, declaring a position dead is almost a certitude to see it revived, and so it’s always funny to me when people say stuff like that. I don’t actually think that the #10 is dead, so I’m being ironic.
However, that said, Mesut Ozil will not play for Arsenal ever again.
Ah, I see, thanks.
Hey guys,
This isn’t Arsenal related, but for a while I have noticed that a lot of you are quite knowledgeable about various topics, along with football. I have a medical situation, and no it’s not an STD.
I recently went back to working out outside. Jogging, sprinting, jumping, squats and a whole lot more. Today I was doing some sprints, it was going well, but at some point I something happened. I was about to burst out of the blocks when it felt like someone kicked me on the back of my leg, my Achilles to be exact. I sat down and thought that a stone might have hit me from somewhere (running on gravel) looked around as I was on the ground.
I tried to stand up and did so, but felt that something was off. I sat down again and put my fingers to the back of my ankle and I felt that my achilies wasn’t tight anymore. There was a gap where I felt nothing at all was there. So I called my younger brother to come and collect me and take me to a physiotherapist as soon as possible. The hospital is far away and it was already getting dark, he can’t drive well and my leg is, well, not functional. We got to the physiotherapist, but he had just left.
So I am home, with ice on my achilies and with my leg pointed downward. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with the physio, and I plan on going to by his instructions afterwards. For now though, I was hoping you guys had any experience, stories or advice about achilies tendon issues like the one I am facing.
Oh brother, I am so sorry. That sounds like a classic rupture of the achilles tendon but you will know more when you see the doctor tomorrow. I wish you all the best in your recovery. It’s going to be a long road, I’m afraid.
Agreed
Patients often describe feeling like somebody hit them on the back of the leg. Injury of middle aged men, typically trying to get back into shape or starting competitive sport. Looong recovery. condolences.
Here’s wishing you a speedy and full recovery…
Best of luck, Devlin. I don’t know much about you, other than I really appreciate your thoughtful posts, but if you’re over 40 or so, then I would bet it’s a tear. That seems to be a very common injury for men over 40-45 yrs old, regardless of physical condition. Good luck. I hope it doesn’t require surgery.
Sounds like a rupture of the Achilles’ tendon. A friend had a similar experience, was on crutches for a while, but has since fully recovered.
Best of luck…..
A long road but try to enjoy the ride
Sadly I cannot help in this regard save to say an ice pack. But having read your open honest opinions on here for many a year i can only wish you a speedy and full recovery
Good luck, Devlin
sorry, bud.
Pepe is not useless. He’s had moments of high quality, hopefully he can make them a little more frequent. Then at least he’ll come close to justifying what we spent.
OTOH, Willian is starting to look like a significant waste of money. He should not be keeping Saka, Willock or Nelson off the pitch.
As far as bass goes, I have one word…Jaco.
Mark King – Level 42.
Paul McCartney on Abbey Road
It was noticeable how Pepe’s game improved once Saka took to the field. I think he’s always going to be a little like Sanchez; he’ll never be putting up strong defensive numbers. The real weakness yesterday was Willian. Since the opening game he’s been a passenger. Methinks there’s a motivation issue.
I thought I was the only person left alive who loves ‘Gut Feeling’. What an intro …
Up there with the best (17 Seconds and A Forest)
I bought a bass guitar when my second was born, in a moment of midlife crisis that I have never regretted. It’s rhythm section AND melodic, and it’s really really loud! How can you say no?
Playing along with the greats, or making my own tunes on Garageband is one of my sacred pleasures. Tina Weymouth, one of my heroes (Psycho Killer was the first song I played), fronted a BBC documentary on bass players that I really enjoyed, check it out if you can find it.
funny, a movie called bloodshot has a scene where the villain dances to psycho killer; didn’t make it all the way through this boring movie but that part was hilarious!
Thank God that’s over (the waiting and the orange one).
Superb analysis Tim. Great analogy too.
Joseph Robinette Biden. Finally.
“Youre, fired, you ethical wreck.”
Biden needs to Clorox the White House before moving in, for more than one reason. Hat tip to history maker Kamala Harris, a sister of these islands in which I live.
I know nothing about Kamala, but she has to be an upgrade. Glad that she is a woman, more than anything else. Precisely, what America needs right now. I think misogyny is as big a problem as racism.
