Another story from that important (to me) Double Cup winning season (and apologies to those AAers who’ve heard it before).
At this point in my professional career I was still teaching Physical Education and had designed a new GCSE course to satisfy the young sportsmen and women in my comprehensive school entitled Sports Science. It had both a theoretical and practical structure.
The largish group of 26 were an enthusiastic and talented group who were a pleasure to teach and we had great fun for the two year course. At the end of the very last practical exam (assessed by external examiners), the kids asked me to stay behind in the Sportshall for a few minutes. To my astonishment, one of the smallest and most roguish boys pulled out a gift for me to say thank you for my efforts.
He explained he was doing a weekend job, to make some money, at the Adidas factory in London responsible for producing Arsenal’s match shirts. Although copies of the FA Cup shirt were made available to supporters to buy that season, the League Cup shirt was restricted to 11 plus sub, all printed at the factory he was working at.
Only it wasn’t! Knowing I was an Arsenal nut, this young man persuaded his boss to print a 13th shirt and here it was presented to me.
Unbelievable! Made me very proud and in fact weep briefly. I will never regret 23 years teaching kids.
A few random thoughts from the game from RockyLives …
What was Kola doing for the Everton opener? We have been excellent at holding a high defensive line on set pieces and on this occasion everyone did just that… except Kola, who went racing after Mina like a dog after a cat. It directly led to the goal as two or three Evertonians would have been offside from the free kick if he had held his position.
Luiz’s weak header didn’t help. But after the ball came back in I don’t understand how that goal was allowed to stand. I thought they had changed the rules about high feet in crowded areas, making it an automatic offence? Calvert-Lewin’s foot actually hit Luiz on the head (and if the Brazilian had gone down I’m sure the goal would have been disallowed). Have they rescinded that clampdown on high feet this season?
Maybe Kola’s injury (looked like a dislocated shoulder) was a blessing in disguise as it brought Saka on and led to our equaliser. Saka’s form continues to be spectacular (Sorry Sead…I feel bad making this point).
Xhaka played well overall (good pass to start the move leading to Eddie’s goal) but several times he passed straight to the opposition. Admittedly they were forward (progressive) passes, but I’ve noticed that he telegraphs his passes sometimes and oppo players are often able to anticipate them.
Richarlison is a nasty piece of work, but I loved how quickly Bellerin got in his face when he had the gall to start berating Ceballos after just clobbering him.
Auba played a captain’s innings today. Great work covering back at times.
I see Leno’s taken stick for Everton’s second. I’ve looked at it about 20 times and I think he was unlucky and pretty much did all he could have done. He made himself big and did all he could to make a block but the ball took an unlucky rebound. We need GiE to weigh in on this one from the Goalkeepers’ Union…
Ceballos and Ozil were excellent. Leno too.
Mustafi was a close run call for MotM in my opinion (I know RC disagrees) but it should go to Auba for his two goals and all round play.
Eddie took his goal so well. That was an encouraging moment.
Pepe is starting to feel like he deserves his place in the team.
I thought Torreira was sloppy when he came on. It can be hard to get straight into the pace of the game when you come on as a sub, but Terrier put us in trouble several times. Maybe explains why Arteta is not starting him?
Overall, we may have ridden our luck a bit at times but I felt we were the better team for most of the game, even though Everton played very well.
Project Mikel continues to inspire confidence!
RockyLives
And these Players Ratings from RC78
Leno had a great second half and kept us ahead. Bellerin seems our weakest player these days.
Mustafi and Luiz did not have a good day in the office but kept their cool and did not make any major howler. I was really impressed by Lewin and Richarlison – quality players.
Xhaka and Ceba did not play great in the first 15 mins and in the last 30 mins but Ceba put in a lot of efforts.
Pepe had a frustrating game I thought but he delivers an assist and did show some glimpses again – I think he really needs to read the game better in terms of pacing his runs because he seems at time either too far ahead or too far back.
The Saka-Auba axis on the left worked wonders again but Saka needs a rest. Maybe Soares will come in now.
As for Nketiah, he took his goal really well and could have gotten another one – his work rate was good but he also had many poor touches.
So another win but a more worrying one as we saw some of the ugly Arsenal face with the defensive gaps and playing too deep at times. Happy with the win but Arteta must find a way to make us more compact still. 4 points behind 4th place and 3 points ahead of 12th place – strange league this year.
