Aston Villa - on the bus. Referees happy to keep us at bay
Arsenal's recent North London Derby victory was a springboard to… well, not quite. The team lost the lead of 2 goals and ended up sharing points. Yet, amidst the usual post-match dissection (and the inevitable VAR debate), a surprising sense of calm prevailed. I tried to understand why’s that and finally came to the conclusion:
This game didn’t really follow the disappointing season patterns.
We weren’t toothless in front of the goal. We didn’t create a bunch of chances, but we did create some - thanks to Trossard stepping up and delivering mouthwatering crosses and our two attackers striving to be the first on the ball. Two goals, given the depleted attacking resources, is a respectable return.
We didn’t defend a one goal lead for 30 minutes. Defending a two goal lead is a smart approach I think. However, yesterday Aston Villa scored two goals pretty quickly. And I didn’t see us simply resort to clearing the lines and praying the clock would tick down.
We finally managed to put some pressure in the last 10 minutes, creating chances that could have snatched a late winner. In the previous games where we lost points the final minutes of the game were hopeless for the viewer, but not this one.
What did follow the pattern - is that Partey again started at right back, once again.
Partey at right back? Not a fan
Many Arsenal fans and bloggers recite the same narrative “We didn’t have other options”. That’s simply not right. We had at least two other options:
1. Play Kiwior at RCB. He had some good games for us in this position, when Saliba missed games in the last two seasons. I don’t think Kiwior and Gabriel wouldn’t be able to handle Watkins, especially given how he’s always cutting inside for that right-footed shot. What’s the point of keeping a center back on your team if you don’t play them when another CB is injured?
2. Play Rice at RCB. He has most of the qualities Saliba has. I can guarantee Rice and Gabriel wouldn’t give Watkins any chances. I was banging the “Rice at the back” drum for a month, since Timber got suspended.I think Rice is much more suited to the demands of the defenders that Arteta has - tracking those forward runs and bossing them physically. And Partey with his ability to find a delicate pass is better utilized in midfield.
The truth is Arteta likes Partey at RB, despite a shocking record of 1 win in 6 games already. Yesterday Partey’s failure to track Watkins is not really related to playing at right back - it was sheer lack of discipline, plain and simple. But also the defender is the position where an error is punished the most. So if we know, Partey can get turned off at times, maybe he shouldn’t mark the striker that has already scored 9 goals against Arsenal in 8 matches.
Arsenal stats with Partey at right back
Squad management issues still present
The other aspect of seeing Saliba injured potentially with a hamstring injury is that we can’t continue blaming luck as many fans do. We have lost Saka, Nwaneri, Calafiori and now Saliba to muscular injuries in the December-January packed schedule.
This is not bad luck, this is bad management of the players fitness. All the injured players are young, they shouldn’t get injured so easily! Liverpool has an older squad, but they don’t have any muscular injuries. When the players have a competitive game every three days, their training sessions should be very lightweight. I don’t think that’s the principle that Arteta follows.
Squad management is not getting extra points with experienced internationals Kiwior and Zinchenko sitting on the bench through the whole packed January. Why didn’t they both get a single start? Miles Lewis-Skelly is amazing, no doubt, but I am not getting worried that young but brilliant MLS could also be run to the ground.
It’s not only putting additional strain on the players, but it’s also depreciating the value of the players. Nobody would really pay good money for the players that play 20 minutes per month. At the same time, players understand that they are not really counted on in this team, so they will not prolong the contract. In the end, Kiwior will leave for 10 million with 1 year left of his contract instead of leaving for 25 million. And then we won’t be able to buy another back-up to bid for a better player.
Zinchenko transfer value is plummeting
Fairly disallowed goal?
I was furious when Havertz's goal was cancelled and wrote a couple of angry posts in Threads. My main frustration with it was that from all the replays shown on TV, it looked like it hit Kai’s stomach or hip and not the hand. However, VAR cancelled it in a matter of seconds. I remind you that it should be a “clear and obvious error” from the main referee who pointed to the central spot. If that was so clear, why wasn’t there a single replay? The front-facing camera clearly didn't give the full picture, so surely they should've been checking all the angles, over and over, before deciding to cancel the goal. It was a massive decision!
Remember our goal against Fulham back in December? They were checking three different things for a solid minute each, even measuring millimetres on the build-up pass to check for offside. Yesterday it looked like VAR didn’t need a second invitation to cancel Arsenal’s goal, even if it was a handball.
And let's not forget the same ref, who apparently “had no option” but to send Rice off for shifting the ball a couple of inches in August. In this game, he was letting Villa players get away with some proper clattering tackles, stopping our attacks dead, with absolutely no punishment. And, of course, they were getting away with kicking the ball away too. No surprise there, is it?Martinelli’s tight goal was not his call, but a technology that he couldn’t override. So conspiracy or not, some of the referees are definitely happy to make decisions not in our favor.
To confirm the controversy of the disallowed goal, here’s the quote from Ollie Watkins:
Premier League chances - are any of them still there?
It’s hard to feel good about our position in the Premier League when we again didn’t manage to shorten the gap to Liverpool this week. Anything can happen between now and the end of the season, mind, but we're not making it easy for ourselves.
But I think we need to play further games the way we played today. Except one thing: not marking Ollie Watkins in your own box is the criminal with regard to the title chase. Hopefully this will not happen again.
And of course, we need to sign a striker. There’s no way we can play with Kai as a single option for the rest of the season. I'm convinced we could nick any of the summer targets now by offering an extra 15-20 million. If we are talking about Sesko, Leipzig are definitely out of Champions League after losing 6 out of 6 games! So it would be smart for them to receive a bigger pay check for now, especially with all those Red Bull clubs they can shuffle players between.
Next stop - Dynamo Zagreb
Anyway, next up is Dynamo Zagreb. Champions League group game at home (can you believe it's not the last one?). We HAVE to get the backups out there – Kiwior, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Merino, Sterling. If they are not good enough to play against Zagreb, what was the point of buying them? With all due respect, this is the side that lost 9-2 to Bayern.
I think Timber can play another game if White is coming back into the squad soon. And Kai, since we are so focused on the transfer market. However, I’d argue that Odegaard shouldn’t be starting. Even if he plays, it should be for the final 30 minutes, if the team can’t crack Dynamo open. I also think we can finally see Neto in the goal, shouldn’t we at least try him out to hedge our risks?
My line-up would be Neto - Timber, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko - Jorginho, Rice, Merino - Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli. Let me know your choice in the comments!
COYG!