West Ham were the test. West Ham were the team which us metrics loving nerds were saying have the better chance over Arsenal to get into the top four. People had been calling them “the real deal” and for good reason: they have taken points from Leicester, Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea this season and while I know that one of those teams is Tottenham (who get battered everywhere they go) they are still a club with a big budget.
But if West Ham was the test, then Arsenal passed it. Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners against West Ham last night putting in one of the most complete attacking and defending performances of the season. And in doing so, took the lead in the Arsene Wenger memorial 4th place trophy race.
As a sign of just how good Arsenal were, West Ham were lucky in my book to not concede two penalties in the first half. There’s no telling how the game might have played out had Anthony Taylor given both (which were very clear fouls) but there’s no question in my mind that they should have been awarded.
I don’t want to belabor bad refereeing decisions but I feel like having mentioned them I need to detail the two events. In the 24th minute Saka was going to shoot and Masuaku stuck his foot in (from behind) to try to win the ball. Saka kicked Masuaku but it was the defender who got in Saka’s way. That is a foul 100% of the time in my opinion and it was wild to see that both Anthony Taylor and the VAR official not award the penalty. Just a minute later Dawson tackled Lacazette (who was in an incredibly good scoring position) again from behind, went through the man and got none of the ball. Taylor adamantly waved the pen away.
Recently, there have been a lot of complaints from pundits about the number of penalties that have been awarded this season. Last weekend all of the main podcasts (BBC and Guardian) did a huge feature on how it was a record weekend for pens in the Premier League and I think it was the BBC football daily which had one pundit go so far as to accuse the referees of bias. Bias in favor of big clubs and against small clubs. His evidence was that all the big clubs had won their matches thanks to a penalty that weekend.
When fans talk about consistency it often rubs me the wrong way but I do think that there’s evidence that the Premier League often change interpretations of rules halfway through a season. They did it last season, after similar complaints, making it so that the “any contact = pen” interpretation went away. And then this season they started out saying that they were going to award fewer penalties and that was the case early on, but over the last few weeks the pens have slipped back in. And then yesterday, Arsenal play West Ham and Anthony Taylor denies two clear and obvious penalties in the first half. I really don’t think it’s a conspiracy against Arsenal here but I do think that refs are being given instructions by PGMOL on how to call matches and that those instructions change over a season which leads to this kind of match, where Arsenal need to win three clear pens to get just the one awarded.
It’s kind of funny to me that the West Ham supporters are complaining about that penalty award. David Moyes didn’t complain and instead mentioned that Coufal went over the ball and “gave the referee a decision to make.” He also mentioned that Coufal probably could have gone for a block instead. So, for me there can be no complaints. Coufal had been rightly booked in the first half for smacking Tierney in the face and then in the 67th minute he went into a tackle on Laca with his foot above the ball, studs up, and landed his tackle on Laca’s shins. There is no such rule as “if you win the ball you are allowed to stud someone in the shins” and besides which Coufal didn’t win the ball, he barely grazed it, because HIS FOOT WAS SO HIGH. It’s a penalty and this stuff is so obvious that it’s hardly worth arguing over.
It’s worrying that Lacazette missed the penalty. Saka swooped in and tried to chip the ball back to the middle but ironically if Saka had left the ball for a Hammer to touch, it would have been encroachment and Laca would have been allowed to take the pen again (if the refs would have checked that, no guarantees). But with Aubameyang on the naughty step for an indeterminate time, we need Lacazette to step up his scoring and getting that penalty might have helped his confidence.
But despite the missed pen, overall the team performance was excellent yesterday. I know that people hate that I always hard on defensive stats (which have very little bearing on xG) but we outpressed them all over the pitch but most tellingly, 32-9 in high pressures. We also out tackled them and won more interceptions than they did, all while having more of the possession. And that defensive pressure showed up in the xG where Arsenal kept West Ham to a mere 0.3 on 7 shots. The Coufal red card did help Arsenal a bit though it took us a few minutes to realize we were playing a man up.
Lacazette was once again our all action center forward. His ability to bang with the much bigger CBs, drop, collect, and link play up is one of the best in the League right now. It’s going to be a huge shame to lose him in the summer because I presume a lot of teams will be after his signature. That said, I probably wouldn’t re-sign him. Not because he’s not good enough but because he’s 30 we are building a younger squad. Signing another 30 year old, to what would almost certainly be a massive contract, would be antithetical to how we are operating at the moment. And while it’s going to cost £75m to replace him with a younger player that’s the price we are going to have to pay.
Meanwhile out wide, Bukayo Saka once again took over a game, demanding the ball and driving at their defense time and again. English fans like to complain if a player doesn’t overtly take over games (Ozil would be accused of this). They like to see a player who “takes the game by the scruff”. And if so, they must be absolutely loving Saka and Smith Rowe. These two players never hide, they are always willing to collect and run at defenders, and you’re going to get tired of hearing me say this but they have an almost unnatural footballing empathy between them. Just watch them on Smith Rowe’s goal. Their movement is almost bee-like in how they dance together to open up spaces for each other. And once the space is open, Saka passes to Smith Rowe who then just passed the ball into the net.
It’s so much fun to watch these two play football. And that is not meant to take anything away from Martinelli. Martinelli opened the scoring for Arsenal and his goal was a perfectly timed run, followed by a perfectly placed shot. I’ve been on record here for years that I’d be happy with mid-table finishes as long as young players get chances. This might even be the season that we see young players getting chances AND we finish in the top four.