COYG!
Leno – 7.5
Bellerin – 5.5
Mustafi – 6
Luiz – 6
Saka – 7
Ozil – 6.5
Ceballos – 6.5
Xhaka – 6
Pepe – 6
Nketiah – 7
Auba – 7.5
Kola – no grades and Douzi neither, not enough playing time.
Today we entertain an Everton side rejuvenated under the managership of Carlo Ancelotti and certain to give us a tough game.
The Italian took up his post at the same time as Mikel Arteta was given the reins at Arsenal and both new men have got off to impressive starts.
Arteta has stabilised the good ship Arsenal, which had been listing badly towards the end of Unai Emery’s spell in charge. We have lost only once under him, an unlucky defeat at the hands of Chelsea, and there has been a noticeable improvement in performances.
Everton, meanwhile, have suffered only one defeat since Ancelotti took over, and that was only by the odd goal to Manchester City. Their form now is in sharp contrast to their struggles prior to Ancelotti’s arrival.
The danger men for the Toffees are Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin, who have scored nine goals in eight games between them. But I’m sure I’m not the only Gooner fearing the curse of the returning player. Theo Walcott and Alex Iwobi both seem to have dropped down the favourites list at Everton but either could hurt us if selected.
Nevertheless, I’m sure Arteta will want to focus more on what we can do to them rather than the other way round.
Injury wise we should be in relatively good shape. Torreira and Ozil are both available and while Bellerin and Sokratis are “being assessed” they also are likely to be in contention.
My predicted team is this:
Leno
Bellerin – Mustafi – Luiz – Saka
Xhaka
Ceballos – Ozil
Pepe – Lacazette – Aubameyang
When you think of where we were a few months ago it’s extraordinary that Mustafi is now a shoo-in at centre back. The German had become a lost cause on a par with the Charge of the Light Brigade, Rourke’s Drift and the Spartans at Thermopylae, so it’s a credit to him for sticking at it and the manager for rehabilitating him. Let’s hope he keeps this up.
David Luiz, meanwhile, is on his best run of form since joining Arsenal and seems to relish his partnership with Mustafi (with the German taking prime responsibility for dealing with aerial threats while Luiz plays a more anticipatory role).
If I was choosing the team I would probably go with Torreira and Xhaka to anchor the midfield, but I have a hunch Arteta will stick with the midfield formation that produced a four goal win against Newcastle.
In that match Ceballos played a key role in freeing up Ozil to dictate the play, which he did with aplomb. I think Ceballos will get another chance today unless Everton’s more dangerous goal threat (compared with the Barcodes) persuades El Patron to be more conservative and go for the Terrier.
Up front I don’t see us going with Eddie again. Lacazette now has two goals in two games and Arteta will hope to see that run continue. I also see Pepe keeping his place after his good performance against Newcastle, probably his best game for us since he joined.
I feel a little nervous about this one. Everton’s confidence is high and they have their eye on European football next season, so they have plenty to play for.
Let’s hope we get the ball to Saka as much as possible. He’s on a wonderful run of goals and assists and will be raring to go. And if Pepe puts in another Newcastle performance we have a real threat from both flanks.
Meanwhile Ozil, of course, can unlock any defence when he’s on form, and there are signs he is enjoying the new regime at Arsenal.
We’re good enough to win it if we take our chances but I would not be surprised with a draw.
A win would put us only three points behind the Spuds and allow us to start dreaming about the top five or even the top four.
One ‘B story’ from our trip to Athens this week was the fact that Mikel Arteta preferred to play a lumbering Greek colossus at right back rather than the man who has most regularly occupied that position for us over the last year and a half.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles was on the bench and came on for a few minutes towards the end of our victory over Olimpiacos, but his exclusion from the starting eleven has led to speculation about where he stands in Arteta’s estimation.
So what do we think of Ainsley?
I find him a bit of a mystery, to be honest. Terrific name, of course. I always have the urge to append “MP” to it. Indeed, perhaps we should start referring to him as the Honourable Member for Colney.
We think of him as one of our crop of exciting young players, but he has made 90 appearances for the first team, which makes him something of a fixture. For most of those appearances he has played at right back, covering the long term injury to Hector Bellerin, although he sees his natural position as right midfield or right wing.