Ok everyone gets to say what they want (I feel obliged to say that for some odd reason) but what happened to just enjoying watching your team win? So many comments about how Pepe sucks. It’s not that you don’t have a point but the man just scored in a rout for your team. He’s clearly not everything we hoped he’d be but damn, tough crowd. They don’t stop counting contributions after the 60th minute 😉
Pepe sucks because he is a superlative talent who is underperforming with lack of consistency and intensity. Popping to score a goal and then disappearing is only good if every one of those goals is a match winner. No complaints then.
It’s all viewed through the lens of his price tag, rightly or wrongly. It’s not his fault Arsenal overpaid but I can understand the frustration with that.
I don’t know about superlative with Pepe. What does he do that is the -est in the league or even at Arsenal? I don’t think he’s elite in any single category.
https://analytics.soccerment.com/en/stats/nicolas-pepe-1995-05-29
That said, I do think he’s a good footballer who can still improve. He scores goals which means he’s a difference maker. He’s just not club record signing caliber and holding him to that standard means he will forever disappoint.
Biden victory speech: It’s time to stop treating political opponents as enemies. Refreshing. Off to a great start from this view.
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54859636
Nice. But let’s see if Mitch gives him an inch on anything.
I see Guiliani called a press conference at the Four Seasons. Only problem was it was the Four Seasons Garden Centre and not the hotel. Moron. It’s in a downmarket shopping mall next to a sex shop! Where’s Borat when you need him?
Oh my word, this first half. Like watching paint dry. Except when it’s interrupted by moments of real quality from Aston Villa. Can anyone from the future tell me whether this is worth another 70 minutes of my time?!
Oh, and now Villa score.
Oof.
The structure doesn’t look good with or without the ball. The CB’s very wary of their speed and aren’t keeping a high enough line to make the press coherent, results in big midfield gaps. In possession we have been very risk averse and missing someone playing between the lines. Bellerin has been in that #10 role more often than anyone. I think we can score against this team though.
I actually think this would’ve been a good game for Pepe and Willock. We miss some strength and athleticism with that Willian-Bellerin right hand side.
I’d be happy if I never saw Willian again.
Watch him score now!
For sure doesn’t have the burst he used to and he won’t win duels. Still a good passer and crosser and I think that’s why he’s in the team. Up to Mikel to use him better.
2-0.
Aaannnnnnnd…I’m done!
I switched off at this point. It was dismal
Flair. Invention. Creativity. 0-3.
As coach Arteta is finding out, those are non-negotiables in football. He should probably incorporate them into his own. Will we finish ahead of Villa? Probably, so maybe our coach’s methods are more sustainable long term. But his attack is dire, and he has a reasonably good stack of attacking talent playing without cohesion or a cutting edge.
And please spare me the “but he making us harder to beat” rebuttal. You can have solid defence and cohesive attack in the same side. No one who has ever made this defence has explained how better defensive organisation at the back, correlates to being unable to see a pass or having an unlocking tactic in the final third. Pepe, Laca and Auba are all high-value players, as is Saka, who has a transfer value of approx. $US40m. The coach has not found a way to knit it all together.
He can say in mitigation that this Villa team leathered Liverpool last month.
Hopefully this was the low point. Dismal performance, three games without scoring from open play. Looks like the squad and manager need a frank exchange of views. Not sure what Arteta sees in Laca and Willian but double training sessions starting tomorrow might not be a bad idea
Ronaldo and Ronaldinho they’re not, but they’re better players than their current level of play suggests. How much is one them and how much is on the coaching and tactical setup?
Ross Barkley arguably the best player tonight. I repeat Ross Barkley the abject Chelsea failure. We missed a trick not prioritising a CAM. Generally it felt from the first whistle that Villa were more confident. My hunch is that we’ve spent so much time on the training field practicing defence that we literally don’t know how to attack. There were concerns last season regarding our over reliance on Auba – well this is what it looks like. If I was Arteta I’d eat some humble pie and go and recruit the best offense coach out there.
“My hunch is that we’ve spent so much time on the training field practicing defence that we literally don’t know how to attack”.
I don’t think that it’s that simple. Solid defence and cohesive attack are not mutually exclusive. We suck going forward, and it’s on the coach. We have better defensive organisation (and the lowest goals-allowed total until today), and it’s on the coach. For me, simply asserting a correlation doesn’t wash.
The Guardian match report is pretty much on the money
“Solid defence and cohesive attack are not mutually exclusive.”
Please expand on this, I’d like to hear your detailed thoughts before I respond.
“How much is one them and how much is on the coaching and tactical setup?”