It’s a sign that Arsenal are starting to come together that they are winning so many matches at home. I’m aware that the home schedule has been relatively easier than the away but that’s also why West Ham was such a big test. What remains to be seen is if Arsenal can start replicating this form in away games. That would definitely solidify us as a top four side.
We’ve had two good performances in under a week. Two complete performances. No handbrake. Personality differences aside, putting aside the way that the club leaked about Auba, and this is what we are really all here for: good football.
Hear! hear!
I’ve always had a problem with defender’s getting some of the ball and then wiping out attackers and that being classified as winning the ball, especially when the ball didn’t go anywhere and was still very much in play, while the attacking player was out on his a$$.
But if that’s the rule then the Laca pen and the subsequent sending off was the wrong call which both Clattenburg and Gallagher have just stated.
That is very much NOT the rule, Tom. Touching the ball during a tackle is not mentioned in the rules of the game. It’s about whether you gain an unfair advantage, and that’s highly subjective. The old guard in British football do the commentating and they love to harp on touching the ball but it’s an antiquated concept.
Doc, the PL refs have always put their own slant on rules and that’s what I meant.
Not to mention changing it from season to season depending on how it was being received in the media and by the pundits.
Yes and no correction to your post was implied at all. Im just incensed that this “got the ball dinnhe”? Myth is still kicking about.
Liverpool supporter here. Recent matches against Manchester United and Everton caught my interest for obvious reasons. And Arsenal weren’t done any favors by the refs. A clear penalty not given when Tomiyasu (sp) was clobbered in the box would have potentially put Arsenal up by 2 over Manchester United. And Everton we’re lucky not to be playing with 10 men, or 9 even. West Ham had outperformed Liverpool a few weeks back and I would’ve expected them to do the same vs Arsenal. Arsenal have top 4 potential and that would be good for the league.
Welcome and thanks for the perspective. Good to see fans of other teams on here. reminds us of the view from outside the fishbowl.
Wow, you’re in a positive mood today. And you didn’t write Arteta’s name once. You may want to concede that he got it right on Wednesday. Yesterday it looked like when Arteta has the right guys out there his version of JDP pressing can work; Ben White and Gabriel were cleaning up a lot of hopeful clearances up field and then we’d restart the build-up that actually, was focused on coming through the middle for a welcome change and involving the fullbacks less. Odegaard makes a big difference playing a sort of hybrid 8/10. Tomiyasu was actually pinching in and ahead of White, almost a faux midfielder. It was interesting.
And perhaps the Auba debacle isn’t as big a deal internally at the club as it is externally.
For me Saturday is a huge test. We need to start logging some away wins. I know Leeds is hurting, but just a week ago they played a stellar game against Chelsea and got shafted, then just three days later turn around and put in a brutal performance against City. Which is the real Leeds?
You must have sighted a bird in December and concluded that summer is here.
It’s one game, Jack. It’s mid-December. We’re not halfway through the season yet. It’s too early to conclude how the extra-curricular stuff has shaken out.
Pump the brakes a bit, will ya? If Areta gets 4th or better and/or wins the FA Cup, the weekend’s goings-on will be forgotten. Nothing succeeds like success. In sport, people care less if someone is a jerk, if they are a successful jerk. Even those of us who dislike his methods will rally to him if he turns Arsenal around. That was the best response that Arteta could have hoped for (and was our most satisfying result of the season), but we haven’t done or won anything yet to justify your premature crowing.
When Laca went down in pain yesterday, I held my breath. Pray that he stays healthy for a sustained period, or this 👆🏽comment could date very quickly. It’s a squad game, mate. All assets are needed
As has been pointed out here many times, the one problem Auba did not have was working hard on the field. In fact, it seemed to be to the detriment of the task at the top of his JD.
All that said, loved how we looked, and most importantly, how we played. As LAGUNNER said, may this be the emergence of the Artetaball we hoped for.
Don’t know why you think I’m getting over-excited, I didn’t think I was. I was simply poking fun at Tim because he’s a fairly visceral anti-Arteta, whereas I am only mildly “OK-with-Arteta” i.e. if Erik ten Hag were to come available, I’d be be #ArtetaOut myself.
They’ve had two good games on the back of two stinkers. The team has some resilience obviously – in years past the Man Utd and Everton results might have created a tailspin.
Laca has been very good, but I think Odegaard is helping him immensely – someone to help press up top but drop deeper to pick the ball up off Partey and Xhaka. I think we have to consider the performance of the pair, because Laca without Odegaard hasn’t looked as good.