It’s fair to say his performances have not always convinced supporters that he could be a permanent answer at fullback, but there has also been an acceptance that he has done pretty well on balance in the role. He is athletic and strong enough to get up and down the line well.
I find his on-field demeanour fascinating. He adopts an impassive expression whatever the circumstances: a crucial sliding tackle to prevent a goal – nothing; trip over and fall on your backside to let the opposition in – nothing; we’ve just gone three goals up in a tough game – nothing; we’ve suffered another embarrassing defeat under Emery – nothing. I’d hate to play poker with the guy: he could be holding a full house or a lousy seven high and you’d have no clue either way. Perhaps the expression (or lack of it) is meant to be cool, or maybe that’s just the way he is. But I was genuinely shocked when I found this photo on the club website:
Mystery smiling man spotted at London Colney
Who was this charming, good-looking, happy individual? Surely not the Honourable Member for Colney? And yet it was. I’m probably a silly old fart, but I would love to see a bit more of Ainsley Maitland-Smiles on match days.
Ian Wright, one of the most natural goalscorers ever to have pulled on the famous red and white, said in his Desert Island Discs interview this week* that he could not understand modern players who don’t express joy when they do something good and I’m with Ian. Every fan in the stadium or watching on their sofa would give their left arm to play for Arsenal just once… and if that miracle ever happened they’d have a Cheshire Cat smile on their face from start to finish.
I don’t mean to criticise AMN for how he conducts his face. Every man is captain of his own boat. But I wonder if opening up a bit and sharing his emotions would enhance his relationship with the supporters.
Obviously how he looks takes a massive second place to how he performs on the pitch. An Arsenal player could look like the Elephant Man, Gollum, Dobbie the House Elf or Wayne Rooney and no-one would care one bit if his skills were those of a Dennis, Thierry, Liam or Patrick.
So how does AMN play? We have already mentioned the fact that he has seldom had opportunities in his preferred position. As a makeshift right back he has generally been OK (but no more) as a defender, and OK (but no more) going forward. When he has had one or two chances to play in midfield he has, to my memory, been unable to impose himself to any great extent.
Now his place is under threat in both positions. Hector is mostly fit again as our first choice right back and we have signed Cedric Soares as back up. Meanwhile in the right midfield/right wing role AMN is up against the likes of Martinelli, Pepe, Nelson and Willock.
So is the game up for Ainsley?
My feeling is no. It is not going to be easy for him, but I want to see him fight for that right wing berth. We have seen that Arteta’s style is to allow a way back for any player who puts in the work and does enough in training to force himself into the manager’s thinking. Ceballos, Mustafi, Guendouzi to name but three have benefitted from this approach.
And AMN has been given an advantage that most wingers don’t get: he has had a thorough grounding in how to be a fullback at the highest level, an understanding which will massively enhance his contribution if he does get to start at right wing. We can already see how Saka will be a better forward because of the experience he has been soaking up at left back. AMN too could end up forming a terrific relationship with his fullbacks thanks to this grounding.
Ainsley may not have Saka’s potential ceiling, but he has the ability and physical attributes to be a new Ray Parlour: strong, fit, tireless and with enough skill to make a significant contribution. Where the Romford Pele once ran riot, could the Goodmayes Zidane do the same?
The key thing will be a run of games in the first team, and Ainsley will only get that opportunity through hard work and application (possibly with a bit of luck thrown in, in terms of injuries and suspensions to other players).
I’m not prepared to withdraw my vote from The Hon. Mr Maitland-Niles MP just yet.
What do you think?
RockyLives
If you haven’t heard Ian’s Desert Island Discs you really need to listen to it. It is full of Arsenal stuff and is moving, funny and revealing in equal parts. You can hear it via BBC iPlayer if you’re UK based.
Leno single handedlyholds off the Olimpiacos hordes
Greece is the land where, in times of old, gods walked the earth and mingled with mortals, monsters raged at the heavens and heroes rose up to battle them. In other words, a perfect stage for an epic.
But let’s be honest: last night’s game was not an epic, was it? Instead of magic and moments of divine intervention we had a tough slog that relied on the distinctly human qualities of determination, effort and will.
