Saturday’s injury to Lucas Torreira should focus the mind on what we do when he’s not available.

He went off at half time after some rough-house treatment from Crystal Palace’s players (and with the useless referee having given him no protection).

It was bad timing for the pint-sized Uruguayan dynamo: since Unai Emery’s departure he has looked really good in the holding midfield role.

Hopefully he’ll be fit for Saturday’s home game against Sheffield United but even if he is we won’t be able to play him in every game without a break for the rest of the season.

Which brings us to the back-up option.

Assuming that we don’t buy or borrow another defensively minded midfielder in the January window (which seems unlikely), Arteta’s favoured alternative to Torreira appears to be a combination of Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi.

This will go down like a rat sandwich with a section of supporters who maintain that the Gran-Douzi axis is a liability.

That harsh observation is based on the occasions when the pair have played together under Unai Emery. In those outings Arsenal were incapable of stemming the attacking play of whichever opponent we were facing, leading to a ridiculous number of attempts on our goal and making poor old Bernt Leno the busiest ‘keeper in the EPL.

But was it the fault of Guendouzi and Xhaka in tandem? Or was it just that the whole team was floundering under Emery’s chaotic management?

Well, now we have something to compare those outings with.

The Gran-Douzi duo has played three halves of football under Mikel Arteta: they started against Leeds United in the FA Cup and played the second half against Palace after Torreira’s injury.

In the first half against Leeds they (and the team as a whole) were woeful. It was beginning to look like we could not control a game with that pair at the base of the midfield. But then came Arteta’s famously shouty half time talk, we emerged for the second half with better tactics (pushing our line 15 yards further up the pitch) and we looked like a team.

For that half, it certainly seemed as if Xhaka and Guendouzi could control a midfield and mostly neutralise the opposition.

Then we come to the second half against Palace. Although we conceded a goal in the half and were unable to score ourselves, we were never overrun. Indeed, after we went down to 10 men Palace barely had a sniff of goal and we might even have nicked all three points with a bit of luck.

As with the second half against Leeds, Gran-Douzi maintained positional discipline and the team as whole successfully kept a high line.

The absence of Torreira meant Xhaka sat deeper than he had when the Uruguayan was on the pitch, while Guendouzi had a bit more freedom to roam forward but still prioritised his defensive duties.

Clearly the Terrier is our first choice in the holding midfield role, but under Arteta’s coaching I think we’re beginning to see that Gran-Douzi can provide acceptable cover when he’s not available.

If you think I’m being overoptimistic, feel free to share your thoughts in comments.

RockyLives

Anyone who is thinking of watching this game from behind the sofa should not – in my mind – be branded a scaredycat. I think it’s fair to say that stats and predictions go out the window in these early days of Arsenal’s New Dawn under Mikel Arteta.

With the win against Man U we saw Arteta’s plan in action. We were pressing all over the pitch, lots of energy, quick passing and an early goal. Arteta has talked about getting the energy levels up but this takes time. To score a couple of early goals must be high on his wish list but not having to ‘shout a lot’ at his players at half time must also be.

There was a complacency about the first half against Leeds that’s going to take a while to shake off. So, is the short trip to Crystal Palace, who sit above us in the table going to get their collective juices flowing? I hope so, although traditionally, we really don’t like early kick offs.

Roy Hodgson is doing great things with this Palace team and Wilfrid Saha will have a point to prove, as, if things had gone better for him he would have been lining up for us today. His stats versus Pepe make interesting reading.

Zaha is getting the opportunity to make more dribbling runs but has had more pitch time than Pepe. This is where we need to be able to release Pepe and let him work his magic. Our goalscoring has been pretty pants so far this season but I’m hopeful that with hard work Arteta can rectify this.

So, how will we line up today? Sokratis has been a monster lately and I’m loving how he plays like a warrior. Luiz has discovered that he loves playing for us and he quite likes being a defender too. Our problems are that our injuries  to Bellerin and Tierney that have forced other players into those positions. Arteta’s plan to allow the left-backs Kolasinac or Saka to be part of the attack have been fruitful and for Ainsley Maitland-Niles to move into the midfield have hopefully kept him happy too.

Xhaka has been persuaded to stay and Torreira is finally being allowed to do a great job in front of the defence. What’s not to like?

Up front we can look forward to the mouthwatering proposition of Ozil, Pepe, Aubameyang and Lacazette. Exciting huh? Maybe Lacazette has left his goal scoring boots somewhere in South London and he’s picking them up on the way.

