Kairat - on the bus. The flying German
Arsenal complete the Champions League group stage firmly on top of the table.
The line-up for the Kairat match was a proper litmus test for Mikel Arteta. We all wanted to see one thing: had the boss lost his nerve, or was he composed enough to keep his cool and make the rational call? Thankfully, it was the latter. Every single player who started on Wednesday was left on the bench or even near the bench for the clash against Man United.
I’m still not quite used to the fact that we can rotate and roll out a second XI where none of the names actually raise an eyebrow. I can see the logic in putting on the bench the likes of Hincapie, Odegaard, and Jesus—none of whom have had much joy lately—but I’m still scratching my head over why Saka or Gabriel were even on the bench. Given the pitch was already full of senior pros with plenty more in reserve, it felt a bit unnecessary.
The selection meant another look at a system featuring a lone holding midfielder in Norgaard, with Kai Havertz acting as a floating second striker. In this shape, Arsenal look far more adventurous, creative, and—dare I say it—fun to watch. Naturally, we’re a bit light at the back as a result, which explains the penalty conceded just seven minutes in. But it feels so much more alive watching this expressive version of the side. For better or worse, Arteta only seems to treat us to this brand of football in the secondary cups or against the “lesser” opposition.
The main draw for the fans was the return of the big German, and boy, did he deliver. Within three minutes, two crisp vertical passes found Kai drifting in front of a defensive five. Another direct ball found Gyokeres on the edge of the box, and the Swede rifled a rocket into the bottom corner. Aesthetically pleasing goal and a proper morale-booster.
Penalty aside, this XI kept asking all sorts of questions of the back line. Havertz glided into the box and got himself on the scoresheet with a lovely finish. By the 25th minute, an outrageous backheel from Norgaard found Havertz in space; he didn’t hesitate to fire a cross in for his boys Gyokeres and Martinelli, who were queuing up to tuck it away. 3-1 within the half-hour.
We had several chances to pull further away in the first half, but a collective lack of clinical edge kept the score down before the Havertz show drew to a close. I laughed hard at the following artwork found on the web.
His performance became the talk of the town. It’s not that he was doing things the others couldn’t, but he just felt different. Odegaard and Eze have looked a bit robotic of late—all those safe passes to pre-determined zones just to keep the stats up and follow the “probability” path.
But Kai was playing with freedom. He moved where he fancied, picked the passes he wanted, and actually looked like he was enjoying his football. Havertz was flying. It makes you wonder why there’s such a gulf between him and the regulars. He has the same manager, participates in the same training sessions and sits through the same tactical drills, yet he embodies the Arsenal we actually want to see. Not the “horseshoe” passing patterns, not the side that retreats into its own shell to defend a one-goal lead, and certainly not a team that survives on own goals and set pieces. This was the confident, inventive, and genuinely threatening Arsenal.
The only logical conclusion is that our regular starters—the “glorious captain” included—aren’t handling the pressure of the title race. Instead of radiating the authority of a team top of two major competitions, they’re projecting stress and rigidity. Arteta hasn’t quite managed to shoulder that burden for them or make them play with total belief. That’s exactly where the poor finishing and the goal drought stem from.
While Kai’s partnership with Gyokeres was a real highlight, I’m not letting myself dream of a full-blown comeback just yet. At this stage, we have to face facts: the medical team has properly failed either his surgery or the rehab. He’s been out of the picture for nearly a year, and even when he hasn’t, he’s managed only 45-minute cameos without the ability to string two games together. Something is seriously wrong there, and the optimism is wearing thin. It looks like his body simply isn’t reacting well to the game load, which is a massive worry compared to how others have bounced back from injuries, including the similar hamstring issues.
Anything except Kai?
The second half didn’t give us much to write home about. Gabriel Jesus came on but failed to leave his mark on the game; his goal, as tidy as it was, was chalked off for offside. Even against the basement boys of the Champions League table, Odegaard looked remarkably average.
Madueke, once again, showed just how ineffective his dribbling can be. Despite skipping past a couple of defenders into the box on five or six occasions, he didn’t actually manage to threaten the goal once in ninety minutes. The low point of his display came in stoppage time when, from only a few yards out, he managed to sky the ball into the path of a passing British Airways jet.
