Kickoff yesterday was 0430 local time. That happens to be the time my alarm is set to but I usually don’t need my alarm. I usually start waking up around 4am and lie in bed either listening to the world news or checking out the news on my twitter timeline.
Lately I’ve been trying to wake up and do a few Japanese lessons from Duolingo. And yesterday morning, I remembered that I set myself this goal and did two lessons. It helped that I got up at 0330, I think.
People balk at others who get up early but what time you wake up is just a number. As an adult you get used to it. When I was a teenager, that was different. Teens need more sleep because they are growing. But once you’re in your 30s or 40s, changing your sleep patterns are pretty easy: just go to bed earlier. Or go to bed later and wake up later, if you like. Personally, I love the tranquility of the early mornings. I’m sure other people like the tranquility of late nights. It’s really six of one.
I got up at 0330 because I had to pee and I normally would have gone back to bed but because the game was going to start in an hour I decided to stay up. I wasn’t filled with nervous energy or anything, just thought that I might as well stay up at that point. I walked over to my dresser and opened the shirt drawer. “Do we need a little extra today?” I thought, and looked at my Arsenal kits, “nah.”
I don’t have a reason why I felt so sure. In fact, in the preview I was a bit less than sure. I thought our style of play was exactly what they needed to succeed. I felt that if we played too high up the pitch, if we gave them space to run into, if we tried to attack their box relentlessly, that there was a good possibility that we’d get done for. So, I had no reason other than tapping into the collective unconscious to believe that Arsenal were going to do well.
And Arsenal did.
They started the game on the front foot, attacking Spurs’ back line with a neat throw-in routine that nearly got a shot in at close range. Martinelli got the flick on for that shot and in the third minute got a shot of his own, from a cross by Saka. Saka picked up the ball again and tried a cross to Xhaka at the far post, he was a little late to react and just got a scorpion-style kick at it but the flurry was far from over.
The first moment of controversy was in the 7th minute, Dier barged into the back of Jesus in retaliation for a “kick” he felt he’d received a few seconds earlier. The Spurs defender had stuck his head waist high when Jesus was going for a ball and felt like he’d been kicked in the face. Dier’s barge was an obvious attempt to bully the Arsenal striker but if he thought that would work, he doesn’t seem to know this Arsenal side.
In the 13th minute Harry Kane dived for a free kick. It was one of those typically British striker type dives, the ones the commentators always call “clever”: where the big 6’3″ forward has the ball in an advanced position and makes no attempt to move the ball forward but instead backs into and initiates contact so that he can fall over while shielding the ball and pretending he was fouled.
On the free kick from that dive, Spurs put all 10 of their players in an offside position. The linesman and referee somehow missed this and let play go on, Richarlison got a shot off from close range, Ramsdale saved it. This “shot” – which certainly would have been ruled offside had it gone in – was Spurs’ only chance in the game from open play.
If that was a shot across the bow, Arsenal didn’t shrink. They turned straight into Spurs and piled all 10 outfield players into their half and attacked. At this point I felt a few pangs of nerves; seeing Saliba and Gabriel driving deep into their half gave me flashbacks to Wengerball and Conte’s Chelsea opening us up on the counter.
But Spurs seemed to have been lulled into a sense of complacency. Or maybe they believed the hype that “Conte has brought a new-found defensive solidity” and thought that they could take all three points if they just showed up, but whatever the cause, Spurs seemed overly happy to sit back as Arsenal patiently moved them around looking for space.
Arsenal played with a solid double-pivot with Zinchenko controlling space in the middle – any time Spurs won the ball back or took a goal kick from an Arsenal shot, one of the Arsenal midfielders won the ball back and played balls back up to the front. Meanwhile at right back Benjamin White (he prefers to be called Benjamin) played a solid role as a mainly right-sided stopper who occasionally made overlapping runs and crosses into the box. Benjamin’s work with Saka was pivotal to the forward finding the space he needed to create for his teammates.
Under relentless pressure, spaces did appear, though mostly outside the box: Øde missed a long range shot, Xhaka had a good shot go just wide, and then just on the 20th minute Arsenal scored a long range effort which curled from outside to in and left Lloris flapping at air.