Leno

AMN   Sokratis   Luiz   Kolasinac

Torreira  Xhaka

Ozil

Pepe   Lacazette   Aubameyang

Enjoy the game all …………..

peachesgooner

So fellow bloggers, even before Chambers’ unfortunate injury, it was thought that AFC would dive into the market to improve the CB position…Arteta kinda confirmed it in his post-match interview and rumour has it that he had made 2 demands to the board before accepting the job: one CB and one DM.

Here are the profiles that have been mentioned on the blog:

1) We need someone who is a no nonsense defender and knows the PL. Ideally someone who is good defensively but can also pass the ball “OK”. Names that have been floated around include Ake, Mings, Dunk, Diop and Tarkowski.

2) We need a proven and recognized international defender, someone in the league of “Van Dijk, Ramos and Bonucci”. There are not many out there but people have mentioned Koulibaly, Skriniar, Manolas, Ruben Dias and Umtiti.

3) We need a dynamic and upcoming defender that will lift our defense’s energy, is good at playing from the back and is strong physically. Names include Upamecano, Mukiele, Konate, Pau Torres and Djene.

4) We need to add experience and calm to our back four so we should look into Boateng and Martinez.

5) We do not want to impede Holding, Mavropanos, Chambers or Saliba’s development so we should take a strong player but not break our bank nor take a confirmed star but just someone to complete our squad. Names include Rugani, Izzo, I.Martinez among others.

So which type of defender would you like us to pursue? What type of money would you like us to spend MAX for your preferred type of player and who would be your preferred recruit and why?

RC78

Happy New Year everyone. It seems crazy to be playing another game so soon ……. the guys who fought so hard on Sunday have to find the energy and inspiration to go again.

I’m pretty certain Arteta will be inspired but does he have enough willing bodies to carry out his instructions.

It’s not healthy to feel so sorry for ones football team but honestly when are we gonna get a break? The injury to Callum Chambers has piled on the pressure. Saka may also be missing and so we’ll need to juggle someone else into the left-back position …… who is there left?

The defence is a walking disaster now, where’s Flamini when you need him? Forgot to mention him yesterday 😉

Torreira will have tired legs but boy do I want to see him play and Xhaka was in training so maybe he’ll play.

Up front maybe Pepe will get a start with Martinelli returning and Aubameyang in the middle. Ozil behind probably.

All this angst for Manchester United at home. We’re not the old Arsenal and they’re not the old Man U but even so we’d like to get the better of them. There have been some great games between the two sides over the years, Arteta and Solskjaer will know how much a win will mean to both sides.

Performance over points? I’d be happy to watch more of the same, as in the opening 30 minutes v Chelsea, it was brilliant to watch us play fast moving football again. But 30 minutes won’t win us the game unless we score 2 or 3 goals ……. let it be so.

Happy New Year to you and all of yours.

peachesgooner

Sometimes, you just need some nostalgia, so here’s a big dollop as this decade draws to a close.

These are my top five favourite Arsenal moments from this decade. Feel free to like or dislike mine and add your own in the comments.

Henry returns v Leeds

January 2012

This was a marvellous night. Dad’s proudly brought small sons, who had never seen him play, to have the opportunity to watch Thierry Henry grace our pitch. They weren’t disappointed, we weren’t disappointed ……. he scored, The Emirates erupted, it was written in the script.

Arsenal 2 Barcelona 1

February 2011

There was no script for this next game or if there was, we tore it up. It was another atmospheric night at The Emirates. We really did play football like this 😁

Arsenal 5 Totts 2

Twice in 2012, February and November

This is a double whammy. Beating Totts twice at home in one year with the score line 5-2 oh how we laughed.

February 2012 – can only find this with arabic commentary.

November 2012

FA Cup win 2014

We won 3 FA Cups in this decade, 2014, 2015 and 2017. To me the 2014 is the sweetest, coming after a long trophy drought.

Oh how we smiled

Wilshire goal (team goal) v Norwich

There were some special goals scored, obviously there were. It was tough to choose between this fabulous team goal and the Olivier Giroud scorpion. But in the end I chose this one.

Please add as many goals and games as you like in the comments for everyone to enjoy.

Wishing you all a Happy New Arsenal in 2020 and beyond.

peachesgooner

Match day 20 and into the second half of the season. Today we welcome Chelsea to The Home of Football. We sit 12th in the table and they are 4th with eight points between us. Doesn’t seem real does it? Oh well, we are where we are and the only way is up (hopefully).

