Brugge - on the bus. Flexing skills
Arsenal maintains the perfect Champions League record.
The most pressing question ahead of the match, once again, revolved around rotation. It is, of course, tough to avoid this subject when games are coming thick and fast during this congested fixture period. The response to the rotation query was a resounding YES. All the usual suspects who needed game time were included in the starting XI. Even Norgaard got a surprise nod, slotting in at centre-back. Look, our three most heavily utilised players are Rice, Zubimendi, and Timber; if the manager fancies rather giving Timber a breather, then I am fully behind that decision. Given our real lack of defenders, any help on that front is greatly appreciated.
All the expected changes were made, except for one—Ethan Nwaneri. The vast majority of the faithful were desperate to see the young Englishman start, but instead, it was the captain who claimed the number 10 spot. I do wonder what has gone wrong with Ethan. This is the lad who bagged nine goals last year against top-tier opponents like Brighton and Sevilla. Surely, one would think he’s more than capable of handling Brugge.
In the first half, we certainly looked a bit shaky, struggling to get a proper foothold in the game. Brugge, meanwhile, posed a threat through the absolutely e-e-e-e-electric number nine, Carlos Forbs, who basically took it upon himself to create chances. Interestingly, most of Brugge’s danger didn’t stem from the make-your-own-defence-pairing.com partnership of Norgaard and Hincapie. We failed to win the second balls around their box, which only invited quick counterattacks. Afterwards, we failed to snuff out those counterattacks early in the defensive midfield zone. This is exactly what a Riceless Arsenal side looks like, and it’s far from comforting.
Forbs had so many attempts on goal that I was starting to get worried before the breakthrough came from the other side. Madueke decided to take on a couple of Brugge players and simply hammered the ball into the top corner. A sensational goal!
And that wasn’t the end of it. Immediately after the break, Zubimendi delivered an absolute peach of an assist; the ball was basically laid on a plate at the far post, only needing a body (or piece of wood) to bounce off—and Madueke duly doubled his tally. What an exceptional delivery from Martin!
I must stress that while Madueke scored two goals, he hasn’t done enough yet to truly alter my overall perception of him. His reputation took a severe hit after he completely fluffed his lines against Villa. To date, he has displayed questionable footballing intelligence. Today’s strike was magnificent, but did it demand great football intelligence, or was it a moment of brute-force application of his incredible skill? I lean towards the latter, especially considering the opposition was Brugge. To genuinely earn a starting spot, he needs to deliver in pivotal moments—breaking down a deep block in the Premier League, or scoring a vital equaliser or winner in a tense fixture. His goal against Bayern was more valuable in that sense. We shall wait and see, but for now, I still prefer to have Saka and Trossard out there in the most critical games.
A few minutes later, Martinelli decided to remind everyone he holds a Brazilian passport by producing a moment of comparable brilliance. He nutmegged the defender, took a quick step away from the goal, and curled one right into the very top corner. Simply delicious! These two goals and the assist from Zubimendi represent flashes of exceptional individual quality and serve as a useful reminder of what a more expensive squad should be capable of. Even if the team lacks a bit of cohesion, they can still conjure up a goal (or three) out of thin air.
Despite the joy of a spectacular three-goal cushion, the quiet concern lingering for many was about Gyokeres. Why has he failed to make a meaningful impact in this match? At this stage, discussing the need to create chances for him feels a bit out of touch. What prevents him from just taking the ball outside the box and curling one in, much like Martinelli or Madueke managed? That is a fundamental movement he should absolutely have in his repertoire. Brugge is precisely the kind of opposition he would relish scoring against when playing for Sporting, but so far, the signs are genuinely disappointing.
Where’s Ethan?
It’s just never the case that a manager’s decisions are fully rational from one’s perspective. Most of the time, there’s this nagging issue one keeps searching for answers to, only to fail to get good ones, and this time, it was all about Nwaneri.
Splitting the minutes, 45/45 with Odegaard, to manage the skipper’s fitness? It sounded plausible, but it never materialised. Bringing him on after going 2-0 up? No, too soon. After 3-0? Even after the Brugge defender brutally shoulder-checked Odegaard to avoid a serious knock? No, no, and still no. It was Calafiori and Jesus who took to the pitch, yet Ethan continued his warm-up. I was thoroughly frustrated. He was only finally allowed to enter the fray in the 75th minute.
And, predictably, he made the most of his limited time, looking sharp and exciting, even managing two decent shots in added time that forced the goalkeeper into proper stretches.
He probably should have slipped the ball to Saka, but he was desperate to bag a goal himself. And who can blame the lad? What alternative does he have when his manager restricts him to just 15 minutes a month?
Perhaps I’m overthinking it, but it looked as if Ethan had lost a bit of the spark in his eyes. I understand the competition is fierce, but that was precisely the kind of game where he should have been shining. My fixation on Ethan isn’t without cause. I’m neither English nor from London, so I don’t share the same inherent “homegrown bias” that many Arsenal supporters possess. Naturally, they get overly excited about every new Hale Ender, convinced he might be the next coming of Dennis Bergkamp. I’d likely be the same, but I happen to observe things from a measurable distance.
I was never particularly convinced by Nketiah (due to his obvious lack of the requisite skills for this level) or by Nelson (who seemed like the archetypal skilful, dribbling winger lacking the final product). I realised that Smith-Rowe doesn’t possess the necessary strength in possession-based football; he is, fundamentally, a counter-attacking player. That explains why he thrived when Arsenal was struggling and often relied on quick breaks, and why Fulham could be the ideal type of destination for him.
