Things have been busy at work this week. We are gearing up for a full return to on-site work on September 20th while also finishing up a construction project. This means a lot of staff preparation and also means that we need to start moving things that were in storage back into the public areas.
We also have to prepare staff for a hybrid work situation. The expectation is for almost all of us to return to the office full time and as a result, I expect people will get sick and need to work from home at times. We have a vaccine mandate for all staff and a mask mandate inside the building. We also have cleaning procedures and if any of us gets sick, we have track and trace, with a mandatory 10-day quarantine. And they have even increased the air flow inside the buildings to max out the air exchange. In other words, we are taking all of the available precautions so, we shouldn’t have too many problems. But realistically with the Delta variant I expect people to be quarantined and as the IT manager, I need to make sure they have the equipment they need to do their work from home.
I have to admit that I’m not eager to get back to the office full time. It might not seem like it but I’m an introvert. I often get mistaken for an extrovert because I write this blog or because I am pretty good in front of a classrrom. And some folks confuse my adventurous (brash? impulsive?) nature with extroversion. My first trip to London was by myself well before I started this blog and before I knew anyone else over there. I just got on a plane, flew to London, asked a concierge if he could get me a ticket to the Arsenal, went to a match, and walked around the city looking at as much as I could get in.
But trust me when I tell you that my favorite part of that trip to London was the anonymity. Those moments when I was a fly on the wall in a pub, or walking along the Thames alone, just observing the daily life of Londoners. And even in the stadium for my first match, I didn’t speak to anyone. I was just there, taking it all in, giving nothing back.
These last 18 months have been fine for me. I spent a lot of time alone before the pandemic and spend even more time alone now.
It’s also true that I haven’t been sick for 18 months. In my profession I have to touch a lot of computers. Mostly staff computers but also student computers. And let me tell you, what you people do with a keyboard and mouse is gross. I’ve seen keyboards so sticky and full of eyebrow hair, crumbs, and other detritus that the keys barely function. I’ve caught a lot of colds over the years and I can tell you I’m not looking forward to catching a cold again.
All that is to say that I was busy yesterday. Busy and filled with dread. Maybe not dread. Is there a word for “ugh?” Not disgust but more like resignation? Like, “ok, this is just how this is going to work now”. You know, kind of how we are all dealing with global warming?
I was able to watch a few minutes of the game yesterday. I saw Auba’s first goal, set up by Bukayo Saka and his little shimmy-shot. I saw Auba’s 2nd goal, set up by Pepe’s shimmy-shot. And I saw Pepe’s goal, set up by Auba’s … uhh.. let’s call it a “bicycle pass.”
But I missed the 2nd half to go discuss furniture placement in the new building (I caught the highlights later).
The only observation I have isn’t a new one. Everyone has been talking about this for as far back as even Wenger’s last season. That is, that Arsenal seem to be constructed to be a counter-attacking team and yet struggle to play on the counter. The second thing people suggest almost immediately after they notice we suck at transitions is that we should try it more. Now, that’s easier said than done and also “counter attacking” doesn’t always mean what people think.
Most people think “counter attacking” means that a team gives away possession, sits deep in the block, and maybe leaves a guy up top to hit teams on the break. It can mean that but there are a lot of sophisticated ways (and not so sophisticated!) to create space for your team that aren’t just “Burnley ball”. In fact, Burnley only had one counter-attacking goal last season, it was Leeds United who lead the League with 7 and Man U were there with 6, Liverpool next with 5, Spurs had 5, and Leicester had 4. Arsenal only had 1 counter-attacking goal last season, the same number as Burnley.
Burnley also only had 2 counter attacking shots all of last season, Arsenal were tied for 16th with 10.
Countering isn’t necessarily about possession. It’s more about quick transitions. In 2009/10 Arsenal lead the league in possession and were 2nd in counter-attacking shots with 36. Similar thing happened in 2010/11, 2011/12 and even in 2012/13 when we lost van Persie to Man U. That season Arsenal still topped the League with 36 counter-attacking shots and 7 counter-attacking goals. Say what you will about Arsene Wenger (and by “what you will” I mean “something full of respect”) but he knew the percentages (counters and shots in the box) and understood how to get his team to play the numbers. In Wenger’s final season with Arsenal, we took 18 shots on the counter, and scored 3 goals. A far cry from his halcyon days but still pretty respectable when you look at how we play now.