There were signs of improvement against Bournemouth in our last game (only three days ago) so I’m hopeful that the players are buying into Arteta’s vision and happy to follow his plans. I hope it doesn’t all go a bit silly today because it’s a London Derby.

There has been great rivalry between us and Chelsea over the years with them calling the shots recently although 2017 was a high point for us …….. beating them 3-0 at the Emirates in the league and then beating them in the FA Cup final 🙂 Their mean, tough strikers had been the undoing of us for quite some time, they were underhand and ruthless and punished us for being a bit soft. But in the 3-0 win we beat them with our most fabulous football which I’m hoping is what will happen today.

Against Bournemouth Mikel had plumped for experience with the addition of Nelson on the wing. I know he had Saka on the pitch at left-back but that was out of necessity and Saka is going to have to get used to playing there for a few weeks I think.

We should see Chambers back today which will be good as he’ll have played against Abrahams many times. No one else is banned for today and it would be good to have Martinelli back in the squad, he’s going to have a late fitness test.

We need to be ruthless in front of goal, we created chances in the last game but didn’t put them away. I think Martinelli could help there because he gets into great positions and loves to throw himself at an opportunity to score.

We have another big home game coming up on Wednesday so will Arteta rotate or stick with his starting line up from the other day plus a couple of forced changes.

Here’s my predicted line up.

Leno

AMN   Chambers  Luiz   Saka

Torreira   Xhaka

Ozil

Pepe  Lacazette  Aubameyang

I hope we can steal three points …………….

peachesgooner

If I had a pound for every time I heard someone say: “How come we’re the only club that doesn’t get a New Manager Bounce?” I’d have… well, a few pounds.

But everyone saying that is missing the point. The Arsenal has always been a club of innovation: first team to use numbers on the back of the players’ shirts (1927); first team to play a match broadcast live on radio (versus Sheffield United, 1927); first team to play in a match broadcast live on TV (versus Arsenal reserves, 1937); first team to play a match broadcast live in 3D (versus Man Utd, January 31st 2010); first team in the modern era to go a whole season unbeaten (2003-4)… I could go on.

And now we’ve done it again. Let the others have their New Manager Bounces, we have something new.

Think about it. What does a “bounce” mean. It means you suddenly rise up, usually by winning games. But keen students of gravity will know that a bounce doesn’t only go in one direction. At a certain point planetary mass enters the equation and the bounce goes into reverse, and this phenomenon is often experienced by clubs with new bosses: a short term improvement followed by a return to previous struggles.

Which is why I am not unhappy that we have taken a different path… indeed, as far as I can tell, a completely new one.

We have had one game with Mikel Arteta fully in charge (yesterday) and one immediately after he was announced as Head Coach and in which he appears to have had at least some input with the players (Everton away).

Taking these two games as a piece, there have been definite signs of improvement, even though both resulted in away draws for us.

So, we did not suddenly start winning (no New Manager Bounce) but nor did we lose and, along the way, we started playing better.

We are the proud inventors of the New Manager Glide: a smooth sense of progress with a gentle uphill trajectory. The good thing about a Glide is that, unlike a Bounce, it is not fated to go into reverse at any moment.

The Glide was in evidence in numerous ways in our Boxing Day trip to trifle with the Cherries: faster passing and an improvement in off-the-ball movement; key players (particularly Torreira and Xhaka) holding their positions much more than usual; an improved effort from Mesut Ozil; and an overall sense of commitment and effort from ALL players, not just the young ones.

Arteta’s first starting 11 was partly dictated by injuries (hence Saka at LB, AMN at RB and no real options outside of Sokratis and Luiz as starting CBs). Further forward he opted more for experience than youth, with Torreira, Xhaka, Ozil, Lacazette and Aubameyang all starting. Reiss Nelson was the only unforced youth option.

Whatever has happened in training in the short period Arteta has had with the squad, it seemed to pay off from the start. The small signs of improvement we were seeing during Freddie’s stewardship took a big step forward.

In the first half hour we could easily have had two or three goals if our strikers had been just a little bit more on their toes and if the ball had broken more kindly for us once or twice.

Ozil was demanding the ball and dictating play; Torreira’s relief at finally being told he could play as a holding midfielder was palpable and he had his best game for at least a year; Nelson also had his best game in an Arsenal shirt and was a threat throughout; if Saka had worn a football boot instead of Daniel Day Lewis’s prosthetic leg from My Left Foot he might have bagged a hatful of assists.