My money’s hoping we give them a shovelling. The last game I went to was dreadful. Time for current confidence at home to translate to away performances.
good write up, tim. let me say that i don’t agree with you thinking that saka should have been awarded a penalty. the west ham defender has the right to put his foot on the ground and he’s not required to move it so that saka can get his shot away. a month or so ago against villa, lacazette won a penalty by doing the same thing…putting his leg in the way of the defender who was attempting to clear the ball.
as for the penalty claims on lacazette, i thought they both could have gone either way. with that, i thought the sending off for a questionable was harsh; the penalty was enough. as for david moyes, he’s always been a level-headed character. i loved him at everton and think he’s a brilliant manager. he was vilified after his time at man united but he had everton in europe. in fact, they finished in the top 4 but couldn’t play chamois league because liverpool won the tournament and were admitted despite finishing the league campaign outside the top four. as a coach, i’ve watched videos of him conducting training sessions for youngsters on youtube and i really like both the quality of his instruction and his delivery.
as for the result, i mentioned a few threads back that i wouldn’t be surprised if arsenal won. in fact, i expected arsenal to win. the reasons why were simple: lacazette and ramsdale. difference lacazette adds to the front line is there for all to see. every time he plays center forward, arsenal just play better soccer. he’s involved in so many more actions in the attacking phase of play than aubameyang. the only thing auba really does is sit on the shoulder of the last defender looking to get in behind the defense. that’s simply too easy to defend. laca puts himself about, wins free kicks, wins penalties, and is an absolute nuisance to play against. more importantly, he’s a catalyst for the team’s attack. whether he scores or not, the team looks more likely to score. ramsdale simply has the ability to make an amazing play whenever it needs to be made. he’s such a great signing.
as for the penalty miss, fabianski simply reminded of us how good he was at saving those…even better than szczesny. we just forgot. it was a very decent penalty, struck low, hard, and well placed. fabianski guessed well and made the save.
“the west ham defender has the right to put his foot on the ground”
Sure, if he was just running and Saka kicked him, ok. Buy he’s attempting a tackle. He wants to win the ball with that, he doesn’t win the ball, it blocks a player from taking a shot by stopping his forward motion. The defender’s gained a massive advantage there.
the defender gained the advantage because he got to the spot before bukayo did. he didn’t violate any laws of the game getting to the spot, meaning he didn’t gain the advantage UNFAIRLY, he gained it because he was quicker. being quicker is not a foul. an attempted tackle is not a foul unless you make illegal contact with someone. saka made contact with him, hence it was not a foul.
sorry man, he went to tackle and failed so miserably that Saka was prevented from taking a shot. that’s a foul. he literally didn’t win the ball he was going for and obstructed the opponent.
that was really a great game to watch, i loved how we played going forward.
tomiyasu is a real pleasure to have on the team, i like how he’s happy to use his left foot (only 68% right-footed per fbref, which indicates a higher frequency of left foot usage than is typical) and how no-nonsense he is.
xhaka continues to irk me, he just takes too many touches. give me sambi or amn any day.
regarding laca, i *loved* how he received the ball with his back to goal around the halfway line and pulled off lovely turns to set the team away on the break. he did a ton of positive things but that was my favorite. not even worried about him missing the penalty given how well he played overall and how well the team played with him leading the line.
i wouldn’t mind re-signing laca if nketiah leaves and balogun goes on loan – i’d throw a 1-year offer with good wages at him and see what he says. we’d still need one more and i’d love to see us get one of vlahovic, jonathan david, or alex isaak, but if the scouts could identify someone less known who could come in and do as well as sambi/tomi/tavares that would also be fine.
i also loved the throw-in we took on the minute mark, xhaka made a sharp v-cut to get open. that’s what we need to have people doing for every throw-in.
about the potential penalties, i am not too concerned about those not given. for the laca/dawson one, it looked to me like dawson made contact after laca shot and the refs virtually never give those to the point where i’m resigned to it, though ideally you’d like to see those given. for the saka one, i’m not so convinced that a defender getting their foot between an attacker’s swing of the foot and the ball is “a foul 100% of the time? been on both ends of these when i’m playing, and usually just chalk it up to a collision when both players were going for the ball.
Mike Dean actually awarded a pen to a player who kicked the defender’s leg a while back, when he planted his foot down between the ball and the striker.
He was widely ridiculed for that btw.
If we allow that sort of logic to stand then I suppose the next natural step is to justify what Mc Artur did to Saka in the Crystal Palace and not getting sent off.
There should be a Mike Dean song that can be sung at any/all games by both sets of supporters. Did anyone see his amazing screen for TAA’s thunderstrike against Newcastle? He’s a fucking legend!
“Mii-iiiike Dean — bah-bah baaaah — you’re really not so good (so good, so good, so goood”
Agree on the pens. All were obvious ones to me. Both Saka and Laca were through on goal, and fouled when making the shot. The bad calls are bad enough, but the inconsistency is maddening. I hope that, with the table this bunched, we dont get screwed over in a match that decides our final standing. On the penalty we did get, I think the fact that Fabianski knows Laca’s penalty taking habits very well, counted for something. He’s normally pretty assured from the spot.
Arsenal’s most satisfying performance, from back to front. West Ham are a well-organised, well-drilled football team*, but I thought that we contained them with relative ease. We had almost all of the threatening play. Started on fire, with a ferocious press I feared that we couldnt sustain. But we largely kept control. Good result for the team obviously, but the best possible one for the coach, given the huge distraction going into this game. There are also the not unimportant facts that Moyes was his coach and mentor before Wenger, and of the 4th place dynamics.
Saka and ESR can find each other in their sleep. That is the virtue of continuity. Mass overhaul of AFC is an interesting idea, but this kind of synchronicity is unlikely if you change up too much**. Tactical cohesion and on-pitch understanding are important.
I agree that we should flip Laca at the end of the season. And if he’s smart, he’d leave while he’s still held in high regard by club, coach and fans. When his stock is highest. He’s got at least 2 previous examples to draw on, no?
