Less Skyfall, more Goldfinger: which Bond is Arteta’s Arsenal this season? [EVE 0-1 ARS]

Less Skyfall, more Goldfinger

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

For most of us, James Bond has been around our whole lives. I grew up with Roger Moore. He was my favorite. Probably because he was simply James Bond to me. I think I somewhat resented Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton. I felt bad resenting Sean. Timothy, not so much.
Later down the road, Daniel Craig comes along. Like many I didn’t want to like him. His movies were too well written though. He was different, very different. He’d sweat where Roger Moore wouldn’t sweat after a car chase, rooftop run and destruction of multiple floral vendors.
After experiencing both I have a different view. Firstly, I’m ok with liking both Craig’s action style and Moore’s suave unflappable style.
Secondly, both styles ultimately work. I really like Goldfinger and I really like Skyfall.
Actually, I prefer Daniel Craig now and I prefer James Bond as an action man. So I end up watching both and try not to over-evaluate.

The main point that I want to make though is that turning James Bond into an action hero was done because moviegoers prefer Fast and Furious to Hugh Grant these days.

I see Arsenal in a similar way.

I prefer Arsenal of last season so far. I prefer Arsenal starting games as if it were a car chase. Like thunder. Getting the crowd energized. Scoring one or two in the first 30 minutes.
The trouble with that thought was that we expended a lot of energy and ran out of Red Bull in April.

Arteta has re-evaluated. I get the impression that he has decided that controlling games is the answer. Not necessarily winning 1-0 but being a little more cautious. Eliminating risk and therefore transitions. They will never be fully eliminated but you can cut them in half. Do you know how hard it is to play 94 minutes without one stupid pass? There has to be applause for that, surely?
Arsenal had become the team that conceded on the first shot. Getting into the bad habit of having to come from behind.  As we get further through the season, 1-0 will become 2-0/3-0 and sometimes more.

It might not be as entertaining but it is smart. It’s leaning into our strength. Only three teams in the league can possess to the point of death, Arsenal, City and Brighton. So do it. It works. City have proved that with at least one trophy every season. It is also smart that we are protecting our biggest weakness at the same time.

So, if I have to choose then do I want to be entertained in the short term and fall short in the long term or do I want to be a little less entertained in the short term but successful at the end of May?

Hopefully Arteta will be able to do both if he rotates well throughout the season. A lot more of the Daniel Craig and a little more of Moore.

POSITIVES:

* Declan Rice is getting better. I noticed against Everton that he is punching the ball more when he passes now. He’s understanding that he’s playing with players that can handle receiving a firmer pass. He is therefore breaking the lines where he may not have tried before. Also, Everton’s midfield is big, strong and athletic and he put them back in their mouse hole. We loved Patrick Vieira mainly because he could do everything. We saw Petit and Edu who were more human but this Vieira chap had a cape. Rice has the quality to get to this level and might not be far away. I’m going to start a new saying. “ If you understand Rice, then you understand football.” I’m gonna design an exam that you can take to see if you know football, and it will all be based on whether you notice the value that Declan Rice brings.

* Arteta had a good day. He set up the control. It quietened a notoriously intense crowd. It sucked the belief from the players and any ‘ it’s after the international break, let’s reset’ speech from Dyche the potato head. He’s going to be the first PL coach fired.

* If Arteta sticks with Vieira at left eight then I think we see his moments of quality becoming whole games. The Havertz experiment is largely to offer an aerial threat with a player comfortable in front of goal. I’m cool with that being part of Plan A, but equally cool if it’s Plan B when A isn’t working.

* After the game I was involved in deep discussion about Raya/Ramsdale after @Gunnerblog kindly referenced my early season thought that Arteta was going to evolve football by subbing keepers for tactical reasons. Many were saying that Raya has what Ramsdale has but adds calmness and a higher level of distribution. I’m not sure that is fair. He’s played one game and wasn’t tested beyond a few crosses. Ramsdale has proven that he can be a match winner. He has proven that you can rely on him when he’s largely bored in games where we are totally dominant. He has proven that he has made us feel more secure, and as part of our rise up the league. if Raya is equal in all of these things, then he wins. I think we have the new toy disease. I think it’s best to wait and see and not forget the bloody good goalkeeper Ramsdale has become. It’s also fair to recognize that Ramsdale isn’t exactly mediocre at distribution and offering composure. Having said all of that, sports at the highest level often come down to the mental side of the game, and if Raya makes his defenders feel calmer then this is huge.