After the goal, Arsenal didn’t sit back. That was the old Arsenal. This is the new. All 10 men were once again in the Spurs box, fighting for loose balls, picking off passes to Kane before he could get one up to his teammates. But of course, it wouldn’t be Arsenal without a major gaffe involving half the team.
In the 28th minute, Saka was dispossessed on the edge of the box and it should have been no problem. But for once, the Arsenal structure was a bit funky and Son got the ball with a bit of space. He drove forward and passed to Kane. All #5 had to do at this point was run with Son. He had a 5 yard head start but he followed the ball, got turned inside out, and Son was able to run around the back of him (the long way. Kane already knew what his partner was going to do before he’d even started his move and passed the ball into the center circle for Son to win. #5 went for the tackle and bounced off Son like Coquelin on Hazard, falling to the ground and leaving Arsenal completely open.
This was the danger of Arsenal playing so high up the pitch. Gabriel was the only player in the Arsenal half and he was marking Richarlison. Saliba had been marking Kane touch tight and was now busting a gut to get back and try to stop Son. Gabriel had to go ball, that left Richarlison open. Gabriel had done well to force Son to stop and Son found Richarlison, but the pass was wide. Ramsdale came out to pressure Richarlison, which left the goal open but Saliba was there to cover. Kane and Son screamed for the ball. Richarlison’s cross was piss poor and Saliba easily cleared. At this point it should have been danger over, all the red shirts were back and it was an 8 on 3.
But Xhaka took a horrifying touch. Richarlison won the ball. Gabriel stupidly dived in. Richarlison had managed to get his foot in front. It was an easy – and correct – call for Anthony Taylor. Kane stepped up and scored.
For a few minutes after that Arsenal looked deflated. The lodestone of individual errors has dogged Arsenal for a decade and it seemed to weigh on the players after that goal. Spurs won a corner and blocked in Ramsdale, he got a punch on it but it looked like they were trying an Olimpico.
Arsenal got a little life back and won a corner.
Every Arsenal corner this season has been an inswinger. It has worked great so far and it’s obvious that the new set play coaching team is adding marginal gains to the Arsenal offense. However, it’s also starting to be predictable. If every corner is the same, teams can drill on that and work on a counter. Something Arsenal need to work on there is to be less predictable.
Spurs looked like they have figured this out and won the header easily, getting a half chance on a pretty good break. Ødegaard was lucky on this one not to get a yellow card for a shirt pull on Son.
Meanwhile Arsenal still looked rattled. Gabriel in particular was arguing with everyone and looked like he’d lost the plot. But then there was a little spark: Gabriel Jesus picked the ball up in the box, shimmied, shaked, and beat two men with chop dribbles. He had a little shot and Lloris palmed it away. I think that shot – that work rate from Jesus – lifted Arsenal a bit before half-time, just what we needed other than orange slices and a pep talk.
Four minutes after half time, Jesus scores. Cristian Romero had been aggressive all game, it’s why he was brought in from Atalanta. But as I saw from his time at Atalanta, that aggressive attacking nature to his defending can get him in trouble, get him out of position to make the next play. Saka had a shot, Lloris spilled it, Romero was out of position to clear, and Jesus scored. From this point on thereis no question, Arsenal dominate the game.
Once again Romero fouled Jesus in the box, and again no call. This time he stamps on Jesus’ ankle. Arsenal wins the ball back because Spurs seemed more intent on playing the man than the ball – trying once again to rough us up. Saka plays in Benjamin White, White crosses for Jesus, he’s all alone at the far post, but the header is just wide. There’s some speculation that the stamp a few minutes earlier just put Jesus a bit off.
There had been a clear pattern of aggression up to this point by Tottenham Hotspurs. Romero in particular had been fouling Jesus on every possession but it was Royal who would draw referee Anthony Taylor’s attention. In the 62nd minute, Royal let his obvious frustration boil over and after losing the ball, turned and raked his studs down the back of Martinelli’s calf. Taylor went for a straight red and no one apart from Antonio Conte could really complain.