Nevertheless, while it may not have been the stuff of legends, Arsenal delivered a thoroughly professional performance that leaves us in pole position to progress to the last 16 of the Europa League.
Siren voices had warned that beating Olimpiacos on their home turf wouldn’t be easy (they are top of the Greek Super League and were on an 18-game unbeaten run going into the match).
But our Greek odyssey proved successful, we found the opposition’s Achilles’ heel, the referee was not a homer and we took home the laurels.
There was much debate beforehand about what sort of team Arteta would put out. Would he play more youngsters with a view to resting players for Sunday’s visit of Everton? Or would he prioritise this competition, with its potential back door route into next season’s Champions’ League?
When the line-up was announced it was half and half, and not without surprises. The policy of playing the back-up ‘keeper in cup competitions, initiated by Arsene Wenger and continued by Unai Emery, was unceremoniously dumped by Arteta, who opted to play his number one as Number One. Seems sensible to me.
Ahead of Leno the team sheet showed a back four of Sokratis, Mustafi, Luiz and Saka, which led this observer at least to assume that Mustafi would play right back (a position he has occupied in the past). It also made me think that Arteta really does not fancy Maitland Niles as a fullback at the moment.
In midfield, with Torreira ill and Ozil absent on dad-to-be duty, Xhaka was accompanied by Willock and Guendouzi, back from the naughty step.
Up front Arteta went with his two most experienced strikers, Lacazette and Aubameyang, but opted for Martinelli ahead of Pepe.
When the game kicked off there was a surprise straight away: Sokratis went to right back, with Mustafi retaining his central defensive role. It seemed an odd choice and, sure enough, in the opening 15 minutes our right flank looked vulnerable as Valbuena and Tsimikas double teamed Sokratis and managed to bypass him at will leading to some goal chances for the home side. Luckily Leno was on his toes and managed to parry everything that came his way, including a smart volley from Valbuena after only two minutes.
Minutes later Masouras headed over from close range and the commentators on TV got very excited about how he should have scored, but they failed to notice the linesman waving his flag for offside, so it wouldn’t have counted.
There were urgent instructions from Arteta on the sidelines as he sought to get us to focus more and hold our shape better and the message eventually started to sink in.
After weathering that opening storm, we gradually exerted some control in midfield with Xhaka looking composed and Guendouzi as busy as ever. We were helped by the fact that Olimpiacos, after their fast start, were mostly content to drop off and let us bring the ball out from the back relatively unchallenged.
Our best chance of the first half came when Martinelli cut back a ball for Lacazette, whose shot went just wide of the post. I’ve heard people say he should have put it away and they may be right, but it was a tough chance given the angle, the two defenders on him and the split second he had to shoot.
Nil-nil at half time was probably fair. In the second period Olimpiacos came out strongly again but this time we kept our shape well and gradually started to dominate without ever looking entirely safe ourselves. Leno was called on to make more saves including an excellent reaction stop from Ba.
The big moment came in the 81st minute when Mustafi fired a long ball deep into the left wing channel. It looked certain to be going straight out but Aubameyang put on the afterburners and stretched out a long leg to keep it in; he fed it inside to the oncoming Saka, who slid a perfectly weighted pass behind the defenders and into the six yard box for Lacazette to slot home.
We could have added another goal before the end (our best chance – a five on three breakaway – saw Lacazette fire a powerful shot that was well saved by Malheiro de Sa in the Olimpiacos goal).
The final whistle meant we had another win, another clean sheet and a potentially vital away goal ahead of the second leg in North London next week.
Not the best game ever – a bit hit and myth you might say – but our boys ended up heroes on the night.
Despite the clean sheet we rode our luck at times and relied on the alertness of Leno, and if there was any overall cause for concern it was at the difficulty we had in creating chances for our forwards (until the last 10 minutes when everything opened up). Ozil had a good game last night without being anywhere near Athens. But there was also plenty to like about how we performed.
There is a real sense that Mikel Arteta is getting something going with this group of players he’s inherited. We don’t need to get ahead of ourselves, but the signs are encouraging.
He started by tightening us up at the back and making us hard to beat. That led to more draws than we’d have liked, but at least there were fewer defeats. Now we’re starting to win, the sense of togetherness among the players seems really good and we have every reason to feel optimistic.
Supporting Arsenal is starting to feel like fun again.
