My spacebar is acting up (Macbook Air, notorious keyboard problems) and I keep having to clean it to keep it from sticking. So, you just get bullet-point notes today.
- Leeds two early pressure regains but as always with Leeds the trick is to ride their aggressive press and exploit the spaces they can leave when they eventually don’t win every single tackle.
- See! Laca gets an open chance, saved
- Bukayo gets an open follow up shot after yet another break from Arsenal, missed.
- Arsenal getting WAY too much space after Leeds fails a challenge
- Øde has set up.. 2? chances so far?
- 10′ – huh.. Leeds are.. sitting back?
- That didn’t last long, now they are sending singletons on suicide sprints to close down space. Honestly think teams have figured out how to play against Bielsa. Plus he seems heavily dependent on specialist players to run his system. This doesn’t end well for Leeds.
- Whoa.. nice long pass from Gabriel to Xhaka on the edge of the 18.
- Are the MFers getting higher up the pitch? Does this explain the recent attacking flair?
- DEFINITELY sending the MFers.
- Laca wins the ball back off a (foul) turnover high up the pitch by Xhaka
- Martinelli scores, coolly taken goal.
- Partey sitting deep, shielding, but plays a great long ball up the pitch (for.. can’t remember) just missed, looks like a LOT more verticality from Arsenal. This is more like Wengerball.
- Tierney and Tomi staying back, looks like we are just sending the attackers which is fine as long as we are playing vertical passes
- LOL! Well, ok, as soon as I write that we get a nice vertical interaction between Tierney and Xhaka. But the point is that neither player is as adventurous as before. That’s because we are letting the MFers get forward into zone 14 (Øde and Xhaka both been very good high and central so far).
- Ohh.. Arsenal lucky here as Rafinha does well to beat three defenders. But just misses wide.
- Partey forward and gets a nice, low, driven, shot on target. A collector’s item from him.
- Martinelli deuce.
- Xhaka wins the ball back in space
- Martinelli in acres of space here, the CBs for Leeds are just a disaster.
- Martinelli with a lovely chip to beat their keeper
- That’s his first Arsenal brace
- Rob Holding reports some fans (we later learn that it was for racially abusing two Arsenal players warming up on the sideline. As an aside, this is exactly what more white men need to do. We can not stand on the sidelines and just turn a blind eye/ear to racial abuse. These slugs need to be salted out of our game and out of our stadiums.)
- Lacazette with another bad miss. Hard work is good and all be we need players putting away chances.
- Ok, well that’s not a problem I guess because Saka makes it three with what could have been an OG.
- Øde just creating tons
- Ref pulls the Arsenal players out from the Leeds fans’ area because of the racial abuse, the wanking signs, and the fans have thrown things on the pitch.
2nd Half
- Xhaka gets away with an absurd bit of play. First he stands 1 yard away on a free kick and blocks Leeds from taking the kick and then a second later he makes an atrocious tackle on Raphinha. That could easily be red but he gets no card.
- Gelhart gets a yellow for a very similar late tackle that Xhaka just got away with, lol, “If Xhaka had done that”.
- At this point, Arsenal put the handbrake on. No shots, no real drive forward, Leeds doesn’t get much going but..
- Ben White concedes a pen. sigh.
- Little bit of nerves now with Arsenal
- Smith Rowe on
- Øh! What an assist from Øde and finish by Smith Rowe
Smith Rowe has 7 goals and 2 assists now and has already surpassed my season prediction for him. If we can keep getting goals for Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Øde, and Saka we could end up finishing top four.
Handbrake off!
I think top 4 is a real possibility if Arteta allows the players this amount of creative freedom in away games from now on. I could barely believe my eyes how many seeing shots we were taking. Yes, Leeds defence were atrocious, it’s has to be said but our one touch quick passing and dribbling was so refreshing and green exhilarating to watch. Imagine if we had a top level striker added to the mix. Mouthwatering.
I don’t think Arteta does not allow that. What they played against Leeds was his game plan. I think Arteta is trying to build the team in stages
Handbrake off indeed, after ESR came on, The man, the soon-to-be legend! What a group of players this is, coming together surely now, Saka and Martinelli too, of course.