Four minutes later Xhaka scored. Martinelli dribbled across the box, Xhaka dribbled Dier and fired low and hard. Lloris was again left flapping.
At this point Arteta started resting players. Kane made one last attempt to rough a player up – kicking Gabriel after pushing him over – but it wouldn’t work. No one lost their cool. Arsenal would be able to sub off players and finish the match comfortably.
After the match, I listened to the BBC Football Daily “big weekend preview”. I love to listen to the preview’s after the game because it reveals people’s biases. In their segment on the North London Derby two of the three presenters picked Spurs to win. And the third presenter seemed to reluctantly pick Arsenal only in opposition to the other two. It left me with the feeling that no matter how well Arsenal play, pundits will always give an advantage to Tottenham. That’s fine. Let them think we aren’t quite good enough. We’ve always done better when people underestimate us.
I have just one thing to say after that thoroughly dominating victory. Sign William Saliba. It’s like having Suprman on your team. Whatever happens you know he’ll show up and take care of the threat. I am completely zen when I watch our games. Giving up goals is this anomaly now, to which I respond, “Hmm, that’s odd,” rather than cursing the sky. I like this Arsenal. I can’t go back to the Mustafi vibes. Please God let Saliba sign now!
Btw the corollary to my previous comment is “Please let Eric Dier play for Spuds another 10 years.“
Very satisfying to watch the second half yesterday
I am starting to feel nervy about not being worried like in days past. Is that weird?
Deep down it felt like we were going to score goals and win despite the penalty
No delusions about winning the league here just yet. But I know we will finish in the top two or three easily with the balance we have in the team right now
Side note: I was up at 4:15 too here in California (before my alarm went off) My body has developed an internal Arsenal alarm I think on match days.
So much to enjoy, not least the redemptive reminder that Xhaka is clearly better in attack than defence.
Ian Wright signalled out White as his MOTM of MOTD (WTF – ed?); his combination play definitely adds a dimension that side but only one of many new dimensions that seem to be popping up this season.
I admire the early morning insouciance – hope you/they can repeat it next Sunday!
I am very happy with the corner change we have made for this season. I am a big advocate for never playing out-swinging corners.
The issues with out-swingers are that they are far more easier to clear away than they are to score. Their trajectory requires solid contact by an attacker to score, and eliminate the likelihood of a flick on to almost 0%. Their trajectory making it easier to clear also allows defending teams to easily place counter options in very dangerous positions. Another thing is that you risk the likelihood of the ball going out of play before it even gets into the box, as well as an overhit ball being a counter starter for the defending side.
Out-swingers are so illogical and such an advantage for the defending side that I find it very weird that teams even use them at all.
In-swingers on the other hand have a lot of positives attacking wise and defensively.
In-swingers allow the attacking side to only look for a touch instead of solid contact to score. They also force defending players to make very clear contact to clear away or they would score an own goal, concede another corner or f*ck up a clearance where the ball falls into a crowded area. Overhit in-swingers might even go in at the far post. The goalkeeper also has a problem dealing with these if the area around him is crowded, as Ramsdale found it with the corner he cleared.
Yes our set-pieces might become predictable and teams should be smart enough to analyse what it is we do, but our variety in the box is where we need to improve, as well as a short option to offer an out-swinger at a more favourable angle. from a deeper area than the corner, an out-swinger can cause a lot of trouble, as their set piece for their one shot on goal showed, as we have seen over the years in Mesut Ozil’s set-pieces. his free kicks from the left were very dangerous out-swinging free kicks, but he never got a corner assist from an out-swinger, and he was very precise in his deliveries.
Out-swingers from freekicks helps you get in behind, keeps the ball away from the goalkeeper with its trajectory because it curls away from him and forces him to keep going further out to catch it. If no touch is made on the ball it will go to an attacking player at the far post (which is standard at all set-pieces to place one there), gets shanked in by a defender or it goes out for a goal kick, which denies a counter.
So corners, in-swingers. Set-pieces, out-swingers.
Variety in positioning and attacking runs of our attackers seems to be something that should be looked into, but for the most part, perfecting a couple of routines is enough. The springboks maul in rugby is a good example. We are already so good and some of our players are just natural threats in the air, which we should give credit to management for maximising.
