Burnley - on the bus. The clean sheet factory
Another boring victory and another boring clean sheet for the Arsenal football club that puts us 6 boring points ahead of Man City in second.
The Belgian Hulk
I recently stumbled upon Gabriel’s “teammates interview” on YouTube, and to my surprise, when asked “Which teammate is the gym beast?”, Gabriel promptly replied “Havertz”, before a brief pause and adding, “And Trossard. His shoulder is like two of my arms put together.” I’d never have thought of Trossard as the top gym enthusiast, but now we have irrefutable confirmation.
The “Belgian Hulk” didn’t keep the fans waiting long before putting his colossal shoulders to the test against Kyle Walker. Now, Walker is a player I truly can’t stand. He’s one of the few I genuinely don’t wish well in his career. There are some players who are incredibly irritating to play against, yet you respect them because you fully grasp why they do what they do and how invaluable they are to their team—like Rodri, Cucurella, or Harry Kane.
Walker, on the other hand, is simply a thug, perpetually seeking ways to injure or provoke opponents, and when he fails, he resorts to unstoppable moaning. Leo Trossard didn’t flinch from this aggression; in fact, he delivered a stirring team talk at the start of the second half, something I hadn’t expected from the usually moody Belgian. Ultimately, his answer to all of Walker’s dirty tricks was a pinpoint assist directly onto Declan Rice’s head.
Declan’s Arsenal
Declan Rice had yet another magnificent performance. He was omnipresent—making tackles, carrying the ball, whipping crosses into the box from set pieces, and ultimately converting a cross to seal the game. Given our reliance on set pieces, Rice is actually our most consistent contributor in terms of goals and assists.
If there’s one player who truly embodies the spirit of the current Arsenal team, it’s Declan Rice. His readiness to cover vast swathes of the pitch, his ability to seamlessly transition between attack and defence, his brilliant set-piece routine, and those occasional world-class attacking moments (like those Real Madrid free kicks). He’s the one who prioritises mastering all-round aspects of football, rather than excelling at just one solitary skill. This is Declan’s Arsenal. In Wenger’s later years, Arteta personified the Arsenal style. Now, under Mikel, it’s Declan, incidentally the club’s most expensive acquisition of all time.
Another boring goal
Our other scorer of the night is a regular recipient of the pundit attention, despite not even making him one of the top five most expensive purchases for the club, according to Transfermarkt.
Viktor has, once again, delivered a proper working goal – not exactly a stunner or a highlight reel moment, but a testament to his consistent effort the pitch. It’s a goal born from simply being in the right place at the right time. With this rate of scrappy finishes, Gyokeres is confidently heading towards a twenty-goal season, which is by no means a poor return.
In my preview, I shared my thoughts on his contribution to our results, and this game only solidified that view. After Merino came on at half-time, we looked far less threatening, and suddenly, the Burnley defenders appeared to have enough time to provide cover, thwart Saka and Trossard, and even instigate their own attacks. Merino just isn’t cutting it for me as a number nine. Following an initial period of surprise, Premier League defenders have adapted to him, and he no longer poses any real problems to them. Generally speaking, Viktor’s early substitution on Saturday and the 17-year-old striker starting on Wednesday likely point to his ongoing fitness concerns and the risk of injury. Today, this suspicion was confirmed, with Gyokeres seemingly absent from training. Kai Havertz simply cannot return soon enough!
Anything noteworthy happen in the second half?
Not much, to be honest.
Burnley’s players, disheartened by their inability to carve out a decent chance, resorted to falling over and complaining to the referee at every opportunity, which, to some extent, proved effective. They were awarded several very soft free-kicks.
Ethan Nwaneri got a solid twenty minutes against Premier League opposition, and I must say, I liked what I saw. When he’s surrounded by quality first-team players, he finds enough space to unleash his explosive runs and backs himself to grab a goal. He absolutely should start against Slavia; it’s high time Eze had a well-deserved rest.
Hincapie also got his chance on the left side of defence. I don’t think he has a particularly good understanding with his teammates yet, but that will surely come. It’s quite astonishing how, just a year ago, after years of trying to nail down the left-back position, we had no one the fanbase was truly convinced by. Now, we boast three genuinely solid options there: the Italian Stallion, the MMM (Mentality Monster Myles), and now the Ecuadorian Devil. The latter nickname is still a work in progress, but when he’s focused, Hincapie certainly has a lot of similarities.
With Timber, who deservedly scooped the Premier League Player of the Month award, absolutely terrifying opponents on the right flank, we now have an utterly pants-scaring absolute unit of a defence. A unit that managed to bag yet another clean sheet, although Burnley came perilously close to spoiling it with the very last free-kick of the game. Despite all his undeniable strengths, David Raya isn’t exactly the most convincing during free-kicks, but that, my friends, is a topic for another day.
Up next, an away trip to Slavia Prague, and I’m anticipating a bit of a lineup shuffle after the last two fixtures. Merino should be leading the line at number 9, with Norgaard featuring in the midfield. Ethan and Myles are also likely to feature, with perhaps one or two other tweaks to the squad that faced Burnley. Regardless of who comes in, the lads should have enough quality to bag all three points, allowing us to fully shift our focus to what promises to be a far more challenging weekend encounter.