(*said they beat City and Liverpool in the league on prev post, but it was Chelsea and ‘Pool, as you correctly said)
(**off topic, and with a nod to fellow Lakers fans… are you listening, Rob Pelinka?)
This was a HUGE win. Not simply because we wrested three points and fourth place from the Spammers, nor simply because of the excellent performance with a welcome intensity of our spirited attacking and stolid and organised defending but moreover because there was no evidence whatsoever of a hangover from the panjandrums surrounding the disciplining of our erstwhile captain. Indeed, and somewhat surprisingly, there were impressive improvements in the performances of two senior players in the squad – Lacazette and Partey. Banquo’s ghost was NOT at this feast. An excellent night’s work at TNHOF.
Great result. Most impressive thing was the defending. Arsenal defenders won 100% of their ground duels.
Penalty was extremely fortunate. Majority of times that doesn’t get called. But that’s subjective decision making – some you win…
Hit the nail with Saka & Smith Rowe comments. They are almost as much fun to watch as certain little two-footed Spaniard who could boss games for us back in the day. Yes, it still takes two sublime Arsenal academy players together to match one Santi Cazorla.
There are also Martinelli, White, Ramsdale, Tomiyasu and Tierney to smile about.
The potential in this group is good enough to let the imagine wander to places it has no right to be. Fingers crossed that the Omnicron variant does not completely throw the season into disarray. Health and safety first of course, but a severe disruption could destroy whatever progress we are making.
Great post Tim. Thanks for the review. The second really well played game in a row and instead of the doom and gloom and talk of potentially sacking the manager after the Everton and ManU games there is suddenly optimism everywhere. Its a roller coaster ride for sure but we should enjoy the good times while they last.
No evidence of a handbrake in the last couple games. Do we think the manager has changed tactics and somehow outsmarted David Moyes yesterday or has it been the players doing a better job of executing the game plans? I definitely favor the latter. I guess the other thing to consider is spending $150M on players last summer is having a positive effect. Spending money is not the answer to every problem but it certainly can help. No matter how you slice it hopefully we can keep the momentum thru the holiday period.
I think it’s always a bit from column A and a bit from column B. There was a stat floating around that Arteta is undefeated as a manager against Moyes, 4-0 I think he is head to head. This may be spurious but to my mind There’s definitely an advantage to knowing all of your former boss’ favorite things. Arteta played under him for at least 5 years if memory serves.
I also think this young group is growing game by game in front of us. It’s not just learning the X’s and O’s but also their cohesion playing with each other, their self belief, their comfort with the big stage. They’re developing as people too: Gabriel is going to be a father. These things are incredibly important. If they’re settled and happy off the pitch there’s a better chance they will be on it, and vice versa. I think that’s a big part of why we primarily bought English talent.
Yes, Arteta has very publicly changed tactic.
Doc
I believe its a tiny bit from column A which is managerial tactical changes and a whole lot of column B which is the players executing the game plan. If we believe managers have so much control over the teams form on the pitch and we give Arteta’s tactics, player and game management most of the blame for bad results then it only seems logical and reasonable that we need to give him most of the credit for the good results. I just don’t see how its possible for a manager to be really bad for the first 3 games and then good for the unbeaten run and then bad again just a couple weeks ago when we lost to ManU and Everton and now suddenly smart again, but that is just me.
hey Bill, I find your arguments thought provoking, and couldn’t resist engaging again. So by the same token, do you think that West Ham lost because their players failed to implement Moyes’ game plan?
Moyes thought so, Claude.
The game plan and selection will be tweaked from match to match Bill, so it’s very possible for Arteta to get it right one week and wrong the next. But overall I think your point stands.
It’s usually pretty obvious when a game plan is wrong or there’s a tactical mismatch.
It’s also usually pretty obvious when the performance or quality of the players is sub par, there are lots of errors or low energy or poor decision making.
Of course the coach is overall responsible for both, but that cuts both ways.
We praise individual players and performances, we praise Saka and ESR for the way they scored that second goal, and we should. But that was also coached.
Likewise there have been many matches under Arteta where it’s been obvious that we played badly, but that’s not just on the players.
I think Bill’s right, we are not changing structure or game plan but our performances are very inconsistent. The structure, when not executed well, hinders instead of helping, but the problem is likely not the structure itself.
Every good performance like West Ham backs this up.
I therefore think Arteta’s right, consistency is a good test of both him and the team. If the coaching is good it should improve and if we start to get performances like that most weeks we’ll be in business.
Greg
The unreal telepathy between Saka and ESR is from the years they played together at Hales End. So gues the bees movement goal credit is to the players
Likes these takes!
However, read somewhere before the game that West Ham was without 2 starting defenders, if so that is a big deal.
Think if Gabriel and Tomi were out- we would be in big trouble.
Yet, AFC would have probably won anyway due to the pressure and link up play by my to favs…
When we signed Tomi, I looked him up and found out we’re signing yet another centre back (we have loads of those) who maybe could cover for right back and felt our recruitment screwed up.
I apologise.
Claude.
You have been speaking very highly of Moyes for a couple years so I think its unlikely that Arteta outsmarted him and unless Moyes screwed up which I find unlikely, I assume he would have had a solid tactical game plan. My theory is we won today because our players did a better job then the West Ham players of executing the game plan.