It’s starting to look like that goal against Bayern might be the absolute peak of Madueke’s Arsenal career. He grabbed that one because he was first to the ball and didn’t have time to overthink it—he just had to steer it home. But when he’s on the ball, driving into the area and actually has to make a decision, the move almost always fizzles out. It’s hard to stomach the fact that we could have had Ethan Nwaneri on that right wing providing cover for Saka, allowing us to invest that £50 million into a top-tier striker instead. I’m convinced Ethan would have five or more goals to his name by now. Unfortunately, he wasn’t allowed to help his new club on Wednesday, and Marseille crashed out of the Champions League entirely.
One player I did want to highlight is Christian Norgaard. His treatment this season has been baffling, to say the least. Deployed once again at the base of the midfield, he looked rock solid and even a bit cheeky. His vertical passing helped transition the play, but that backheel pre-assist for the third goal was pure Rio de Janeiro beach football.
Norgaard has been nothing if not reliable this term, and I simply can’t find a logical reason why Arteta only uses him for the “lesser” games. The active January transfer rumours about him become especially baffling considering Zubimendi and Rice are sitting first and third in the list of outfield players for total minutes played.
I don’t think active transfer talks are happening without the real possibility in the background. The best explanation I can offer that Arsenal will be ready to let him go if they manage sign a replacement more trustable by Arteta that they are currently in talks with. That said, it’s hard to believe there are many better options for 12 million that we paid for the Dane.
Apart from reliability he offers us a different tactical dimension. Norgaard has the physicality and awareness to anchor the midfield alone, combined with that eye for a vertical pass. With him in the side, we can actually afford to play with two attacking-minded midfielders rather than a double pivot. We might be more open, but it gives the team a new dynamic, the one that we sorely lacked against the likes of Forest recently.
We capped off the game with a last-minute conceded goal, but the big takeaway is finishing the campaign with a 100% record. That goes straight into the history books. I’m not sure the record will stand for long—Bayern managed seven wins from eight, with their only loss coming at the Emirates—but it feels good to be the first to do it. Ironically, Kairat’s result was the weakest of the campaign.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter now. We’ll face one of Dortmund, Olympiacos, Leverkusen, or Atalanta in the Last 16, though we won’t know the full bracket until the draw on 27th February. All the potential opponents are manageable, although Atalanta can be a handful, but then again, that’s the Champions League for you!
Back to the League
Now we turn our attention back to the Premier League, where the pressure is truly mounting. Despite that morale-boosting win, this trip to Elland Road will be anything but a walk in the park. Leeds have been in formidable form, losing only one of their last 10 league outings—a narrow 4-3 defeat away at Newcastle where the winner didn’t come until the 101st minute. Notably, that run included fixtures against Chelsea, Man United, and two clashes with Liverpool.
It’s clear this will be an even tougher nut to crack than Forest, who were blowing hot and cold under Dyche. We’ll need to roll up our sleeves, scrap for every half-chance, and remain switched on at the back. I want to see a far more aggressive display than what we’ve produced over the last three weeks. We need more verticality in our play and for the striker to be clinical when the ball falls to them in the box.
With regards to the number 10 role - frankly, I’ve seen enough of Odegaard for a bit. He looks completely out of sorts lately—no confidence, no spark, and zero inspiration for those around him. That saud, Eze hasn’t been much better. Despite a few decent balls against Kairat, he still looks a shadow of his former self. When did you last see him enjoy his football? When did you last see a smile, a shade of happiness on his face?
It’s been a long time, that’s for sure. However, I still feel that with Eze on the side, we at least offer some new problems to deal with. Teams have figured out “Odegaard-ball” after years of seeing the same patterns. A peak, fired-up Odegaard can be hard to handle, but the version we’ve seen these past two weeks is anything but.
We’re kicking off first this time around, and we simply can’t afford to drop points again. For one, it would signal that a proper crisis is starting to creep in. Secondly, those lot over at the Toilet Bowl aren’t exactly going to do us any favours!