Also much respect to Rob Holding who didn’t let it go, that a fellow team-mate was abused. He’s class, and an absolute professional.
Lot to like about this match and a nod too, to Leeds. They are going through a horrible time right now with injuries (remind you of any team from the past?) and we while we didn’t quite put them to sword like their last opponents, we beat them as we should have: comprehensively on all parts of the pitch. An emphatic, enjoyable 3 points.
I can’t think of anything better than watching your team on a cold Winter’s evening just before Christmas. Friends, hot soup and plenty of Christmas cheer in the stadium.
I love away games. Brings the tribal aspect to the fore. Have to say the locals certainly cheered their team on. On a hiding their fans didn’t stop singing and the applause at the end of the match was quite special.
I said the game would be easy. Bielsa even brought two subs on for their debut at 3:1 (Sam Greenwood ex Arsenal). Their squad is only 18 players and nearly half of them are out. The gulf in resources and quality was enormous. The free-ist of hits.
Our strategy was to play quick long through balls from the centre backs to the attackers. Arsenal played very narrowly and direct completely bypassing midfield and pretty much the wings. The exception being Xhaka’s slide rule pass for Martinelli’s second. Gabriel is arguably the team’s best player. Comfortable in possession and a great passer. Saka was a handful and got loads of stick from the locals, basically for tormenting their defence. Odegaard (4th goal aside) and Partey had quiet games. Tomi doesn’t go forward but he’s solid as a rock. And he’s built. He’s really physically imposing. Had to laugh at White’s penalty tackle. The most epic of epic fails (Ha!). I mean he got the man but probably in a different time zone. He gifted possession on a couple of occasions. There’s plenty of room for improvement there. Martinelli is showing that he should have played much more. And I’ve renamed ESR – Emile Smith-Ramsey. Can’t get enough of that kid.
A couple of things I wasn’t a fan of. Even at 3:0 up Laca kept dropping into the fullback position. It’s clearly the caution-first structure they’re drilled. Arteta – what can you say? It’s next level over-coaching. I couldn’t play for him. It comes across as OTT. Constantly barking and gesticulating positioning instructions. I do wonder whether the Auba thing has been brewing for some time and is more about what he’s been asked to do? Doesn’t matter now. I can’t see him staying. Xhaka and Laca were at times a bit too cynical for my liking. Yes it’s a physical game but at 3:0 up in cruise control without provocation they were handing it out to Leeds’ kids too much for me. Sport’s about respect and I don’t think Xhaka knows the word. Laca looks too heavy and for a guy with a low centre of gravity doesn’t half go to ground easy. A second career on the stage awaits him. I think Arteta will extend him because he does what he’s told.
My mates who are Leeds fans’ snap verdict on Arsenal. The Arsenal kids are brilliant and the future is bright. Arteta is Pep-wannabe. The verdict is out on whether he has what it takes but he needs to drop the Pep tribute act. Everybody loves and wants Auba in their side and can’t understand why you’d fall out with him.
The one thing that really came home to me is just how different our expectations as fans are. Leeds’ fans in the main are just glad to be in the Premier League and know that when they’re at full strength can give most sides a bloody nose. You know, sometimes it’s good just take the positives.
Thanks for the notes Tim. Great stuff
We are certainly in the midst of a good run of form. Hard to believe that after the Everton game a few weeks ago there was all of the doom and gloom and plenty of Arteta out sentiment. We are definitely a fickle bunch. Myself I don’t believe Arteta is a smarter manager now then he was after the Everton game and he is not that much different now then he was 1 year ago. The difference is his players are executing right now and that makes him look a lot smarter.
I don’t believe Bielsa is a worse manager now then he was last season. I remember there was some sentiment last season that we should fire Arteta and hire him so we would play a more attacking style of football. The difference was last year the Leeds players were executing at a much higher level then expected which made his attack at all costs strategy look better then it really was. This year his players have regressed to the mean and they are on pace to score about 36 goals this season and his tactics don’t look so good. .His teams defense is still one of worst in the league but they are struggling to score. You can’t afford to attack at all costs especially in the PL when you don’t have the firepower to consistently outscore your opponents. You have to have some admiration for his philosophy and hopefully Leeds can avoid relegation.
