Southampton - on the bus. Symbolism everywhere
The game that was supposed to be formality, but was filled with symbols and ironies instead.
Calafiori missing
The first symbol was Calafiori getting injured for the 37th time this season before the game he was definitely supposed to start. Riccardo has started only 8 games in the Premier League this season. Only 8 out of 38. This player was our most expensive signing last summer. Don’t get me wrong - I love his passion, I love his energy, I love his bravery and character, but in terms of squad building this was a big mistake. When the club planned to spend limited resources,
splashing that cash on a position we're already drowning in (and don’t plan to sell one of the options for a good price) doesn’t feel right.
And now with the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ricky, who was bought for over 40mln is not even a starter for next season in any position. Rotation at left-back or left centre-back when he's not on the treatment table, apparently. And yes, on one hand we need rotation options, on the other hand we are most probably letting one of them go for cheap.
Last game for Zinchenko?
Olexandr Zinchenko was given a rare start in the team and he again demonstrated what he can bring to the team. He has that rare ability to find a teammate with a sharp precise pass, which not many possess in the squad. Some of our players have already forgotten how to utilize such passes in one touch without giving the opposition half an hour to set themselves. Despise playing at left back, he got on the end of several our attackers and was very extremely to write his name on the scoresheet as well. It’s such a shame Arteta's got him on the periphery these days.
Yes, I know he’s not an ideal player, he can dwell on the ball a bit too long sometimes. I know he’s also not the best against powerful wingers. However, first of all, the defensive criticism he gets is not justified. He had a couple of bad performances against Salah (who didn’t?) and Aston Villa last year and since then he’s widely regarded as “defensive liability”. When we already have Myles available to come in and close up those dangerous wingers, Zinchenko becomes a great option against mid and low blocks, which happens in more than 50% of our Premier League games. And he's shown this season he can do a job in midfield to. Most importantly, I can guarantee that for twenty million quid that we can get for him (at most), we will never be able to sign a better rotation option with the understanding of Arteta’s demands.
I am not suggesting that he is a better player than Myles. Myles has the vision, has bravery, has physical strength, has the ability to protect the ball in possession, can drive with the ball forward. He is one of our most complete players and complete players should be deployed in midfield and not waste their talent on the wing. Our other most complete player is Declan Rice and look how it played throughout the last two years - impressive defensive work, decisive goals and strong captain vibes (with the first taste of the armband on Sunday). Just imagine how powerful and impenetrable our midfield would look if we Rice and Lewis-Skelly paired up together there. At least for some share of games across the season.
However, it is not the way Arteta sees it and it again looked very cinematic when Myles took Zinny’s spot on the pitch in Southampton, the same way he took it in the team roster.
Nwaneri at number 10
Ethan Nwaneri finally got his chance to play from the start, surprisingly at number 10 again. And he demonstrated all the difference there’s between him and Martin Odegaard. He’s not distributing the ball as effectively and quickly as Martin, he’s not running around as much as Martin. But he has something else to show for it.
In the first half he dribbled past two in the Southampton box on the tightest of spaces and created a great chance for Sterling that was, of course, wasted. Why Sterling's still getting a starting spot is beyond me. I couldn’t even imagine how bad this guy will be for us in September. I couldn’t even imagine that he won’t create a single memorable moment in the whole season.
In the second half Nwaneri was constantly trying to get himself into a good shooting position on the edge of the box. He has the rare ability of getting a shot off without any backlift. I can’t help, but think that since we have Declan Rice that can at times do the legwork of two midfielders, we should have space in the team for a more creative number 10 with less defensive prowess, which Ethan actually is. And looking into the next season this is the path we should be exploring, either internally with Ethan or externally if Nwaneri is expected to play at right winger position.
Symbolically, as everything was in this game - all of Ethan's attempts were blocked, while Odegaard, who replaced him, scored a winner with a rare powerful shot from outside of the box. The biggest irony of it all - Odegaard almost never tries those shots in the crucial matches, but sticks a screamer in when it doesn't matter.
Dosing minutes to the bench
Now, despite seeing a few fresh faces getting a run out from the start – Zinchenko, Nwaneri and Tierney – none of them even saw out the 70 minutes. This was such a great testament to Arteta’s habits when it comes to distributing minutes. Was there really a need to see Myles on the pitch on Sunday? Couldn’t we see either Zinny or Tierney play a full 90 minutes? Fair enough bringing on Odegaard and Saka when we needed a goal, but that substitution just felt like Arteta sticking to his usual routine.