Another angle with this “is it the plan or is it the execution?” conversation. Above I said that it’s usually obvious when a team is set up wrong or when they are just playing badly, but I guess with this Arsenal side it’s been very hard to tell – and this has fuelled a lot of the debate.
For example a few weeks ago I was confident, based on Tim’s analysis, that the passive, playing with the handbrake after going ahead approach, must be something that’s being coached because it was so consistent. Adjusting play based on game state. I think Tim was sceptical.
After Man U, Everton and West Ham and Arteta’s reactions to all three games, I definitely think the opposite now – that it was an issue with how the players were performing in the moment and the plan was never to back off after going in front.
By the way, did anyone get a good sense of Partey’s performance alongside Xhaka against the hammers? I don’t really recall.
It’s odd to see the team suddenly and drastically stop playing the way that we played for the previous 18 months, so let’s not pretend that that time period in Arsenal history didn’t happen. We were definitely being coached to play much much more conservatively. It was something Arteta was even proud of early on. And the tell-tale signs are still there that this was and still is down to instructions from the coach: we still don’t overlap or send runners behind very often. We often play guys in line with the last defenders and look to move the opponents out of space with passing (which means lots of backpasses). This is what caused the handbrake. It’s completely by design, Pep does it too.
But it could very well be that Arteta, the last few weeks, has decided to be a little less restrictive in their attack. Or it could also be that what we’ve seen the last few weeks are a few teams who didn’t quite play up to our level and got things pretty wrong.
Southampton’s press was suicidal and West Ham played some kind of crazy anti-pressure game (fewest pressures we’ve faced this season).
But none of that discounts the analysis of the last 18 months. We definitely played with the handbrake on and it was definitely by design. In fact, if anything, these last few weeks proves more that it was by design.
I’m not pretending anything didn’t happen and I’m grateful for all the analysis.
I’m a bit on the fence.
I don’t disagree for a minute about the conservative set up. We’re being coached to go forwards without leaving gaps, the opposite of gung ho.
I think we we haven’t been very good at it. We’ve been focused on the not leaving gaps part which is why it has been really frustrating and toothless. This isn’t a defence of the manager by the way, it’s his failing.
But the set up alone can’t be causing the handbrake if we had the same set up since the handbrake came off. This makes me think we might just be getting better at the going forward part, in other words better at implementing the plan.
But you might be right that it’s a conscious change of approach, and if so I wonder what is being done different now, and I’m also wondering what triggered the change.
We can see and HEAR Arteta barking minutiae from the sidelines… every minute, all game long. And yet Greg would have us believe that the bad play is fault of the players not carrying out his instructions.
Binary doesnt work in sport. It is a combination of things, in which both those things usually factor to some extent. But how much of one thing or another is it, if a coach is literally telling you where to position yourself, what to and what not to do all game long?
I have to go get boosted, and will return to this fascinating chat later
Me: “this is the manager’s failing”
Claude, after reading that: “Greg thinks it’s the players’ fault”
Fella, you’ve got history of taking my views and twisting or exaggerating them. It’s vexing.
I’m interested in what the team is actually being coached to do and why. I’m interested in whether that coaching is good or not. I’m exploring, I’m not asking you to believe a damn thing.
If a man is barking instructions at players from the sideline, that would indicate that they are not doing what he wants them to do, no? If they were, he would shut up.
“ If a man is barking instructions at players from the sideline, that would indicate that they are not doing what he wants them to do, no? If they were, he would shut up.”
Not really, although it sounds so logical.
Some people would still keep shouting and gesticulating, habit or nervous energy or control freakery or all of those.
It’s either 1 guy telling 11+ guys what to do or 11+ guys ignoring 1 guy. I think the balance of probabilities indicates which one.
Nobody said ignoring. He might be asking something of them that’s actually really hard.
Ha! Brother that’s a stretch (lol). Ok, I’ll rephrase “or 11+ guys unable to do what the coach asks them because they’re all so dumb (or he’s super smart)”. I’m not sure there’s anything p, outside exceptional technique which is arguably a god given talent, on a football field. I’m not being a pain, I just think the narrative that the coach is asking them to do something super difficult seems a little far fetched. I’ll share some thoughts after Leeds where I’m sitting really close to the field near the halfway line.
Lucky you:..
Great piece. Very well written!
When we played Chelsea early in the season, Tierney, while adding to our attack, was leaving plenty of space for Reece James to run into… which he did to devastating effect. The space was not being filled — as it often is — by Xhaka dropping in to LB. That’s because as soon as we turned over the ball, Chelsea funneled it to Jorginho or Kovacic, and one would immediately hit a streaking James in space. The quickness of the Chelsea counter gave Xhaka, a good and smart player but slow of foot, a decision… try to run to James (no chance, too late) or help out his CM partner with Lukaku running through the middle. He has a split second to decide that. It also left the left sided CB with the same decision.
Tierney on the overlap was a part of Arsenal’s attacking tactical setup. As a couple of my bredrin in this thread would put it, he was “following the game plan”, and even being somewhat effective. Tuchel, on the day, had a better game plan. He exploited (1) Tierney being out of position on the turnover (2) Xhaka being slow by moving the ball quickly to a fast full back and probably (3) the new and still unformed CB partnership between White and Gabriel. Tuchel’s tactics had Kovacic starting and the great little man Kante on the bench. Kante is a better player. But he needed MK’s qualities for that particular game (and others, to be fair). It doesnt mean that Mikel had a bad game plan… it means that Tuchel had a better one to counter it. Im sure that the CBs, Xhaka and Partey were following Arteta’s game plan (how could they not? he barks it at them all game long), but speed of execution unhinged us. Plus, Lukaku at CF is a handful by himself.