A lot of counter-attacking is down to patterns and quick play. Wenger’s teams loved to use a sort of “laddering” where the keeper would play to a defender, who played as far up the pitch as he could safely, on the ground, as quickly as possible. And Wenger’s teams also took advantage of missed corners or broken attacks. They were just better coached in that aspect of play, even despite maybe having some midfielders who weren’t fantastic. In 2011/12 Alex Song ran Arsenal’s midfield and Wenger still managed to top the table in counter-attacking shots and goals.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves were 2nd in counter attacking shots last season and already his Spurs side (who are very much a countering team) play the same way. In a way, bringing him in as coach was smart because it fits and continues with how they had been playing under Mourinho.
The point of all of this is that counter-attacking is generally very good, that it’s not about how much possession a team has, that it’s something that needs to be coached into a team, and that it would be super cool if we could do it at Arsenal. And I can only hope that yesterday’s 6-0 thrashing of WBA put a bug up someone’s ass.
What is the technical definition of a counter attack in these stats? Does a “counter attack” need to start with dispossessing the other team in your own defensive third? in your box? Can a counter attack start in midfield? If Martinelli rushes/presses the keeper and deflects a long ball into the net, is that a counter attack? I think i know a counter attack when i see one, but i don’t think i can define one clearly… wondering how they are defined to those who are counting/tracking them. Thanks Tim.
It’s about time and distance:
the ball must be won in the defensive team’s half and the shot must be taken quickly. different stats guys count the time and distance differently but they aren’t wildly different.
it can’t start in midfield, if you win the ball in your own half.
The Martinelli example is either an error by the keeper (Opta) or defensive Goal Creating Action (statsbomb).
Counter-attacking is one of those things that you know when you see if if you can’t articulate what exactly it is. I love those moments when thing ball is pinging around both teams in midfield and bam! A quick lightning quick transition, some sharp and quick passing, wingers on the overlap, a cross goes in and….something-nil to the mighty Arsenal.
Despite my vocation/avocation, I too share your introversion. I should have played bass. Nobody remembers or thinks of the bass player.
I hate to say this but when someone mentions good counter attacking teams I can’t help be reminded of ManU under SAF tearing us a new one #scarredforlife
“Counter-attacking is one of those things that you know when you see if if you can’t articulate what exactly it is. I “
Same as porn then
Close, but I would say I would say actual sex. Unless it’s TH14 “scoring”. Sorry.
Aah.. I missed that there was a new article and wrote a long reply to Josh on the previous one.
I personally know of your introversion, Tim. I happened to be in London at the same time as you and asked for a meet up and you never replied. But i get it. I’m an introvert too.
It was a far cry from the slow, laboured buildup but I don’t think I want to read too much into yesterday’s game. I hope we carry some confidence from it though. I don’t expect a positive result against City but I’d hope for a much better performance. Maybe even a goal.
Sorry about that! I may have been meeting with others. I tend to get quite a few invites for pints and dinner. I know that sometimes when us introverts reach out and another doesn’t respond it can be extra hurtful, I hope that i didn’t cause you any angst or distress.
Peace?
Thanks, Tim. Peace, definitely. It’s not like I’m holding a grudge. Sorry if bringing it up made it appear that way. It was all in good fun. Next time we’re in the same city though, I’m not accepting that.
Tim
Best wishes for going back to your office. Keep safe and stay healthy.
Real Madrid was averaging about 103 goals/season before Ronaldo left and they have averaged around 70 goals/season since he left. If rumors are true they are making a historically high bid for Mbappe. Man City went from 106 goals/season down to 83 when they lost production from Aguero. Pep missed on Harry Kane and he has now switched his attention to Ronaldo. Even the best teams and managers in the world see a significant decrease in their teams goal output when they lose production from their top scorer and don’t have anyone to replace him. Both Pep and Ancelloti recognize the importance having high scoring players. Losing 1/2 of the goals from Auba last year from a team that was already short of firepower was even more problematic for us because we started at a much lower point then Man City or Real Madrid. I don’t think there was a manager in the world who could have come up with a successful tactical compensation for that loss of production.