RockyLives
Player Ratings
Leno 7.5 MOTM
Made a string of important reaction saves throughout the game, including a stop from Valbuena early on that would have changed the complexion of the match if it had gone in. Also distributed well, choosing the right pass out every time or going long when necessary.
Sokratis 5.5
Right back does not really suit him and he was all at sea in the early stages. To his credit he settled down and even managed to drive forward a few times in the second half. No faulting his effort or commitment.
Saka 7.5
More progress from Saka. In the first half our best moments came when he was able to attack the Greeks’ box, although on a couple of occasions he was so far forward that he left us exposed to counter attacks. He had a quieter spell for much of the second half, but then did brilliantly to provide the assist for the winning goal – his ninth assist of the season. Close call for MOTM again.
Mustafi 7.5
If he keeps going like this, a lot of fans will be eating humble pie. Some of his past mistakes came from trying to play fancy balls in inappropriate situations, but lately he has been more willing to put his laces through it if in doubt, which is good for everyone’s blood pressure. He actually inspired confidence at the back last night.
Luiz 7
He’s on a quietly impressive run of form. I particularly like how he can release the pressure on the defence with first time passes. It’s a small thing, but not needing to take that extra touch often removes the opposition attackers’ ability to put pressure on the ball and force mistakes.
Xhaka 7
Was key in helping us to get back in control of midfield. I like his ability to switch the play from left to right and vice versa at will. I know he’s predominantly a lefty, but he is comfortable playing off either foot. Intelligent positional play and passing and none of the silly fouls.
Guendouzi 6.5
Plenty of effort and he came in for some rough treatment from the Olimpiacos players. By contrast with Xhaka, he finds it hard to switch play because he’s quite heavily one-footed. But his role in breaking up Olimpiacos moves in midfield should not be undersestimated.
Willock 6
Was plenty involved and had some good moments without really shining.
Martinelli 6
Great movement throughout, but found it hard to make too much of an impact on the game.
Aubameyang 6.5
Struggled on the right wing and looked better when switched back to the left towards the end. Great work leading up to our winner.
Lacazette 7.5
As hard working as we’ve come to expect (without much service) and showed good anticipation and movement for the all-important winner. Hopefully two goals in two games mean he’s well and truly over his drought.
Subs
Ceballos 7
Helped cement our midfield control when he came on for Martinelli on 58 minutes.
After the convincing win against Newcastle, it seems that there is a bit more belief in our chances in this very exciting European competition…but make no mistake, the Greek opponents are not going to roll over and let us go through this round that easily!
Our mission in Greece will be tricky as Olympiakos is unbeaten in 18 matches and currently leads the Greek Super League and is composed of solid players like:- El-Arabi, Hassan, Mor and Valbuena upfront;- Camara, Fortunis in the middle;- Semedo at the back.
El-Arabi is on fire and Valbuena always plays well in European matches but their winger Al Soudani is off injured so they will most likely play in a 4-5-1 against us (see below), which they used against Tottenham and Munich in the Champions’ league group games.
It is not the first time Olympiakos and Arsenal have met each other in Europe. We have previously played against them four times in the group stage of the Champions League. The first 6 matches ended in home wins and the last 2 in away wins. The last away win was memorable, with Giroud scoring a hat-trick for us to win 3-0 in Greece.
Olympiakos’ record at home, with their very supportive and vocal fans, to English opposition is W7, D4 and L4 including a 2-2 this year against the Spurs. In the knockout phases, they have won 2-0 vs Man Utd in 2014 but lost 3-0 to Utd (Van Persie hat trick) at Old Trafford.
Our record in Greece is not great…W3, D1, L4 but if we win, we will set a new record for an English club by recording 23 wins in the Europa League (surpassing Tottenham by 1) so we better win tonight 🙂
I think this game could most likely end up in a 2-2 draw BUT I also feel like we can snatch a win so I am going to back an Arsenal win 2-1 with a goal from Sok and a goal from Laca for us and we concede a goal to either Hassan or El-Arabi.
COYG – we want to celebrate Greek style by breaking plates right after the game!
We’ve talked a lot so far this season about the potential of some of our youngsters. Unai Emery started the ball rolling using Nelson, Willock, Smith-Rowe, Nketiah, Martinelli and Saka sparingly and now some of those are starting games for us.