Own the 2016 Macbook Pro, the 15 inch. Keyboard is a mess, the worst thing Apple has made. Going to trade in and upgrade soon.
As for the game, your early note on the space that Leeds was leaving was prophetic. I was puzzled that such was their commitment to playing THEIR way (notwithstanding crippling absences) that they did not adjust their approach. The space they left between Xhaka and Martinelli… what were they thinking?
Still, as the old football cliche goes, “you can only play what’s in front of you”. We had bad luck with injuries and absences at the start of the season, so Im not going to feel sorry for them for too long.
Really good attacking performance from us with Martinelli taking the plaudits, but Saka was my MOTM. Danger, trickery, good football brain, good decision making. Laca, Ode, Xhaka, Gabriel and Tomi had really good games. ESR did his super sub act again. Funny moment when Ramsdale congratulated White on his Mustafi-like tackle, but it didnt fool the ref. Raphinha’s penalty was as good as any I’d seen taken this year. Overall, he was one of the few bright spots for Leeds.
One thing that stood out in my notes was Arteta’s manic sideline act. Coaches have different styles. He’s one who kicks every ball, but on Saturday he was near insufferable in his intensity. He was literally telling players, second by second, where to position themselves. He also has this bad Kevin Keegan-like habit of grabbing players by the back of the head, a kind of faux paternal thing. He needs to cut that out. They’re men, not boys.
All that said, he has this team purring with 3 good wins. Leeds and So’ton are awful at the minute, but West Ham had been playing well. Sterner tests await, but we have to love what we’ve been seeing.
I am also a heavy typer, so I generally wear out keyboards fast. I think that Apple offer free repairs on their keyboards because they know that they are shiat.
Apple’s new MacBook Pros, ditching Intel silicon with their own Apple-designed M1 SoCs are brilliant. Pricey, as always, but brilliant. I used Pro Logic on mine and as a musical tool, it’s never been better. The re-designed keyboard too, is now much better
Oh and Xhaka and that tackle. He was in one of those moods, where he seemed almost to be daring the ref to card him. It duly arrived, late on, for time-wasting. He could have seen red for that, but it was checked by VAR and he was not cautioned at all. I think he was lucky no to be. Played well, though.
I looved the part where after the Gelhart tackle, Xhaka was first in the ref’s face saying “come on, that has to be a card”.
I know that outside of the red card he should have gotten, Xhaka has been praised for a good game, but honestly when I watched second half it was Xhaka who I thought led the handbrake pulling for the team. He was strolling around. I was yelling at the screen to sub Xhaka off just to give the team a kick in the pants and start attacking Leeds again.
We have to find a top drawer replacement for Xhaka asap, a shame Roma isn’t coming back in for him. Guimares or Tchouameni or someone of that profile.
Is Dusan Vlahovic a realistic pursuit for us to replace Auba/Laca? I would think he’s like our links to Eden Hazard back in the day – 10% chance, but not likely.
Vlahovic will never play for Arsenal. Personally, I’d go for Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
1. Has a double-barrel last name.
2. 6’2″
3. English
4. 24 years old
Xhaka had one good possession win and that great pass for Martinelli’s second. I haven’t watched the game on TV but he was slow, clumsy, late to challenges and his usual obnoxious self IMO.
Generally a positive match for Arsenal. Sure Leeds was short, but as the saying goes, you can only beat what’s in front of you. At the least it helps the goal differential.
The most concerning thing for me was not the Xhaka tackle, but the Ben White one. He seems to have a habit of going to ground too easily. This one in particular was bone-headed. We were well up, and the Leeds player was going to have a tough time getting any shot off.
If Mustafi or Luiz had made that tackle, they would have gotten no shortage of stick. Let’s hope White learns from it and doesn’t make that kind of mistake in a match where it really matters.