* It’s nice to remember that Trossard has such quality in both feet. My best compliment for him is that if I am not watching the TV when Arsenal score and he is on the field, I assume that he was involved in the goal. Remembering that everything that we talk about is for nothing if you do not have top quality in and around the penalty area. He is reliable in an area of the game that other people find rather elusive.

* Saka has been a solid 7/10 this season. I’m encouraged that we aren’t having to rely on his normally higher level and still getting the points.

* Why are we taking so many short corners? Probably because we know where opponents will be and we have passing patterns designed to take advantage of this. Watch the goal again. You can tell that it was a pattern because it was quicker ball movement. Nothing else we did was this quick. Very clever.

* When I look at Odegaard I see a reflection. A reflection of where we should be in a few years. He represents youth and improvement at Arsenal and his and our levels could be frightening.

NEEDS:

* I suppose that it’s a natural human reaction to not want to be embarrassed the same way again. TAA nutmegged Zinchenko last season in that crucial Anfield game. I’ve heard him talk about it. He is now defending 1 v 1 with his legs too narrow in order to not have it happen again. The trouble is though that he is not holding an athletic position and giving himself the best chance to change direction quickly. Not being quick either, this could be an issue.

* Was Arteta’s post game comments about the GK situation a lot more revealing than normal? Seemed that way to me. Almost like he was upset at Ramsdale and wanted him to know that there were other times that he could’ve taken him off too. Ordinarily, Arteta wouldn’t reveal that as it can be interpreted as pointed. Just wondering.

* We need better communication at the back post when attacking. There were three occasions where the wrong player attacked the ball to score. It will keep happening as we are intentionally overloading there.

* One small Rice issue. He seems to panic when clearing the ball. Got to change this as he has been used to lumping it up the field being applauded at The London Stadium. There were a few times that he was under no pressure and could’ve passed it out.

* Saka can be too nice. He was fouled twice outside the box and didn’t go and stay down. I do admire this but staying on your feet gives the ref an excuse to not give a foul. Such a shame that this is why players dive.

HOPES:

* Getting the balance right in needing to win our first CL game and playing three games in a week will be fascinating. I wonder if we take the ‘Daniel Craig approach’ to PSV and try to win it early with our strongest team, then rotate. That would be my guess. I’m also wondering (hoping) that he pulls a surprise and starts Smith Rowe. A great opportunity to show confidence in him and an opportunity for a player that has never played in the CL to use this energy and trust to produce a performance.

* The first non-goal. Another mess. Either they got it wrong because they put the line on the defenders back rather than heel or the rule needs to be changed because the intent of the offside law wasn’t to prevent deflections leading to goals. What is more infuriating though is that it was apparently denied because the deflection wasn’t deliberate. Well, actually it sort of was. The Everton player deliberately tried to stop a square ball by blocking it. Should we now have an idiotic debate about what ‘deliberate’ is or simply give Wenger credit for his idea and have a ‘grey area’ that is 1 yard deep that you can be in? Again, offside was created to stop players taking advantage of a game that was becoming too easy to score, not players who ate one too many tapas dishes the night before then found out that their bottom had grown overnight by a millimeter and that they could be at greater risk of offside unless they learned the ‘Gabriel breathe in move.’

* Even though he could’ve been sent off for his late tackle on Saka, I like Mykolenko. Maybe one to keep an eye on in the future.

* Interestingly, the NLD could be a sliding doors moment for Spurs this season. Their coach is the best they’ve had since Pochettino and they are getting excited. The game will likely be more difficult than in the recent past. Popping their bubble will be lovely.

* I saw one of my favourite Arsenal fans yesterday. Donna Gregory is the Maria of the Knox Gooners. She is pictured here in the front with Max. Loyal and lovely.

FINAL THOUGHT:

They are still looking for a new James Bond. How about Mikel?

His wife is an actress and looks like a Bond girl.  Air pod Albert could easily be the villain.
They could call the next movie, ‘Death by an average of over 70% possession.’ Something punchy and memorable like that.
My daughter LivyLea, went to see Lana Del Ray in concert. She’s so social I bet she met her and got her number. I’ll get her to sing the theme song.

“Don’t doubt him
He’s fluorescein’
He’ll give you an object lesson
Then he’ll kill you with
Death by an average of over 70% possession”

I can hear you humming and putting an orchestra to it now.

My talent is endless. You’re welcome!

Mike McDonald

Former Highbury regular. Moved to TN, USA in ’99. Married with 3 kids. Coached in UK and US for 27 years.
Mike McDonald Soccer Academy in Morristown TN, Olympic Development coach, Regional Premier League Champion.