Truth be told, if you're not quite in Arteta’s golden circle, you can pretty much bank on getting:
Less than 5 minutes in important game that requires a result
Less than 20 minutes in an important that has a result secured
Less than 70 minutes otherwise.
And that’s exactly where Zinchenko, Nwaneri, and Tierney have found themselves recently. Nwaneri, who scored 9 goals this year. Zinchenko, who was a vital part of our two previous second place campaigns. Tierney, who was always 100% professional every time he was called upon and who is still the only player to deliver pinpoint powerful crosses directly on the teammate’s leg or head.
This makes it extremely hard for me to believe that even if we recruit 3-4 new players, Arteta will suddenly become a rotation enthusiast next season.
Clean sheet lost from a set piece
Southampton's goal has also felt rather telling. While we were pretty vocal about using set pieces in our favour for the majority of the season, we have conceded a biggest percentage of goals from set pieces.
The team on the very bottom of PL table was no exception. I know that we have had a very experimental defence and our tallest trees were not in the garden, but it just about sums up our season, doesn't it?
Thankfully, that goal didn’t cost Raya the Golden Glove, as Forest went and conceded at the exact same minute.
Disappointing final day
In general, the last supposedly spicy gameweek was pretty disappointing. Despite the drama unfolding in some of the games, all the favorites have claimed their Champions League spot in the end. And while Forest have been in decline since April already (and I expected that they would lose to Chelsea, despite playing at the home ground), Aston Villa and Newcastle that were recently on an upwards trajectory, have put in pretty disappointing performances.
Newcastle was on the full track to fall out of TOP-5 after they couldn’t even secure a tiny teeny point against Everton at home. And Villa was pretty much dominated by Man United for the whole game. I know there’s another scandal about the PGMOL decision that denied Villa a goal. However, seeing how events unfolded in the game before that, I would bet on Man United equalizing in the last 15 minutes, rather than Villa keeping their lead.
Aston Villa was really toothless, not in the least, because of one of the dumbest fouls I’ve seen that was carefully executed by Emi Martinez. Sometimes you can’t even explain what happens in a person's head. Was he even aware of Hojlund’s record of 4 goals in 32 games in the league? I bet a red carpet together with some orchestra would be a better defence mechanism than pushing him on the ground.
What I did notice as well is that Martinez had the exact same jersey as David Raya. With the amount of money these companies earn and the amount of hype they create around the new kit, couldn’t they at least not launch the identical ones for the teams competing in the same league?
I thought that Adidas was flirting with the idea of the Raya-Garcia Arsenal goalkeeper duo next season with those Spanish flag-esque red stripes on a yellow background. But apparently it was just one of the several “templates” that was offered to Arsenal and a couple of other teams. How are goalkeeper fans supposed to get excited about the new kit if you need a magnifying glass to tell them apart?
Expectation Checklist
Despite my initial reservations about the game, the coaching staff has fulfilled most of my pre-match expectations:
Odegaard benched and another option at number 10 - ✅
Ethan start and play at least 70 minutes - ✅
Myles playing number six - ❌
Calafiori-Kiwior CB partnership - Didn’t happen for a reason
Zinchenko starting - ✅
More shots from outside of the box - ✅
Players taking more responsibility when finishing the chances - ✅
Attempt to reach the opponent’s box in 3-4 passes - ❌
That last point should be addressed over the course of next season to unlock our ability to score more than one goal in a game. We can’t continue giving our opponents comfortable time to get back anymore.
A perfect farewell
The sweetest piece of the day I’ve left for the desert. Tierney scoring on his last match with his right foot, when starting at a centre back? There couldn’t have been a better script by a cutting edge Generative AI model. I guess, if there exists a strong positive energy connection between a player and the fans, something really special is truly bound to happen at the player's last game. It’s an invisible force that got the ball to Tierney’s foot and bounced it further into the net. It was so heartwarming to see Kieran himself extremely happy and adored by his teammates.
In later Emery/early Arteta days Kieran Tierney was a light of hope for professionalism, humility, and giving absolutely everything on the pitch. This current squad has evolved in technical ability and has multiple players with the same important qualities. You did your job, Kieran, you guided us, heartbroken Arsenal fans, through the dark and hopeless tunnel and we will be forever grateful to you for that! You, as no one else, deserve to see your name light up on one last score sheet!
If you enjoyed the post, please like or let me know your feedback in the comments. I will be posting thoughts about the overall season over the next few weeks.