And so to playing conservatively. We’ve had a strong start, and it has been rewarded with a goal. Now, a goal up, Xhaka is on the ball. Thomas is 5 yards to his right and behind, Saka is in space in the left (this time), Martinelli on the right. If you look closely, you’d see that the players are marking space — playing zone, if you like. Keeping a shape. One of the reason coaches like Xhaka is that he follows the tactical plan. He doesn’t freelance. Clearly, from the way we are setting up, we are playing not to get pulled out of shape. Do you think that Granit takes the high-risk or low risk option? Next thing you now, the ball is back with Ramsdale to start our cautious probing again. Sometimes it works, as it did, thrillingly against Southampton for Laca’s goal. But often, better and more capable teams win back possession in your half, and you have to reset.
This was often how we played when we went a goal up. We played not to lose. To keep it tight. To stay organised. It’s not a new tactic. Arteta isnt alone in playing that way. George Graham was known grind out one-nils. And (led by Tony Adams) he had one of the most cerebral back lines that the premier league has ever ever seen. But with out back line against a quality attack like United’s, it is probably the wrong tactic to let them keep banging on the door. Ronaldo’s legs are gone, clearly. But he was given time, space and opportunities to work us out. We made individual mistakes that were punished, yes, but you have to be in a position to exploit them.
Partey and Xhaka are more attack minded players for their countries. They are still defensive minded, but they have some offensive license. For Arsenal, they look like they get nosebleed when they approach the opposition box. It’s not by accident that their goal involvements are practically zero. It’s the coach’s setup.
Lastly, by who you pick to start and finish games, you are making intentional tactical decisions. See Jorginho. See Xhaka, whose retention and automatic starts speak to the fact that we want to play inherently conservatively. Mikel did get one thing tactically spot on of late…Odegaard, hard working defensively, and positionally smart and savvy offensively. He’s emerged as Mikel’s glue guy. That’s on the coach.
“Playing with the handbrake” is a term of art by Wenger. It does not mean that the players did not follow his tactical blueprint. It means that (for whatever reason), they were constrained in their attacking play. The finely tuned race car was chugging along like an old gas bucket. It could be that the opposition coach or an opposition player threw something at them, to which caused them to react in the way that they did.
I was a bit long-winded. Sorry. But I hope this made sense.
Correction: Gabriel was not back as yet, and our CB pairing was… Rob and Mari 🙂 We were short, and Chelsea exploited it.
For clarity/clarification, the team that day, Arsenal at home to Chelsea. Leno, Cedric, Rob, Mari, Tierney, Sambi, Xhaka, Pepe, ESR, Saka, Martinelli.
I’d add that if ever there was a game where Tierney needed to apply the handbrake, this was it.
https://www.skysports.com/football/arsenal-vs-chelsea/teams/446298
It made a lot of sense. An excellent analysis. Since then, when playing, Xhaka has more obviously moved in behind Tierney to cover the LB position when the latter drives forward. That provides better cover but is of course just another situation for a savvy coach to exploit!
Thank you, Bathgooner. Arsenal play opponents. Opponents who look at how they play and try to counter that. We dont play in a vacuum. Enjoy the game. COYG!
The lacazette penalty was a clear penalty. I think the commentators still try and make Arsenal look soft. The foot was over the ball. The trailing leg went through Laca. Foul and yellow. The commentator kept saying that there is no way the Coufal is going to foul a player in the box like that. I mean what is that supposed to mean. No player wants to foul and give away a penalty. In the post match analysis again it was mentioned that he won the ball twice. leading and trailing leg. They failed to mention that after touching the ball with the leading leg Laca was clattered. That alone means that the trailing leg won the ball after the foul. Which in itself means squat because you can’t win the ball and go thorugh the player. Even if you win the ball cleanly it’s a foul. In this case it was nto even a clean win. If Arsenal had given the same foul away everyone would have said that once you make the decision to tackle like that you can have not complaints.
I generally don’t complain about biases and all but I have been noticing this recently. And it stung a bit given the fact that Anthony Taylor gave WHam 3 non fouls as free kicks in prime positions. In 2 of the 3 cases the ball was one without contact, in the third case there was minimal upper body contact. And West Ham are good from set pieces. Managers (Arteta) should come out against this and put pressure on the refs.
Just to add to the attack being dull conversation.
1. Arteta definitely wants the team to be defense first. We always keep 3 at the back when attacking. Wenger kept 2 with both full backs overlapping. This definitely takes away from attack but protects us from counters. Our players get back into shape brilliantly. I for one is in favour of this approach as I hate being sucker punched. The reason our attack has improved is because of better chemistry. Arteta is no longer changing formations, playing people in weird positions and so on. Pepe not playing also adds to attack in my opinion.
Recently I have seen one midfielder joining the attack. In this game Xhaka made a lot of entries into the box.
2. I think the handbrake is still there. It’s not an instruction from the manager but it is a psychological thing. Even in this game we were soft for 10 minutes after our first goal. This is something really weird, confidence should increase after scoring and not decrease. Even though this is not an explicit instruction from Arteta it has to do with the way the messaging from Arteta(team talks/ training/ setup etc). Also, we have a young team. The pressure will get to them.