Spoiler alert.
It’s them.
” Trust the process ” and enjoy the fact that the lazy ‘O’ is not on parade. Dont worry Arteta is a good tactician, he has ” more difficult challenge than WENGER when he came in” TRUST THE PROCESS
Ouch. That was grim. Willian and Laca can sit. Pepe and Willock need to play. And we need to get Auba the ball. He’s had very few touches in dangerous positions, and even fewer shots.
And I hate to say it, but we should have kept Emi and sold Leno.
I also hate to say it, as it won’t change, but even a half decent Ozil would offer an improvement in attacking creativity over what was shown tonight.
Arteta will need to figure out a way to play better against low-block defense. Otherwise everyone bar City and Pool are going to do what Villa did tonight.
I only saw the first half but that was bad enough, by far the worst I’ve seen of this team since Mikel took over. His post match comments echo the same. Big ups to him for taking responsibility immediately and not singling anyone out. It really was a total team fail today.
“In the second half you saw what I’m about, getting the ball, setting and spinning and making defenders run towards their own goal – hopefully the more I can do that the more goals I can score.”
Ollie Watkins (who incidentally is an Arsenal fan)
Alexandre Lacazette please note!
They had Jack Grealish, we had Willian.
Our two were taken off after 60 mins. 60 minutes too late. The Willian deal looks worse as every week goes by. I didn’t follow his career at Chelsea, but he looks finished to me. Worse than that, he is keeping young players out of the side.
The thing is, as an attacker you have to give their defence something to do, something to think about. Their defenders could easily have brought a cigar and a good book with them.
Villa were everything we weren’t. Positive, dynamic. When they got the ball it went forwards, not backwards or sideways. It could easily have been 0-6.
Play the kids up front. You might as well. At least you get honest endeavour.
Other points?
Can we play with two full backs please? Ours are good, but by virtue of playing 3 at the back, they are very rarely where you want them, defensively. Villa exploited those spaces perfectly.
Mikel, stop trying to be too clever. Simplicity is genius.
I thought Holding and Gabriel were excellent together, considering. Got to be the first choice pairing.
I miss Emi. Confident, imposing. I’d rather be next to him in the trenches than Leno.
To be fair that was the lacklustre, disjointed and idea-free performance I expected against Man U, so props to the team for waiting a week and doing it at home instead.
There’s something weird about how a team can look so energised and confident one match, and unable to remember how to do the basics the next.
Mark, you put it all on the players, but GUNNERBLOG nails here… “Against Villa, Arteta was attempting to instruct Arsenal players on where to play almost every pass. He may need to loosen the reins. Arsenal look a team dictated by their coach, whereas Villa looked a team governed by their talent.”
Doc, what I said is self evident. Dont let me hold up your response.
You hold these truths to be self evident 🙂 I can respect conviction!
First on the above, I thought it was more just a basic lack of execution in all phases, really. They looked low on energy and determination. Arteta is responsible first and foremost but I don’t think it’s because he gives them too much instruction. I thought the team selection was wrong and Villa knew what to expect and how to play against it in both phases. But the players’ attitude and execution was poor too. Bad day all around.
Second, on the balance between defense and attack. You really can’t have your cake and eat it too. I say that because there is a fundamental concession no matter what you do. If you concede space in front of you, it gives you security but makes you look passive and weak in attack. If you concede space behind you, you have numbers up front and let your talent shine, but give the other team the chance to hit a home run at any time. I don’t think there’s any way around that. The best teams in the world are defensively secure while playing in the opponent’s half because they are vastly superior technically and have superb 1 v 1 defenders. I don’t think either of those things has been true about Arsenal for a number of years now and so we’ve seen three consecutive managers take a more conservative approach instead. Mikel’s done it better than Arsene or Unai but he faces the same limitations they did with this team.
Fair points, Doctor.
no. the best teams in the world are defensively secure because their coaches have defensive schemes that they run with the aim of winning the ball back so that they can attack. they have huge tranches of possession which is because they have tons of talented players.
the worst teams in the world sit back and play zonal defense because they are terrified to make mistakes and can’t win the ball back high up the pitch.
Point taken, Claude. Arteta obviously likes to micro-manage. Overly so, in my opinion. I often wonder if he “blinds them with science.”
However, if you’re going to rely on Willian and Lacazette as two thirds of your attacking force, then don’t be at all surprised if the team don’t score goals. No system on earth is going to help you. Completely wrong personnel.