It is really top stuff.
p.s. The sides that play anti-football will never see any long or medium-term success. UTD and Sp*rs are clear examples of what most where worried about with Arteta’s football when we would attack for a 20 minute spell and resort to sitting back for the rest of the game. I am glad he has finally put the gauntlet down and started pushing his style of play, and credit to him that it has been so good.
I have hope that he will not resort to that football again. He must have learned that it is better to lose playing your style than to go out and hope to not lose while playing anti-football.
My bad, Ozil only had one assist via an out-swinger against Swansea that Giroud scored.
Very informative, thank you.
This post is about center backs. On several occasions yesterday, especially the Xhaka goal, Dier was dire. How dire? Maguire level. How can England hope to perform in the World Cup with those two? But I support the French National team, and I feel fine. Saliba is one of the few top center backs (along with VVD) in the Premier League. For France, Kimpembe is also fine, but Upamecano and Badiashile are not there yet. At Arsenal, Gabriel Maghalaes has occasional bad moments, but we have safely evolved from the Mustafi era. And, with proper help from the Arsenal coaches, Gabriel is expected to clean up these minor flaws in his game.
There’s a really interesting, long discussion about Gabriel Magalhaes from @nonewthing on twitter. Essentially he sees GM as a physically dominant player who nonetheless is the weak link the Arsenal defense right now. This is because he is not a natural at seeing the game. That in turn means he is too often out of position. That makes him prone to panic, and panic begets poor tackles like the one on Richarlison yesterday. He goes on to argue that GM can iron these things out but it will take up to 3 years, time Arsenal doesn’t have. He would rather have BW in at RCB and shift Saliba to LCB. This would improve Arsenal not only from the perspective of defensive solidity but also in possession. I found this line of reasoning compelling.
On the flip side, Saliba has all of those physical tools but also the innate ability to read a game, for which reason he calls Saliba the best CB in the premier league, if not the world right now.
Do we think Saliba could do as good a job at LCB? If so, I’d be very open to trying that out.
There is a reason possession-based teams (and coaches) desperately seek world-class left-footed CB. It is neccessary for the LCB position because of the fluidity, accuracy and security of the football system (press resistant, playing out of the back). It is better both for passing and crossing options, players body movement and the trajectory of the ball (on the left flank – the ball curls over the pressing attacker or around the sideline). I seriously doubt Arteta would like to play a right footed player at LCB position regularly. Last summmer, we pushed hard to sign Lisandro Martinez because he can play in possesion-based system and is far better suited than GM for that (Martinez is tiny, though).
My dream would be Josko Gvardiol. He´s a beast and has no real weakness. He is tall, fast, great technique (started as a LB), great passing and crossing, reliable. And he is 20! I think the only real problem would be the competiton of other clubs and his price…
I’m not quite at the point of saying GM won’t be able to handle the position, but anyone looks awful compared to Wilo. If we were to substitute, I’d rather see Tomi given a shot at LB, which is where he plays for Japan. He’s strong, good in the air, and an excellent defender. Hoping he gets a chance to play there in Europa, if Cedric can sub for Benjamin, who’s been outstanding imo.
Having had a second think about it, I actually have sympathy for some of GM’s positional struggles. He has been playing on the same side as Zinchenko, who is not strong defensively, and also plays in very high, unorthodox positions ahead of his center back. This season is the first time in GM’s career that he’s had to cover so much space. Contrast that with Saliba, who benefits from the more cautious positioning and greater defensive physical and tactical attributes of his fullback. The net result is that the RCB (Saliba) is charged with a narrower CB “lane” than his partner and also has more help closer to him from a superior defender. Against United, GM was left to defend a huge amount of space on his own, and the issue was further exacerbated by the absence of TP, the team’s all purpose security blanket. All things considered GM has acquitted himself OK so far, and I suspect his long leash is due to the understanding from the coaching staff with respect to what he is being asked to do without the ball. That said, they will continue to ask him to play this way and if he can’t cut out the catastrophic mistakes then his place in the team will be taken by someone else.