3. In the WHU game, Gabriel made 2 errors that could be goals, Xhaka made 3 errors that could be goals, Ramsdale pass to prevent the corner could be a goal as well. Not saying that we were bad or anything but just pointing out that we are still a nervy side after taking the lead.
4. I think we should keep our expectations in check. Top 6 would have been very welcome at the start of the season. Currently, we are 4th but there are 2 teams who have played fewer games. We also have beneiftted from a stable starting 11 which contributes heavily to form. Partey going to AFCON will be a very big loss. All in all, I don’t think we have the squad to get top 4. But challenging for it would be a great achievement in itself.
Nice post!
I was surprised by how spry Lacazette looked, maybe the classic case of a player playing himself into shape. I would think this version of Lacazette is well worth a 1-2 year extension. We still need a first choice striker but we could do a lot worse for a backup/alternate. I do like the idea of Dominic Calvert Lewin because of the physical qualities he could bring that would balance well with the smaller and less imposing Saka, ESR and Odegaard. Martinelli could also have a future there long term but I think for now he’s best as an inside forward in a Walcott/Reyes/Overmars type of role.
Partey is an interesting one. He looks either absolutely dominant or leggy and error prone and for me he’s absolutely part and parcel of the problem with the 1-0 jitters. I wonder if his long background with Athletico plays into that. Cholo’s teams were not known for blowing the door down on anyone and Partey grew up in that system. I wonder if it’s baked into him to such an extent that he has a hard time letting go of that. As the midfield engine and a respected senior player, he’s certainly in a position to dictate tempo more than most. It’s probably subconscious but I wouldn’t rule it out as an important factor in this.
Re: arteta instructions. It can be both his explicit instructions and also nerves.
The explicit instructions are very clearly there. You even say so yourself, praising them for reducing the number of times we get sucker punched. I would say also that being more conservative when you have a lead is a very normal part of coaching and something every coach does. Football is always about the balance of attack and defense and when you have the lead it’s normal to be more defensive.
Where I think Arteta has gotten the balance wrong is actually a very specific criticism that I have leveled for two years: we tend to play too static a line across the opposition back four. There aren’t enough runs across, very few runs behind, and almost no overlapping runs. In addition, I noticed yesterday in the game against Leeds that we have finally started to get the midfielders forward. To do this, he’s further limiting the number of times that the fullbacks get forward but I think this is the right approach because it utilizes the “zone 14” area right near the penalty circle. We have seen now a number of goals from midfielders in this area this last week. This is a massive change for Arteta and for Arsenal. Ode is especially adept at using this area of the pitch but it’s key that Xhaka is getting forward more. We also saw Lokonga getting into these areas this year, which is a change from last year. So, again, I think Arteta is evolving.
For the nerves, that too is normal. However, his micromanaging (he screams at the players on the sidelines, constantly) and threats to the players – which he carries out with actions by dropping them when they don’t do what he says – would exacerbate any feelings of nervousness that young players would feel. Wenger’s problem was ironically the opposite: players in the Wenger system would sometimes lack the structure needed to feel confident in stressful situations which led to huge errors. Arsenal under Wenger were the most error-prone team in the league. In the early days under Arteta that same stuff cropped up (lots of reds and pens, plus errors for goals) which I think was down to a combination of bad players and ironically overmanagement.
Again, I think that balance is the key here. You need to give players structure but also freedom, confidence and a little fear.
A lot of folks like to reduce things down to simplistic answers (I’m not saying that you are doing that and I myself can be accused of reductionism) but if I spend a minute checking myself I realize these things usually have a multivariate and complex explanation.
Can’t believe the game hasn’t been postponed…. Should be a cake walk today. Leeds are without 7/8 first teamers including Rodrigo, Phillips (who Arsenal should buy as DM) and Bamford. They’re a Championship+ team still and won’t be able to match Arsenal’s quality. Make hay I say.
I think it’s a good matchup for Arsenal to begin with. We do better against teams that come out and leave space behind them versus teams that defend in a deep block. Might be a game to put Martinelli up top and Lacazette on the bench?
Last season everyone was praising Bielsa’s managerial prowess and the team overperformed. This year its a completely different story. Does anyone really believe that Bielsa was really smart and a top tactical manager last year and then this season he suddenly isn’t very good? That makes no sense.
No it doesn’t, and he’s not alone in this. As a manager you are always going to carry the blame and you are the most expendable part of the setup. In the case of someone as experienced as Bielsa it’s particularly stark to see his teams struggle from one year to the next. I think it’s a style that’s difficult to maintain because of the intensity it requires. Other teams get wise to what you’re doing and then punish you with better talent at the other end. Perhaps that’s why he hasn’t stuck with any one team long term.
The point is the perception of a managers ability is at least partly dependent on how well his players are executing his strategy. This season Leeds United players are not executing as well as they did for much of last season. I think a lot of us believe Arteta is doing a better job this season. However,it should not be a big surprise that our ability to execute the managers game plans effectively has improved this season after spending $150M on players over the summer.
Bill, you have to do a deep dive into why Leeds’ early season results are poor, compared to the promise they showed last year. It could be as simple as other teams working them out… it could be a shedload of other factors.