Arteta (and Freddie before him) has continued to allow these talented young players to grow in the first team and in front of our eyes. Eddie Nketiah was brought back from a loan to Leeds where he wasn’t getting game time and last Sunday started in the Centre-forward position alongside Pepe and Aubameyang. He was unlucky not to bag a goal, having a terrific shot rebound of the post but that meant that Martinelli missed out.
The player that has impressed me the most is Saka. I’m sure that with all his attacking prowess he would not have expected to get minutes in the first team as a left-back. There was an interesting quote from him yesterday which, to me, sums up what an intelligent young man he must be.
Saka: “In the future if I do get to go back onto the wing I feel like I know how full-backs play and playing as a full-back I know what wingers do, what I like them to do and what I don’t like them to do. It’s a good learning experience for me.”
So yesterday, Rocky posed this question on the blog, it was rhetorical but lets explore what people think about the diamonds we might have produced.
I can’t quite make my mind up about Guendouzi’s ceiling.
At times I feel he could grow into a Vieira/Yaya type of player. At other times (when he’s running round like a headless chicken), not so much.
I would rank our young up-and-comers in this order based on their potential:
1. Martinelli
2. Saka
3. Willock
4. Guendouzi
5. Nelson
6. AMN
7. Nketieh
I know that seems harsh on Eddie, but it’s tough to make it as a central striker and we’ve seen many promising candidates over the years burn brightly for a short while before fading away. I hope Eddie is an exception.
I don’t feel I’ve seen enough of Smith-Rowe to include him at this stage but I know many fans rate him very highly.
How would you rank our youngsters in terms of their potential?
The Uefa Cup final between Arsenal and Galatasaray is better remembered for the violence that went on around the game than for the football itself. These are my memories of a very eventful few days in May 2000:
We flew out to Copenhagen a day before the Uefa Cup Final. We travelled with high hopes considering we had a great side at the time, but we knew the team were missing a killer instinct. Following the double of ’98 we had thrown away a number of opportunities of silverware. In my opinion we should have won the double again in ’99 but Fergie had different ideas.
When we arrived there were thousands of Galatasaray fans already in Copenhagen and the atmosphere was very hostile. Next to our hotel some Gala fans had decided to get onto the roof with drums to make sure everybody knew they were there.
We kept a low profile in the city centre and headed to the quieter dock area. We had some beers in a bar and chuckled as a Danish Robert Redford look-a-like sang Arsenal songs to a bemused restaurant full of Gala fans.
While we were sampling the local hospitality the Arsenal team walked past the bar. They must have decided to stretch their legs. It was a bit surreal. We chatted to David Seaman and a few of the players. They were in a good mood and confident.
On the way back to our hotel we stopped at another bar. More Arsenal fans were arriving and it was clear there were many others who had come along looking for trouble. We chatted to members of the British armed forces, Chelsea hooligans, Leeds hooligans, Swansea hooligans: all were there for a fight with the Turks to avenge the murder of the Leeds fans in Istanbul at the semi-final a few weeks before. Outside the bar an Arsenal fan was stabbed by Gala hooligans. It was getting nasty.
On the day of the match there were thousands more Arsenal fans in the city. We managed to avoid the worst of the violence and made it to the stadium without too much bother.
The game was very disappointing. Arsenal didn’t show up. The main culprits for me were Henry, Overmars & Kanu (when he came on). Gala lost their best player, Hagi, to a red card in extra time, so we played with a man advantage for almost 30 minutes. We didn’t put enough pressure on them when the game was there to be won. I was gutted after losing the penalty shoot-out. I wanted to rip up my season ticket and flush it down the loo. Luckily I didn’t as the next 5 years were among the best Arsenal have ever had.
That evening we decided to avoid the city centre instead staying in a bar near our hotel. It turned out to be a great night despite having the misfortune to meet up with the DIF Stockholm hooligan firm. They were a complete bunch of idiots that had been there for the trouble too. The bar owner threw them out before they could mug us (Thanks Sven!)
We stayed in Copenhagen for a few more days. Once the trouble had died down we enjoyed the mini heat-wave that the city was experiencing. If you haven’t visited it is a fantastic place. The local were very friendly and the bars stayed open until the early hours of the morning.