I don’t really want to see Cedric in any meaningful game again to be honest. He’s a terrrific professional who gives his all, and a decent player on the ball, but he’s just not up to the standard of the rest of the team anymore.
Agree Doc, I think Bodo Glimt is the only kind of game where I would be ok with Cedric, to facilitate Tomi getting some LCB minutes.
Don’t know that I’d yet call Salina the best CB in either the PL or the world. But he could be there in a couple years.
We need to extend his contract, no matter the cost. I hesitate to say this, but it’s probably even a higher priority than Saka, because of how rare dominant CBs are.
And yes, I’d be open to switching BW into CB in place of Gabriel, who’s had a few significant errors. In Tomi, we have another top level RB, so there’s not really any drop there.
I’ve been thinking about this too because it seems like such a big statement, particularly for an Arsenal CB. But I genuinely can’t think of a player who is clearly better. VVD was the standard for the past few years but he’s not in great form right now. Rafa Varane, when he was younger, but certainly not right now. He’s technically superior to Dias and physically superior to Stones. I’m open to other comps, especially on the continent where I don’t know the players that well. I do struggle to identify anyone besides VVD with his combination of technique, composure, reading of the game and size. It’s truly special.
That guy is a prick and a Gabriel hater. He’s never said anything nice about Gabriel and he puts people down if they disagree with him. Fuck that guy.
I think some of the GM criticism is harsh. He may be the weak link of a vastly improved defense, but the context of that improvement is important. Also, most of his errors are mental, which I understand are par for the course with young CBs. Finally, against Spuds, it was a comedy of errors / low probability occurances leading to the penalty. Putting the penalty on GM in these circumstances seems harsh.
Norfolk is a lovely town, sir.
Great post Tim.
Fabulous win. Our early season schedule was relatively easy and there was question in my mind how we would react to a tougher opponent. Beating Spurs convincingly adds more evidence to suggest that our strong start is for real. I suspect we will hit a couple speed bumps along the way but we have to be heavy favorites to finish top 4 and go very deep and perhaps win the Europa league. Winning the league might still be a bit too much to expect but you never know.
Great post, really. I appreciate you, 7 am. Commenters today, excellent too.All said and done, we are in a good place. I plan to conquer my Gooner neurosis and enjoy these good tomes until Liverpool.
I love this club so much right now.
Hitting the road for a fall tour but I’ll be following closely.
COYG!!!
Great to witness the win and up one over the nicely described, ‘Tiny Totts’. How Romero managed to end the game without a caution bewilders me entirely.
Xhaka’s redemption arc continues to unfold much like Frodo’s arduous journey into Mordor where our Swiss army knife is finally able to fully realise his potential as the ‘Chosen One’ of N5. Loved how his swift toss of the ring ended the reign of the Sauron-te & Totten-Orcs.
Our amazing start to the season will be put to the test with the much wounded Merseyside laying in wait.
Here we go~ #COYG
Jesus, Saliba, Odegaard, Xhaka, Veira and numerous other goals and fantastic moments are signs that the revolution might be here. It sure makes Arsenal fandom worth it. The words of Arsene Wenger come to mind when watching this Arsenal, you don’t know what you have till its gone (paraphrase). We failed to appreciate the beauty then, in the altar of trophies. Not repeating the same mistake. COYG
Good job Tim.
Funny enough, Saliba is a non-negotiable starter just because of his sheer quality, but another is Gabriel Magalhães, for a different reason but very similar.
The boy may not be as refined, pleasing on the eye or read the game at the same level as Saliba or White, but what he does bring to the table brings us far greater balance than a combination of Saliba and White. Beyond him being left footed, Magalhães natural game compliments our more cleaner right footed center backs. His aggression may sometimes be a little over the top, but every top side has had such a player to balance out their defence.
Ramos to Varane, Puyol or Mascherano for Pique, Dante or Boateng for Hummels, Vidic for Ferdinand, Terry for Carvalho, Koscielny for Mertesaker, and these are just a few examples of sustained success with a combination that compliments each other.
In Saliba, we have one of the best well rounded centerbacks on the planet and the ying to his yang is also one of the best. Gabriel will mess up here and ther and will most likely cause some nervy moments just because he isn’t as good on the ball and his sheer physicality, but overall just like with Xhaka playing, we are so much better off having him in our side.