Does anyone know if we have ever, in our recent history, gone 0-3, with no goals scored? I tried to look into this but my online research skills are limited to finding obscure guitar tablature.
We going to get blanked by Man City. Most of their bench would be walk-on first teamers in this current Arsenal side. Scary Times. Guardiola will not spare his old protege either.
My understanding, and I may be wrong, is that Arsenal have never even gone 0-2 with no goals scored in the entire history of the club.
this is correct.
“it’s something that needs to be coached into a team”
I like this statement because it is very accurate, even though I would have written it as “drilled” instead of “coached”, just because coaching has slowly meant just telling the players what to do, when it is in fact, what is drilled that shows on the pitch.
What we are doing right now, I don’t know. But Arsene’s play-through drill really produced some really good transitions whenever his players got a bit of space to work with. There was obviously more to it than just putting the cones and mannequins, and telling players to freestyle through them with quick passing and intelligent movement, maybe more drills were used to refine it? I doubt we will ever know, because Wenger would never tell.
Sometimes just having the drills without the knowledge of what the pioneers were exactly looking for is a b*tch. How I wish I could have spent even a single week of sessions with Arsene just to know how he got Wengerball to be played by all his players, even players who should not have really been technically up to par.
Just incredible. Much respect to the great man. Tactically he was severely underrated.
Well, what are the chances when we face the champs at their home, with the ref firmly behind them, and when your awesome Swiss maestro decided he didn’t want to play for more 1/3 of the match.
Shambolic.
I get the anger but no player decides to get sent off. He was angry too, just like you, and he did something rash. Not for the first or last time though, I’ll add.
I don’t usually get wound up on formations but I did think this one was strange to try in this spot. I think he was going for continuity form WBA and to make up for in numbers at the back what he lacked in quality but this was a tough spot to hand Cedric and Kolasinac their season debut and to try to deploy a 3 CB formation against the world’s most sophisticated attack. Our attack was promising and the spacing of the front 4 caused City a few problems, but as soon as they beat the first line it was panic stations all around. The positioning of the back 3 was awful, they were too worried about Ferran’s speed to actually support the press, and they didn’t seem to know where to be on set plays either. I think Arteta outthought himself a bit here. The safer play would’ve been to stick with the 4-2-3-1 and keep Mari: even though he isn’t awesome at least he has some match fitness. Hindsight and all that.
That said, the first two goals were very avoidable and the individuals involved have to look at themselves too. I don’t think we’ll ever see that back 5 again for Arsenal but it’ll go down in infamy after this result.
Rash is the middle name for Xhaka. A rash player who you cannot trusted should not be getting either a contract extension or a Captain’s armband. This sh**show has gone on for too long. The clueless owners are so inadequate in their decision making. Their lack of experience in running a professional football team in a competitive environment has been laid bare. This is on Kroenkes, Edu and Arteta.
Devlin.
Go back an look at the numbers. Arsene’s Wengerball teams in the post invincible era were never as good at scoring goals compared to the teams they were trying to compete with. Scoring goals is the whole reason you attack and you win games by scoring. Shouldn’t the number of goals they score be by far the most important single measure of how you judge the effectiveness of a teams attack?
“Shouldn’t the number of goals they score be by far the most important single measure of how you judge the effectiveness of a teams attack?”
Actually no Bill.
Now, I am not an avid follower of American sports but I know that its very much a point for point competition and the closest thing for us this side is cricket. But just like Rugby (which I really love), football is different.
Sports without stoppages are more about balance and game management, and since there are no regular stoppages except for the ones that are caused by the play, the effectiveness of your attack can’t be judged in isolation. Like basketball where sides are given turns to attack and American football where its similar right? In football or rugby, teams that score a lot but concede a lot are not praised as great attacking sides. The numbers have to match, both sides of the ball have to align. Setting your team up to sit back and never attack can lower your goals conceded but you won’t be called a great defensive side if you can’t score. The same as high number of goals can seem like a great thing but it’s worthless if you are sacrificing your defence for it.
The reason the invincibles’ attack is lauded is because they had a great balance. They might have been outscored, but that does not matter if your attack isn’t accompanied by a good defensive structure. The best and most effective attacking sides are those whose attack allows them to score a high number of goals, while conceding few.
