The way you make me feel (Positives Needs & Hopes) [ARS 4-1 NEW]

The way you make me feel

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

Do Arsenal turn me on? In a way, I suppose. A different way.

Knock me off of my feet? More like get me up from my cosy corner, but sure.

Are my lonely days gone? Well, they probably are. I certainly feel like I’m in the Arsenal family after I write a post because many of you contact me.

A-cha-ooooo. More like, ‘YESSSSSS,, what a finish!!!!’

So, how do Arsenal make me feel? Well, that’s really only important to me. I suppose the answer right now is ‘belief.’ There are lots of words though. More importantly, how do they make opponents feel? That’s actually more important because that has a greater impact on the result and then how I feel comes next. I’d say that the Arsenal that just dismissed Newcastle makes our opponents feel ‘overwhelmed.’ They show up whether they are home or away and get suffocated to the point where they must feel strangled. Unable to play. Unable to show who they are. Almost like they want us to desperately notice that they are at least able to run and chase for 96 minutes, but that’s all.

Football looks so complicated when you try to figure out what Arteta is doing but it can be so very simple if explained well. You prepare all these details but then give one instruction that sticks in the mind and can be the common denominator to so many other things going well for you. Simply remind the players to make every action difficult for them.

They say that you can’t replicate the game in training and that has some truth. It would be hard to find a way to replicate the pressure of expectation that the event gives and 60,000 remind you of for 96 minutes. So the players can be caught out. Their midweek repetitions can be rattled by the simple difference in training drills and games and the reality of the experience when their blood pressure is elevated by the event. If you can get your players to play with such high energy and intent then you can win on this alone. I’m sure Lewis Miley is a very good player but don’t watch that game to evaluate him. Bruno G. has started for Brazil so he’s obviously good but you wouldn’t know it watching the cheeky weasel play at The Emirates. Isak might be an option in the summer for Arsenal but Havertz looked twice the player.

Of all that Arsenal do well perhaps the thing that we do best is play with such such energy and intent. I think Newcastle were simply overwhelmed. Arsenal, City and Liverpool have all figured out that if you make playing them so mentally difficult, because you are willing to do the least fun part of the game with such consistency for the vast majority of the game, that subconsciously opponents somewhat give up. Mentally give up. As if opponents like Newcastle think ‘running, sprinting, chasing is the least fun part and the thing I’d really like to do the least, yet these boys seem to absolutely love it. I wonder how much they must love the fun part?’

There are two very current examples of how this energy and intent can be such a catalyst. Arsenal vs Newcastle VS Porto vs Arsenal. Also, Arsenal utterly suffocating and dominating Newcastle for 70 mins, going 4-0 up and the Arsenal in the last 20 minutes that actually let Newcastle experience the feeling of touching the football.

My daughter EllieAnn, was at the game. She said it was rocking. The Emirates doesn’t rock when it’s nervous and feeling overwhelmed itself. If Arsenal keep this up then when games aren’t so easy, they will be won by the crowd. They have such appreciation and belief in this team and will provide the necessary energy to recharge our players.

Arsenal have struck gold with this ability to overwhelm. I think my belief is more connected to the electricity provided by this energy than anything else that we are doing.

I think Michael Jackson is actually a good analogy. He made people feel differently because of his energy. He was comfortably number one in his field because he accessed the same source.

POSITIVES

Loris Karius

Just wanted to start by saying that he impressed me. I don’t dislike Liverpool like I do others. I think because the feel of the club seems so raw and real. I’d love to be able to tell Karius how well he played because I’m not sure if I can think of a player that so obviously caused so many peoples dreams to be shattered when he let two go through his hands in the CL final. I don’t think we will ever be able to fully understand how that must feel when you are so obviously responsible in such a big game. Kudos to Karius.

Willock

Whilst I’m being a nice guy, Joe Willock’s goal was very creative and technically difficult. I don’t understand why he hasn’t been used more, injuries aside. He’s so fast and hard to pick up with his late runs. He attacks the holes in the box very well.

Positioning

Watch Arsenal off the ball when we have the ball. One of the hardest bad habits to change in a player is getting them to not watch the game that they are playing. You can’t play for this version of Arsenal if you do. Our standards are higher and compared to football 20, 30, 40 years ago, you can’t just rest and relax if you are playing for a top coach. You are ALWAYS supposed to be doing something. Always. You can see the benefits of it when Newcastle had the ball (rare occasion) too. I’m sitting here rewatching the game and just saw Arsenal hit a long ball into the box. Saka doesn’t watch it. He senses opportunity and positions himself where he thinks the second ball will land. Botman heads it straight to Saka.

Ball movement

Another sign of a team overwhelming and becoming unplayable is accurate one touch. We are starting to use it most in the final third. The tempo goes up as the ball enters the final third and Havertz and Odegaard in particular are starting to pop it off quicker and creating big problems for the most organized deep blocks. One touch can make you dizzy. It takes away the opportunity to do more than one thing as a defender. You don’t have time to do more than watch the ball and can easily lose runners.