There are many promising youngsters who look brilliant at their level but genuinely struggle when transitioning to the senior team. However, there are a few academy players I found truly exceptional when I saw them with the first team: Jack Wilshere, Bukayo Saka, and now, Ethan Nwaneri. Myles Lewis-Skelly, for instance, has a phenomenal mentality for his age, but I’m not yet convinced his raw skill is at the required standard. But Ethan, like the other two mentioned, possesses that rare ability to keep the ball glued to his feet against experienced, brutal senior opponents. He doesn’t get easily shrugged off the ball, nor is he physically dominated despite his slight build. He can maintain possession against serious opposition, and that, fundamentally, is the bedrock upon which a senior player can be built. Passing, vision, awareness, tactical knowledge, defensive capabilities—all these can be developed on top, provided he has the foundational skills to hold his own on the pitch. If he were constantly losing the ball, it would be a non-starter. But he retains it, and in addition to that, he has this genuinely abrupt movement that allows him to glide past defenders.
And that’s why I scrutinise his minutes so intensely and find this sequence of events so frustratingly painful—I know there’s a special talent here, and I desperately don’t want us to lose this talent, much like City did with Cole Palmer.
Unvarnished summary
Norgaard was ever so composed and assured, which demonstrated that his experience means there is genuinely nothing to worry about; he is clearly a capable deputy. It is also excellent to have the opportunity to explore other options in defence, as none of our other centre-backs seem to be rushing back onto the pitch.
Gabriel Jesus appeared far more electrifying than Gyokeres, even rattling the crossbar during one of his efforts. Now, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, and readers should heed my caution: we simply cannot rely on Jesus as a consistent option. His fitness and form are miles off being stable, and banking on him is just setting yourself up for disappointment down the line.
That being said, given the general lack of output we’ve witnessed from Gyokeres, Jesus certainly looks like the man who can carry us for a bit, at least until Havertz regains his best form. I would certainly back him more when we are desperate to unpick a deep-sitting defence, and having a truly different option at number nine could be highly beneficial. We are hardly in a position to be choosy right now, are we?
We now find ourselves sitting on 18 points from a possible 18, with two matches still to play. Considering Kairat are surely one of the weakest sides in the group stage, and we are facing them at home, we should comfortably pocket all three points, even with our second-best eleven. This haul would push us up to 21 points, and looking closely at the table, only Bayern can potentially match that tally.
So, in practical terms, whatever the outcome at the San Siro, we are guaranteed a spot in the top two. And that, my friends, secures us the home-leg advantage for the knockout stages all the way up to the final, which is honestly the most we could ever have dreamt of. Furthermore, this result means we can afford to deprioritise the Inter match and only start those players who are genuinely screaming out for minutes.
Man City, rather surprisingly, fielded both Haaland and Foden for the full 70 minutes. I would venture that this might cost them a bit of zip and freshness against Palace. If not the fact that Palace were playing in the Conference League a day later, where they only rotated their full-backs and Mateta. So, a smaller squad with a day less recovery? Don’t hold your breath for much excitement for this one...
We absolutely must concentrate on our own performances—we need to rediscover our winning ways in the league, and Wolves represent our first stride towards glory. The team languishing at the bottom of the table is coming to visit the league leaders. This kind of billing always reeks of a classic bit of “Premier League drama.” That’s why I want us to take this opponent, despite their lowly position, with the utmost seriousness right from the first whistle. The gulf in quality between the two sides is so vast that we ought to have the game sewn up well before half-time. Manchester United managed to put four past them, so we should certainly be capable of matching that, at the very least.
The only potential spanner in the works is that Wolves now have a new gaffer in Rob Edwards, who we are familiar with from his time managing Luton Town. If you’ve been keeping track, Arsenal boasts a rather impressive run of not conceding more than two goals in a single match for over two years now. The last time we did concede three was against... Rob Edwards and his Luton Town in that ridiculous 3-4 thriller. This man clearly knows a thing or two about setting up an attacking outfit, so we need to ensure we pierce their defence first.
I am really holding out hope that Rice will be fit and ready to go for the Wolves fixture. It’s high time to give Zubimendi a rest on the bench, and it presents a fantastic chance to unleash the exciting Eze, Rice, and Odegaard attacking midfield trio. Odegaard is still dropping deep, fulfilling Zubimendi’s role, and with Rice’s ability to eat up the ground and Eze’s genuine threat from the edge of the box, we could unlock a truly devastating beast of a team. The only real question is who is going to man the defence. It looks like it will be MLS and Hincapie on the left side of the pitch (Calafiori has accumulated one too many yellow cards, and this is one of the most sensible games for him to sit out) and then a scramble to find whoever is available on the right. Will it be Saliba, fresh off his injury? Timber, recovering from a minor knock? White, having just played three full matches on the bounce? Or Norgaard? It seems we will be assembling that part of the line-up together at the eleventh hour, but hopefully, we have enough available components to make it work.
I would also be extremely keen to see Kepa get the full ninety minutes under his belt. Perhaps Arteta is waiting for Saliba to return before making this kind of switch, but I genuinely worry about goalkeepers who are just warming the bench week after week without any sign of an opportunity. That’s all for now, and I wish you a simply brilliant Saturday evening!