We are going to concede goals, we are going to make mistakes and our players will f*ck up. The true measure of our defenders doing a good job or not is in the amount of chances we give away, and this combination of Saliba and Magalhães has been incredible.
Just a reminder that he’s been this good for years
first, i dodged a hurricane. second, i went to the gym and crushed it on the bike and the erg. third, i came home, opened the back door, and let the cool air refresh my home. fourth, and most important, arsenal beat the brakes off of tiny totts. that’s a beautiful way to begin the weekend.
i thought arsenal were better than scum in the game earlier this year but unlucky with the result. if holding doesn’t get sent off, i think it’s an easy win. arsenal are simply better than them.
i’m glad you mentioned for their goal, that saka lost the ball. you’re the only person who’s mentioned that. it angered me. he did like four dribbles early in the game and lost the ball on 3 of them; that 3rd ball lost led to the penalty. idk if he’s desperate to make a play but arsenal need someone to challenge him for that starting role.
partey bouncing off son can happen….just like it happened to coquelin; especially when you’re sprinting, trying to bump someone off the ball in a moment where they’re grounded and you are not. he’ll still get laughed at in the video session.
my fear is that arsenal looked discombobulated when totts countered. when you’re not organized, you feel pressure and your defending becomes desperate. you chase things that don’t need to be chased. that pressure is what led to the penalty. the good news is that this problem can be fixed on the training pitch.
you mentioned that richarlison played in a poor cross. gotta give ramsdale a little more credit. if you look closer, ramsdale got a hand on that cross.
i loved the way arteta managed the game…..particularly with the substitutions. it’s a good day to be a gooner.
Hopefully for Saka he can have a couple of sessions with Carlos Cuesta who can maybe ground him a little bit and remind him about what he actually brings to the table.
What I saw in that first half looked like Saka was trying to replicate what he had done during the international break for Arsenal. He had a couple of runs where he dribbled almost across the Sp*rs box. He seemed to force a bit too much and would lose the ball after the team had done well to get it into good areas. He also did this with most of our team in forward areas, especially White.
That first half performance scared me because I have mentioned that he is going to receive more attention this season and will have to find a way to contribute. He would have to be smart, because we know he what he can do technically. Going it alone is a bad sign and shows a bit of an ego or a miscalculation of his strengths.
I was disappointed, but I changed my mind very quickly after the game.
Now hopefully it was just against Sp*rs, but I realised after a while that the person who had to come back and double team Saka was Son. Saka’s dribbling in this game, just like with Alexis Sanchez, required the opposition to sacrifice somewhere to handle Saka and that sacrifice was not only to the detriment of Sp*rs’ attack, but their entire left flank was nullified.
This also gave a lot of space to Gabriel Martinelli who relished the it and the freedom he had to wreck havoc. Where Saka always had at least two players on him when he got the ball, it was really three this time because someone was always hanging back behind the two men on the inside and outside lanes to block him if he got past the first two. The space that opened up for Xhaka, Martinelli, Jesus and others can be attributed to the fear of Saka on the right flank.
Looking at the average positions for the game, it now seems like something Mikel Arteta planned. Saka is all the way up top on the right, with White and Odegaard shielding right behind him. Saka seems like he was an outlet and a decoy at the same time. The switch would be on to him because he can receive and protect the ball well (Outlet). After receiving, he would attract a lot of attention and force opposition to gravitate towards him before he releases it inside. Saka’s mere presence also made the opposition on his side too nervous to fully commit to our other players (decoy).
He needed to dribble and put strike fear into them. Even if he lost the ball, the thought of him beating 3/4 men creates a lot of panic in the minds of players. I know I would have been trying to find ways to nullify him if I was an opposition player.
Only time will tell if Saka felt like he had to contribute with goals, to the point of turning into a Nicolas Pepe, or if it was a tactical ploy. I am hoping it is the latter, but as a tactical ploy, it is crazy effective at making opponents lose before even stepping onto the pitch, because if the opposition is forced push their most effective counter option into his own box to defend, that is a win in my books.