At the back, Luiz and Sokratis were mostly solid and Leno continued his good run of form with a display of German aerial dominance not seen since Dunkirk.

It was genuinely exciting to watch us attacking at pace and creating chances in the Bournemouth penalty area… but just to show that you don’t get rid of bad habits overnight, we inevitably conceded in what was almost the Cherries’ first attack.

Predictably it came from us trying to pass out from our ‘keeper while all our players were being heavily pressed by the opposition. It ended up going to Luiz at the corner flag who managed to get it down the line to Saka, under pressure. He had to play it to a closely marked team mate and we lost the ball. Bournemouth broke fast, no-one tracked the run of Dan Gosling into our six yard box and we were 1-0 down against the run of play.

I did not like seeing Saka doing the “Denilson Jog” back towards our box after giving possession away: he probably would not have caught Gosling but I’d damn well like him to make the effort, because if Gosling’s shot had not gone straight in, Saka’s presence might have been needed to prevent a second chance opportunity.

As far as playing out from the back is concerned, we surely need the players to use some in-game intelligence in these situations. If Leno has the ball and every opportunity to pass it out from the back is cut off, it’s far better to kick it long and lose possession deep in the opposition’s half rather than deep in our own.

After conceding we went into our shell for the remaining 15 minutes of the first half (a clear sign that our confidence levels, so damaged by the mismanagement of the Emery period, will take time to recover).

In the second half we stepped up a gear and got an equaliser through Aubameyang who neatly tucked away a deflected Nelson shot. We had other chances that didn’t quite fall for us (sometimes we were denied by brave defending from Bournemouth). We seemed to tire in the last 10 to 15 minutes and by that stage the draw looked inevitable.

I have mentioned the positives: some signs of green shoots of recovery under the new regime. There were also some negatives which Arteta will have seen and will need to deal with. Some of the lackadaisical concentration that has crept into our play was still there (players attempting stupidly dangerous passes and losing possession, players switching off at crucial moments, some hesitation in passing etc). But these can all be fixed.

This was an encouraging start to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal reign and something to hopefully build on for two very big games coming up fast.

Player Ratings

Leno 6.5

Didn’t have to make too many saves but commanded his area well. No chance for the goal.

Maitland-Niles 6

We never look fully secure with AMN at right back. This was not his best game but he did OK.

Saka 5

Jogging back for their goal; couldn’t get a cross anywhere near the danger area to save his life; out of position a few times when Bournemouth attacked…  and yet: he was a constant threat down our left flank and if his many crosses had been delivered with accuracy he might have had a couple of assists. Far from a good game but I still like this kid’s potential.

Sokratis 6

Did OK. Bournemouth have some big lads and he coped fairly well. He’ll always have a couple of moments on the ball in every game where he gives me heart palpitations.

Luiz 6.5

Pretty good in defence including some brave blocks. He made one trademark David Luiz pass to set up a good chance after carrying the ball out from the back. More of that please David.

Torreira 7.5 MoTM

Who knew? When you give a natural defensive midfielder the job of being, um, a defensive midfielder, he plays well and improves the whole team. Positional discipline was strong, he was quick to the tackle and broke up numerous Bournemouth moves.

Xhaka 6

Whether or not he’s on his way to Berlin, Granit seemed to enjoy not having to be an out-and-out holding midfielder. Typically tidy on the ball but might have influenced the game a bit more going forward.

Ozil 7

Tailed off in the second half, but in the first half we saw how a committed Ozil at the heart of the team can really make a difference. I could see Arteta starting to build his whole approach around capitalising on Ozil’s abilities (using Ozil in a similar way to that in which Man City have used David Silva).

Nelson 7

I have questioned whether Nelson needs a loan spell, but on this evidence he doesn’t. He had some excellent moments and if he can improve his final ball and decision making he’ll create a lot of goals.

Aubameyang 7

With Ozil pulling the strings and a generally faster style of play, Auba was much more involved than he has been when playing as the lone striker. He had several good attempts which were blocked before grabbing the goal that earned us a point.

Lacazette 7

His touch and finishing seemed a little off, but I’m still giving him 7 for his work rate and for being in those dangerous areas at the right time. On another day he might have bagged a couple.

Subs

Willock (for Ozil) 6

Mustafi (for the injured Sokratis) 6

Pepe (for Nelson) 6.5

RockyLives