Effectiveness of an attack is based on the amount of goals you can score relative to those you can keep out. Its about what you can do on the ball relative to what you do without it. What your possesion brings vs what you keep out when out of possesion.
Any other way of judging the effectiveness of an attack is basically useless to the team’s play.
That was terrible. Even when we were playing poorly in the first part of last season we were never destroyed like that. I still think we will finish around 8th place again by the end of the season. However i never expected 9 goals conceded in the first 3 games. If the defense does get fixed very quickly after the international break and we start winning a few games then Arteta is going to get sacked.
I hope Arteta saves himself the ignominy and salvage whatever dignity and love he has for the club to call it quits. Knowing he had done his best and that perhaps this rough chapter in our history will be best remembered for his FA cup win and not the disgraceful records that he seems unable to avoid setting. Having the lesser Portuguese (who got “Cancel”oled by his countrymen) starting over Bellerin was as baffling as having the Bosnian Hulk start over Mari. Arteta had his attempt at stardom and we cant close this tragedy soon enough… May the football Gods watch over the health of our Gooner souls
Anxiously awaiting for 5-0 post either later today or tomorrow. Let it rip, Tim.
the title of the next thread should be aptly titled: Five-Nil!
I think this team is not a team anymore. Players are not playing for Arteta. Some who are clearly self motivated are playing for pride, fans and self interest. Lot of the players are looking at how players are getting discarded and club putting out leaks and wonder if they will be next in the firing line.
I am sure they are looking at transfer business and wondering what’s really happening at the club. When the manager puts out such a team for an important match, you already know he has downed tools. I hope the owners have some sense left in them and they have contacted serious candidates for Technical Director and head coach role. Stop the Arsenal DNA BS. Just find good experienced people. Even Rafa and Moyes appear Wengeresque when Arteta is compared to them. The owners have 3 days left in the transfer window to make things happen. This is crisis management time. As they say “Get your sh*t together”.
What was that? Arteta has quit, he must have. How else to explain a lineup with Kolasinac at LCB? We might as well pack it in, we weren’t even competitive.
JACK ACTION SAYS: August 25, 2021 at 1:11 pm
I don’t know the point of these pieces and I think to go nuclear this early is typical Arsenal fans. We will be 0-3 after Saturday. OK. It’s not insurmountable to climb out of.
There is no way Arteta is getting fired mid-season unless the Kroenkes and Richard Garlick are way more in control than we think – you don’t splash out the spend we’ve made on young players – potential – and then expect instant results. If Arteta (and Edu) thought they were in danger it would have been more fliers on Willian type players. We would have seen a move for Coutinho, not Odegaard. We would have signed Ryan Bertrand on a free. There would have been more mortgaging of the future to get us closer to the top 4 pay-off.
My guess is the move to younger players has been purely economics – they command lower salaries, hold their sell-on value and could potentially reap big windfalls. What Kroenke must be watching closely is whether Arteta can improve these young players and, in fact, increase their value on the market. That, in my opinion, will be what he gets measured by, but only at the end of the season. Did the young players make progress? Is Nuno Tavares worth more than when we bought him, or Sambi or Ben White even?
I dunno – we won with some pretty flowing football today and I saw a lot of smiling players…. I know, I know, it’s WBA and a group of youngsters. Still, it didn’t look stilted, the passing was much quicker, Odegaard has Ozil-esque qualities that sprung a few breaks through the back line and maybe Arteta just needs to embrace the 3-4-3 he played today to get things going.
Nice try pal. I still don’t think Arteta is even remotely close to being fired. Don’t mistake me for an Arteta fan. The talent on our roster means that even in spite of the coaching we will finish top 10. Partey, Gabriel and White will make things better. Pepe was ill. He obviously was hiding Lacazette because a transfer is imminent. Who let us down yesterday? Veterans. Holding, Chambers, Cedric, Kolasinac, Auba, Xhaka. My comment about the line-up was about the inclusion of Kolasinac (who we are trying to get rid) and Cedric. That’s anti-youth.
you know, tottenham played man city and didn’t get slapped. in fact, tottenham beat man city. also, tottenham are top of the table while arsenal are rock-bottom. what exactly the f*ck is going on? are you still supporting arteta, doc?