Arsenal were roughly where they are now at a similar point last year… just above the relegation zone. We recovered to finish 8th. Can Leeds do something similar? We will see. Perhaps Tim or a Leeds fan can give us some details and insight into their current struggles.
Agree with you that if a manager gets the players he wants, he is better placed to play in the way that he wants.
Arteta’s abilities were questioned because he was a rookie manager. He had no track record. Bielsa has seen and done it all in a very long career… longer than Mikel has been alive. Bielsa’s reputation does not, will not rise and fall Leeds’ form. But as Claudio Ranieri showed in losing the Leicester job not that long after winning the title, managers need to sustain the good.
Leeds may have been depleted, with their best players like Kalvin Philips absent, but I thought that Xhaka was terrific today. And when he passes progressively, the result can be like that assist to Gabi (look at the acres they left! Good Lord).
Saka, Laca and Gabi were outstanding up front, MO8 was excellent at knitting midfield and attack, and Xhaka was very good conducting. But it was assisted suicide, with Leeds sticking to their plan of playing it out from the back, and getting caught in possession time and again.
We didnt ease up until we were 3-0 up. Gary Neville noted on commentary that we were winning the ball back and choosing not to do anything with it. But at 3-nil, I’ll take that. Could have been 5-nil at halftime, truth be told. Or Raphinha could have made it 1-1 after Partey gave it away. The Leeds man ran his heart out in a hopeless cause, and took one of the best penalties I’ve seen all season. The possession stats showed they had 51% of it. I must have watched another game, because apart from 20 minutes in the second half, it was all Arsenal.
It’d swell my heart if Martinelli made the Brazil squad to Qatar next year. Keep playing like this, lad, and you’ll give Tite a decision to make. Bukayo is playing the best football of his career.
Martinelli! That’s the name that is going to resonate for long when Arsenal returns to the Champions League. If there ever was a player type that we needed it is Martinelli.
Speed and accurate shooting ability are what he is about. He’s best as an inside forward and not a centre forward.
Arsenal has to find an upgrade on Lacazette next season, as his work rate has been pivotal to our last 3 wins.
The next step is for this team to find consistency during the AFCON in midfield with Sambi, AMN & Xhaka.
Need to see a performance against Manchester City in January. No free hit talk, just match them and change the narrative.
That victory was another important milestone for this young team. Producing that kind of performance in a bear pit and walking away with all the points is character building.
The first half was as good as it gets in an away game. While a 6-0 final score would not have flattered us, (indeed, it could have been 6-0 at half time) I’m happy with the way we managed out the second half – apart of course from White’s silly challenge – given the forthcoming schedule and the need not to exhaust tired legs and not to induce violent and potentially damaging retribution from frustrated Leeds players.
I think Mikel now knows his best first twelve. The kids have been excellent but Lacazette deserves huge praise for his energy, link play and leadership in the last three games. I’d offer him a one year contract with a one year option now while we set about finding and securing his successor.
Claude
There are exceptions to every generalization but Its been my experience over the last 20 years that you try to do a “deep dive” to try and explain something you end up over thinking and more often then not you are wrong. Last season fans tried to “deep dive” why Auba was struggling instead of just looking at what happens to a lot of 31 year old strikers. Again in my experience, In most cases the simple explanation turns out to be the correct one. I predicted over the summer that Leeds would struggle this season and end up being a lot closer to the relegation zone then to to top 10. I don’t think any manager can take a team that is relatively under talented and sacrifice defensive solidarity for the sake of playing attacking football and succeed in the PL. To me thats why Arteta was forced to be more conservative when he first took over. He absolutely had to rebuild some semblance of defensive solidarity if he hoped to get results.
Great game yesterday. We started the season in bad form then we hit the unbeaten run and then we hit a blip for about a month in the loss to Liverpool and ManU and Everton and now we have hit a really good run of form. Ups and downs are the norm and I am sure there will be some more downs this season but right now we look good.
“Its been my experience over the last 20 years that you try to do a “deep dive” to try and explain something you end up over thinking and more often then not you are wrong”
Actually, my experience tells me the exact opposite, Bill. It’s tying to understand an issue. Because I don’t follow Leeds and only pay attention to them when we have to play them, I genuinely want to know two things (1) why they’re down relative to last year… what’s the deal with players, injuries, transfers, tactics etc etc. (2) whether their position is recoverable, like ours was. That’s not over-thinking. That’s understanding.
Doc
Selling out defensive solidarity for the sake of playing attacking football is a noble idea but its not going to work over the long term especially in the PL unless you have a significant talent advantage over your opponents. By the nature of football, defense has the advantage and its always easier to prevent someone from scoring then it is to score You can’t outscore poor defense unless you have so much attacking talent that no one can stop you. In my view Leeds overperformance last season was one of those unexplainable unsustainable things that just happens. Leicester winning the league and Sheffield United competing for the top 4 for much of the season 2 years ago is another example. They finished 20th the following season which was much more where they belonged based on talent. Joe Willock scoring 8 goals in 8 games or a career .220 hittter who hits .400 for a month. Unexplainable stuff happens all the time
“Selling out defensive solidarity for the sake of playing attacking football is a noble idea but its not going to work over the long term especially in the PL”
Exactly wrong.
League position is far far far more correlated to goals scored than it is to (fewer) goals allowed.
Also, Leeds didn’t “overperform” last season. They were two positions in the table above their expected points. That’s well within normal variation. Overperforming would mean finishing top four or something.