Touches and decisions

I am acutely aware of the importance of always keeping the ball away from pressure. I teach it every week. Trying to get kids, and especially parents, to realize that football is a four directional game is really hard. It’s as if you are rocking their world. They have always been taught to take the ball ‘that way.’ “That’s the way we are going.” It’s not actually. Football stripped to it’s basic instruction is ‘ keep the ball away from them and eventually you’ll find yourself with a chance to score.’ I told Max’s club team on Saturday that “you are 14 years old. You won’t forget which goal you are trying to score in or that when you get there you need to kick it in this gaol. You might forget to play keep away though. Be patient. Don’t think you are going ‘that way.’ Go the way the ball needs to go in order to stop them from touching it.” You’d be surprised that even professional players don’t think this way. Only the best players seem to fully get it. Watch Arsenal and Saka in particular. Watch every touch. It’s always with the priority of keeping the ball away from the opponents feet.

The decision making at Arsenal is unbelievably good. Again, how many times do Arsenal players pass it to the wrong man? The best way to fully appreciate it is to go and play yourself. Five-a-side, eleven- a-side. It’s really hard. Absolutely nothing like how it looks on TV or in the ground. Sitting or standing still with a panoramic view is almost literally the opposite of running around with limited vision.

Set up to fail

More often than not, Arsenal’s defensive strategy is to give the opponent the space behind us. That’s intentional. We want them to play it there because our GK has elite positioning and composure. The gulf of space looks large but it’s small. By the time the ball arrives in the space they’ve sent it to the defenders have covered 10 more yards and the GK has also covered 10 yards at least, so the space that looked like a 20 yard island has now been swallowed up. It doesn’t hurt when your centre backs can’t be out run either.

Jorginho

I think that Jorginho’s form is directly linked to Arsenal’s current club atmosphere and prospects. I think that he wants another 2 year contract. I think he realizes that this will be the best team he can play for at this stage of his career and his best chance of more titles. I think his boldness in passing forward more and more is linked to this. You can’t just be press resistant to play here. You have to be a difference maker to make the club see you as indispensable. He might just get more contracts because of his experience and influence but that doesn’t necessarily get him on the pitch (see Elneny). Think of the best players that have played the game. Only Ronaldo looks like Ronaldo. The rest of them look more like everyday people. Messi, Cruyff, Xavi, Modric, Odegaard, Iniesta, David Villa. The two best players over here in the MLS (beside the Inter Miami crew), are Almada and Acosta and my Auntie Ruth looks more intimidating than them. Jorginho, this crew and others prove that there is so much more to football then meets the initial eye check.

Havertz goal

That goal was one of my favourite of the season and one of the most important too. As I’ve said way too many times, Arsenal need to score simple goals too. I was surprised when that went in because it’s so rare that we score this type.

Roving White, roving Saka

Ben White played more as an inside right forward than a right back. My prediction is that he will score a few in the run in. He seems to see the holes that Saka leaves him. Talking of Saka, it was fascinating to see him playing centrally on many occasions. This offers another dimension as we don’t really have a player penetrating from central areas. He has played all over the pitch in his short career and excelled everywhere. No doubt he will be as effective centrally. What it certainly will do is add more free kicks in central areas which is one of the few areas that we don’t specialize in.

Three 10’s

We are floating three players in front of their back four now. I think it’s a long term tactic that will eventually end in our wingers running behind as the defenders will get sucked in to pressure the 10’s. Martinelli in particular makes these runs and he is probably our best finisher.

NEEDS

Howe and Tindall

I have an irrational irritation of Eddie Howe and a much larger dislike for the wannabe who stands next to him. I think the Howe thing is based on his mouth. It doesn’t look real. It just looks like a slit, a gap in his face. this really shouldn’t bother me to the point that I put it in my blog. My issue. I’m more than happy to share my Tindall dislike any and every time I can. Firstly, isn’t there a rule where only one coach can be in the technical area? Someone tell Jason, please. I loved finding this picture. I am smiling as I think of the possibilities of what Havertz has said to him.

White, Rice

A couple of player improvements…. Ben White is beatable 1 on 1 because he doesn’t move his feet fast enough. This is his weakness. Rice inside the box is not the same as outside the box. You can see that he is not totally comfortable inside. For a player as good as he is, this will just take time and practice.

HOPES

Biereth

He can’t stop scoring. I wonder…

ESR

When he finally scores the stadium will erupt and so will his head. He is a wonderful sub/rotation option. Top quality on our bench is our next transfer window goal. Nobody would complain if our starting eleven in August came from our current squad. We just need similar quality on the bench. This also puts pressure on players like Vieira to step up and show that they can be a part of a bench that looks like the pitch. Whoever these new signings will be, they must be not only very encouraged by how our club is playing and competing, but the age profile which offers the potential of future success too.

Coach Max

Max has been telling me for a few years that Nico Schlotterbeck at Dortmund is good enough to back up our centre backs. He mentioned yesterday that he could even be a left back option. In the new world of four centre backs in a back four, much like we have currently, I can see it.

FINAL THOUGHT

Arsenal don’t have a great record of picking the best stadium music. The Elvis track was bizarre. Now the new post victory ‘Volulez Vous’ by Abba is an interesting selection. After much research I’m thinking that we need to keep the song but play the instrumental version. Here is the meaning (apparently)… This song’s basically about going to clubs and agreeing to having one-night-stands with no emotional attachment. “Voulez-vous” loosely means “Do you want to?” 

I hope my son isn’t reading this.

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.