On the last day we encountered a small crowd surrounding who we thought was a local pop star. We managed to move through the group to be right in front of this mysterious character. It turns out it wasn’t a Danish pop star it was the Dalai Lama! ‘Hello’ he said as we stood there open mouthed.
A peaceful end to very violent few days that will live long in the memory.
Four goals, four different scorers, four contenders for Man of the Match… not a bad way to spend a stormy Sunday afternoon.
Since Mikel Arteta took over from Unai Emery we’ve had more draws than a Welsh dresser.
But with our defensive solidity and team organisation gradually improving it always felt like a matter of time before the dam would burst and we gave someone a proper spanking.
Yesterday was that day. The dam was duly breached and poor old Newcastle United (and their likeable manager Steve Bruce) were the spankees.
We started the day level on points with the Barcodes, who were on an eight game unbeaten run, so this was hardly a foregone conclusion.
An extended break in Dubai had given Arteta his first real chance to work properly with the team without the pressure of imminent games. We all wondered whether this exercise would mean changes in the look of the team and El Patron did not let us down.
Misfiring Lacazette was dropped and Eddie Nketieh preferred at centre forward; there was no Torreira or Guendouzi, with Ceballos getting his first start under Arteta; Mustafi got the nod ahead of Sokratis and Saka kept his place at left back despite Kolasinac being available.
With all that preparation time and so many bold selection decisions, it seemed inevitable we’d come out of the blocks like Usain Bolt, right? Wrong.
For half an hour we were mostly terrible: misplaced passes, lack of running off the ball, no control in midfield, no goal threat… it was as if our minds were still on the beach in Dubai.
Newcastle had been busy in the January window and had two debutants eager to make an impression (former Spud Danny Rose, who looked liked he’d eaten too many boxes of Cadbury’s Roses, and Valentino Lazaro). They took the game to us and were getting into dangerous positions at will. Lazaro, in particular, was causing problems for Bellerin.
Only a smart save from Leno (after a shot was diverted by Ceballos’s head) kept us from going behind.
It was painful viewing and the crowd was starting to grumble.
Then, about 30 minutes in, something changed. Feel free to share your opinions of what that something was, but to my mind it was that one key player stepped up and took hold of the game.
That man was Mesut Ozil, a player to whom Winston Churchill’s famous description of Russia (a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma) could just as easily apply.
Regardless of Ozil’s skills – and they are silkier than a silkworm in a slinky nightgown – people often say they wish he would “boss” games more. Well, that’s exactly what he did here.
Suddenly he was everywhere in the middle of the park, receiving passes and moving the ball on quickly, finding team mates in great positions and opening up our play. This in turn forced Newcastle onto the back foot and reduced the threat they had been posing.
It was 0-0 at half time but you could see we were getting the upper hand, and the second half continued in the same vein. Xhaka-Ceballos-Ozil had somehow transformed themselves from the Three Stooges of the first half hour into a Holy Trinity that controlled the rest of the game.
The first goal, after 54 minutes, was a fine header from Aubameyang (inexplicably unchallenged in the Toon box) after a simple cross from Pepe. Three minutes later came the best goal of the game: Aubameyang fed Saka down the left wing, the young Londoner bamboozled two defenders with a neat turn and a nutmeg and pulled back a low cross for Pepe. Pepe’s finish was pure class. I know it looked easy, but many players would have blasted it and I loved the fact that Pepe passed it into the corner of the net. That sort of composure and clear thinking in front of goal betokens many more sweet scores to come.
We had one or two scares at 2-0, including a good effort by Saint-Maximin which came back off the inside of the post, but overall we were still in control.
We wrapped it up late on, first with an Ozil tap-in following a wonderful spell of pass-and-move play. Lacazette’s neat turn and pass for the assist was nice, too. Then Laca finally ended his goal drought after nice set-up play by Willock (on as a sub) and Pepe.
After a shaky start it turned out to be an excellent team performance with many stand-out players. I have seen people suggest four different options as Man of the Match – Pepe, Ozil, Saka and Ceballos – which shows how good we were.
Here’s hoping this is the start of a run of wins and a climb up the table. The confidence this performance will bring will certainly do no harm.
Player Ratings
Leno 7
Made saves when called on. Didn’t do anything wrong.
