On the bus after Brentford. Ethan makes a claim
The New Year has kicked off with a difficult, slightly ugly, and somewhat boring, but nonetheless victorious, match. I anticipate more of these games in the coming months - possibly as early as Saturday against Brighton.
The starting lineup was quite surprising, but also very exciting. Apparently, illness amongst many players reshaped the squad, and we saw Partey and Nwaneri starting the game. What a great decision that was!
The game began in the usual fashion: Arsenal maintaining possession, the opponent establishing a deep block, Arsenal moving the ball around the opponent's box trying to find openings. Brentford looked very calm and relaxed. It didn't take long for them to score the opener in the same calm manner.
Odegaard gave the ball away, and Raya let the ball slip into the near corner. Fifteen minutes later, Raya almost caused a second goal, but managed to spectacularly save his own mistake on the line. The stadium was booing David all game, and it's very understandable given his, frankly, disrespectful comments about the old club. I guess karma caught up with him on the familiar pitch.
It all looked like we were in for a very long and difficult evening, potentially dropping points, until we managed to pull out an equaliser. Partey, who was simply dominating the game in the first half, patiently waited for their clearing mistake and launched the ball into the goal, where Jesus didn't waste a single moment and was first to convert the rebound. After being rested with Ipswich Thomas had a monster of a game with Brentford.
It's hard to underestimate the importance of this equaliser. I was pretty sure that if the first half had ended 0-1, we would not have won this game. The team, in its current state, is not very exciting upfront and will have constant problems unlocking deep blocks. We need sharpness and explosiveness in the team, and in the current team with Saka absent, I only expect it from two players: Odegaard, if he finds his form, and Nwaneri.
The captain's performance was quite poor again - there were rumours about him being sick, but honestly, it's not the first game where he has looked quite pale. Yes, he finds teammates in the box with smart passes, but he's not tearing the defence apart with his movement and long dangerous shots. If he continues to play like this, we will be dropping more points in the future.
The Rise of Nwaneri
Nwaneri's performance, on the other hand, was very powerful. Even though Jesus scored that crucial equaliser, Nwaneri was the one who looked sharpest up front. His movement was quick, he dribbled past opponents effortlessly, hardly ever lost the ball, and stayed focused on the goal. He didn't try to overdo it by taking on too many defenders before shooting (I'm looking at you, Jesus).
I also noticed that he tried to take on Saka's responsibilities – taking left-side corners, crossing to the back post, switching positions with Martin, and dribbling his way into the box. I'd be very happy if this is the beginning of a long-term plan for him to cover for Saka on the right wing. As I've said before, he's the best we've got at breaking down those deep blocks.
The only issue I see is that Arteta doesn't seem to want to play both Nwaneri and MLS together. This is severely slowing down the development of both lads. I get the initial reasoning behind not having too many youngsters on the pitch, but they're not playing like kids anymore. They're playing like men – there's no headless running, no risky passes, no shying away from tackles. Arteta needs to rethink this and do what's best for the team in current position. But knowing how stubborn he can be, it'll probably only happen when we're already in trouble, rather than being a proactive change.
Individual performances
Gabriel Jesus scored a goal, moved around a lot, and pressed the opposition. You can't deny his effort and hard work. But he showed again that he's not a natural goal scorer. There was a moment in the first half where he dribbled past two defenders in the box and instead of shooting into the far corner, he dribbled past a third defender away from the goal. That's not the instinct we need from our number 9.
Martinelli, on the other hand, didn't have much luck getting past defenders but put the ball in the net like a proper striker. I wonder if we could try switching their positions. Make Martinelli the 9 and let Jesus dribble from the wing.
I also wanted to give a special mention to how good our three defenders have been. They stop the opponent's counter-attacks with such grace and power and have been crucial to our success. The only question mark was around Calafiori. Without those marauding runs into the box, he's not really making a strong case for the main left-back spot. Zinchenko is a better passer, and Lewis-Skelly looks like a more reliable defender. I'd start MLS against Brighton, but also Nwaneri, which seems unlikely right now.
Williams in?
I've seen a lot of buzz about signing Nico Williams in January. But let's be real, we've probably only got the budget for two big signings this year, and I'm not convinced Williams will make that much of a difference.
His stats for 2025? Two goals and five assists in over 20 games. Not exactly mind-blowing. A couple of strong performances in the Euros don't make you a world-class winger.
Brighton Line-up
Our biggest loss for the Brighton match is Timber, which means Partey will likely slot in at right-back and Rice as the holding midfielder. Given that Partey will occupy the midfield space, we need a left-back who'll bomb up and down the flank. Calafiori looks like the best option on paper, but Lewis-Skelly could also do a job – but not at the expense of Nwaneri. Ethan should be our first-choice right winger.
Let's get those three points against Brighton! And let’s remember - three points could be taken only through hard bloody work and high concentration!