Well, I guess the old stadium was a bit like the new stadium: never the easiest place to go, and always pretty joyless.
Arsenal recorded another win, but under performance conditions similar to those of recent weeks. The defensive performance was much more Arsenal: tight, locked down and stingy. But going forward, there was a lot to explore in a match that was settled with a sympathy penalty from Viktor Gyokeres (much like Kai’s when he came in as number 9).
The horseshoe of death is back as if it never went out of style. Arsenal are adding more pieces to the attacking mix and things seem to be taking a turn for the worse. It’s starting to feel like Arsenal are attacking with more purpose now that our key players are out of trouble. I notice that I miss Madueke on the right and Merino as a striker.
There is a real chicken-and-egg feeling when analyzing our attacking problems. Are we so good defensively because teams are terrified of our offense? Or are we so bad at attacking because we worry too much about defending our goal at all costs? I’m going to ask the question here… could it be a bad thing to only allow 0.2 xG with no shots on target? Is it a problem if your goalkeeper is one of the highest rated players and matches creator number 8 in terms of output?
Whatever it is, we have lost the balance, and we win through luck. Three own goals and the stupidest penalty you’ll see in our last two games this year. O’Brien’s inexplicable handball was a car accident that cost his team at least a point on an afternoon when Everton really graded us with sharp discipline and deeply cynical tactics.
But we cannot complain about this. This way, smaller teams continue to play against the very best. We have to work it out. Arteta has plenty of creators, he has a variety of nines, he has strength and pace off the bench, and he has weird football creatures like Gabi Jesus and Eze roaming the pitch looking for opportunities.
My suspicion is that Arteta has built a culture that values clean sheets and control… and when trust is gone, players don’t want to take risks like they might have at Liverpool’s peak… that, and a combination of still not having a suitable number 9 who can hold the ball up, turn quickly and weave his way into space against average defenders. I don’t want to be a mood killer here, but it’s really hard to see how Gyokeres is viewed by players like Tarkowski. Did he have some good moments? Certainly. But he’s not at the level he should be, and now we’re seeing the likes of Woltemade getting support against Chelsea, and Liverpool’s strikers Ekitike and Isak starting to hit another level.
Kai Havertz has been away for two weeks, which feels like three months, and I’m literally on my knees praying that a striker who isn’t much of a finisher will come back and give us some sort of threat. It’s an unfortunate situation. Although it must be said, I enjoy Gabriel Jesus’ cameo appearances. On a very basic level, he just has much better control, and it’s never telegraphed as he moves the ball through tight spaces at high speed.
We also need to talk about the creators on the team. Martin Odegaard created four chances yesterday, but it didn’t feel that way. Bukayo Saka had one of his more adventurous afternoons, dancing between left, right and the 10 roll… but it felt lame for a player who hasn’t played at full speed in a long time. When will it land? The backline seems to be building chemistry very quickly, no matter who is playing. You have confidence that they will work it out. Arsenal’s attack hasn’t felt like it’s peaking all season, despite creating plenty of xG and plenty of shots. Part of that is that we’ve had a lot of injuries, but I think the real problem is that there’s no exciting attacking vision for Arsenal, and when the bodies are low on sauce it’s a very painful sight. Too methodical, too predictable, too slow. We’ve been chased a bit by Wolves and Everton in back-to-back games.
It’s also worth noting here that I fully appreciate that some of this chatter sounds absurd considering what we’ve done this season… but the eye test just isn’t great, right?
Something will have to change if we want to have a really good Premier League season.
Now I’m being a little too gloomy here. It’s December, it’s raining and I expected to return to a happier type of football. We still got six points from our last two rebound games. Last season we drew against Everton at home in similar circumstances. It’s hard to play against teams that don’t want to participate in the game. We found a way, even if it was a bit of a coincidence.
But we must not forget that the top winners of the Arsenal Premier League have played games that they should have lost or drawn. The Invincibles played a double draw against Portsmouth and Birmingham. These things happen. The key is not to let that affect confidence, and the hope is that the manager has a handle on what is going on with the team.
We’ve had the fourth most shots in the league. We made the third xG. We distribute the goals across the entire team. We know that we can create open play moments. We know we can score from set pieces. We’re just not sure we have enough players who can find the ‘KDB down the stretch’ mode… or do a Salah to secure the Premier League. Do we need Arteta to empower the risk takers? Should the players step up and get more out of what they create?
Whatever it is… it needs to happen quickly. You feel that the next match, if it is a bad result, it could cause a crisis of confidence which would be bad for our challenge. City is currently breathing down our necks. We can’t let that get to us, and we can’t let City’s inevitability bother us and shake us in the belief that this is our season, and the only people who can ruin that are the players we’re watching.
All eyes on Arteta and the boys. Things have to get better. We need to find better solutions, and quickly.
PS Okay, live show tonight. The doors open at 5 o’clock. The show starts at 530. See you soon! Here are the ratings for your consumption.
Podcast
EVERTON (A) | REVIEWS | MEMBERS
Fresh from the whistle, Johnny is back with a special edition of ratings after Arsenal’s horror 1-0 win over Everton. With Manchester City recording a win earlier in the day, the pressure was on the Gunners to set a milestone and ensure they would sit top of the table come Christmas.
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