Bellerin 6.5
Struggled in the first half hour as Newcastle attacked down our right, but settled down thereafter and did well.
Saka 8
What a talent this young man is. Fast, fearless, strong and skilful.
Mustafi 7.5
Won everything in the air against a big physical team, used the ball well and opted for Row Z when called for. A very encouraging performance.
Luiz 7
Organised and tidy. His reading of the game was first rate.
Xhaka 7
Frustrating as his silly yellow card was, he played a full part in us taking control of the game after the first 30.
Ceballos 8
A surprise inclusion in the starting line-up, Dani was excellent throughout and was our best player in the early part of the game when the rest of the team was struggling. He can dribble and can see a pass, but I was also encouraged by his willingness to get stuck in.
Ozil 8.5 MOTM
A Mesut Masterclass. On this kind of form he is absolutely world class. He pulled the strings and Newcastle were tied in knots. His late goal shades him the MOTM honour just ahead of the other contenders.
Aubameyang 7
He was too wide in the first period of play and his touch looked off once or twice. At half time Arteta instructed him to get closer to Nketieh and that saw him become much more involved. He was involved in a lot of our good link-up play (including for Pepe’s goal) and got the scoring started with a well directed header.
Pepe 8
OK, I’ll confess I was starting to have some doubts about Pepe, but this performance blew them away. He was a constant threat and took his goal really well. If he can keep this form up we have a real player on our hands.
Nketieh 6.5
Little service in the first half hour, but worked hard. Should have got on the scoresheet with a shot that hit the crossbar. It was certainly difficult (the ball was slightly behind him) but he needs to put those types of chances away.
Subs
Torreira 6
Tidy, but had little to do.
Lacazette 7
Got his goal. More now please, Laca.
Willock 6
Not much time to make an impression, but he was involved in our final goal.
So where were we ……… oh yes, we were on a run of draws.
As we go into each game with Arteta in charge there is a hope that ‘this’ game is going to be the one that brings a win. It doesn’t matter if I do the pre-match or Rocky does the pre-match, somebody somewhere isn’t wearing their lucky socks.
Today we have to hope that the brutally wild weather doesn’t go against us. As I write, the wind and rain are lashing against my windows and I have to wonder how much protection the high sides of The Emirates are going to afford all of us …… players and supporters alike.
It’ll be quite a contrast to the warm weather training and fun the squad have been having during the break in Dubai.
Burnley’s win yesterday means we start the day in 11th, on the same points as Newcastle who are our opposition today. We still have a goal difference of minus 2!!!!
We have won precisely 6 games in the EPL this season, the first of those was against Newcastle on the opening weekend. The hiatus of beating ManU on the 1st Jan has long since evaporated and yet as a work in progress I do feel excited at the thought of keeping a clean sheet 😁 and the attack coming together to produce some moments of magic (that end with the ball in the back of the net – no pressure lads).
I usually like to stick in a few stats about our current form and the head to head record against the opposition but our stats are crap currently although we do have a good record against Newcastle, winning 13 out of the last 14. Arteta is still talking about building defensive stability, here’s what he had to say ………
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta: “I think we have to generate some defensive stability, but not by defending deep. I don’t like that.
“It’s by defending high and pressing the opponent as much as possible. But the process – together as many times as possible in the most efficient way – has to be done properly from here.
“If not, in two passes when you arrive there, that transition is impossible to control because you are too far from the opponent. So we need to do that well first to be able to generate and sustain our attacks as many times as possible during the games.”
It’s how he makes us transition from defensive stability to scoring that will be interesting to watch. Maybe today we’ll take our early chances because that’s where we’ve been undone lately.
I’d like to see this team ……..
Leno
Bellerin Sokratis Luiz Saka
Torreira Xhaka
Ozil
Martinelli Lacazette Aubameyang
Actually I prefer to see Martinelli on the left as I think he and Saka have a good understanding but the front three are usually quite fluid. With a Europa game coming up, Arteta may play the team he wants to play on Thursday and use Willock instead of Ozil, how does he fit Nelson into the team? Ok, well that’s his problem.
Who would you choose to play?
Thank you to Fred for reminding us that today is the anniversary of our epic 2-1 win against Barcelona …… in 2011!!
RIP Caroline Flack …… be kind to each other on social media, such a terrible waste of a life.
Posted by Rasp 
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