When the chips stood up – Arsenal v Porto – Positives, needs and hopes.

‘When the chips stood up’

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

Chips confuse me. They’d confuse you if you’d spent half your life in England and half in the States. I actually had a conversation the other day about why Cheetos and Wotsits are trying to be the same thing but because the US allows dodgy food dyes that aren’t allowed in the UK, Cheetos are neon orange. Then the conversation went to how McDonald’s fries are only good when they are fresh and “have you seen the video when the lady stored their McD’s fries in a box for 25 years and they hadn’t gone bad.” Sorry to spoil your lunch break.

I then realize that the phrase ‘when the chips are down’ is probably something to do with poker, but I’m not thinking of another title, so we are all going to pretend that chips are considered to being prone to nerves amongst their peers and are finding it tricky to stand up tall.

We have not seen what we saw on Tuesday this season. We have very rarely played poorly. I can think of Porto away and Fulham away. When we were poor, we were largely all below the level. The rest of the season has been games where all of our players have been 7/10 at least and many have risen far above that. Tuesday was different. The majority were 5 or 6/10 by their standards. There was however 5 players that rose above this and were 8 or 9/10. They are really the reason why we are in the quarter finals. That’s very un-Arsenal like and will have to change if we are to get to the semi finals. Sorry for the reality check but if we are honest, that wasn’t good enough and we are capable of making ties like that one look like small fry. Or is it small chip?

The 5 players that I thought stood up to the occasion and played to their usual level were Raya, Gabriel, Kiwior, Odegaard and Havertz.

Raya

I haven’t watched much of Unai Simon but he is going to have to be playing with flames emanating from his head to keep Raya out of the Spain team. I love serious players. That adjective is probably the best one to describe the change at Arsenal. He is consistently 8/10 and to my memory he was faultless on Tuesday. Didn’t have much to do but did everything perfectly. The fact that he was critical of himself for not saving their 3rd PK shows his standard. If everyone plays to this level then we have a decent chance of winning the whole thing. Check out this picture…

Gabriel

You may not have noticed how good he was but his consistent performance seemed to steady Saliba who seemed nervy in the first half. Every team that has won a big trophy has multiple players that you look at that make you say, ‘they won because they had that guy. He was a winner.’ That is Gabriel. All day.

Kiwior

All my talk of nerves and under performing is fair but somewhat expected on a big night that most had never experienced. Kiwior would be one of those. I understood the time that Conceicao beat him but considering that he was their danger man who looked most likely, Kiwior shut him down for 90 of those 120 minutes. His performances are reminding me of Ake at City. His defending when Conceicao went 3 on 3 in the 68th minute was so very impressive. They were looking at a left back to replace Cancelo until Ake raised his level, leading to them getting a CB who could possibly play LB in Gvardiol instead. I wonder if we do the same in the summer and we see Kiwior starting in August and a new CB on the bench?

Odegaard

There you are. You’re at a coaching symposium. The topic is leadership. You are trying to make the point that leadership isn’t just Braveheart. You are not getting much agreement from the floor who still say they would prefer Mel Gibson and a make up artist. Then you put on the Arsenal v Porto game and direct eyes towards the pretty blonde chap. He collapses on the turf at the end and the floor rises in applause for Odegaard. No words are needed beyond ‘actions are always better than words.’ When others decided that one leg had fallen off, Odegaard kept pressing. At full speed. He was also responsible for raising the crowd every time they got nervy.

Odegaard is all about details. His details are better than the vast majority. Watch his assist again. He deliberately shifts the ball one more touch to his left in order to move the defender enough to create the gap for the sublime pass.

This may be a little harsh as players like Jorginho, Trossard and White were good but here is the thing….. ‘pretty good’ isn’t enough to win the PL as 78 points gets you 4th, not 1st. ‘Good’ in the CL might get us past Dortmund or PSV but not the others. It’s also not our level and that’s ok to admit. It is probably a wake up call for the players who know that if the Raya’s calves were facing the goal then that shootout may have a different outcome.

I just found this too….

Passing the eye test and stats test.

Havertz

For those that appreciate strikers beyond goals, you will agree with this. Havertz played like a warrior. If Odegaard was the leader then Havertz was the first to follow. As a coach you often say to your players that you ‘just want their best.’ You know that you can’t tease that out in skill, but you know your motivational words are directed straight at their heart. Havertz jumped for every cause even the lost ones. In a game that lost it’s finesse, he signed up to playing another way. Smart. He was just so alive. This was evidenced when White took the quick free kick and Havertz was the only one alive enough to bend a quick run. Twenty one penalties from twenty one is Matt Le Tissier levels.

Five chips. Standing tall. What an awful analogy. Sorry!

POSITIVES:

Arteta 

Arteta still needs to prove his coaching worth in the CL. There is not necessarily a rush as he is so very impressive at everything else he’s done. The applause though is ringing loud for his 3 major summer signings. If we do go on to win the PL or CL (or both), then having come close to winning the PL last season, these 3 signings alongside his change in playing style will be the two reasons. He was under pressure spending over 100M on Rice but you’d pay 150M now. Havertz price was looking twice the real price but he needed to regain confidence and learn ArtetaBall. Raya had to attempt to displace one of the most popular Arsenal players of the modern era and has done it.

White and Jorginho

It was probably harsh of me not to crown these two as vertical chips. I’ve just rewatched the game and both were very good. White completely locked down their first leg scorer who was a non-factor. Jorginho was just clever. Both have raised their game to a level of reliability to where  Partey and Tomi have been able to take time with their recovery but will find it hard to get minutes due to their consistent high levels. Both of these players will likely sign new contracts. White has just done so and Jorginho will likely do the same this summer.

Prize money

Not a single fan was celebrating or probably even knew about the $91M windfall that we received from getting into the QF. Those running the club will have been very aware and it’s obviously huge. That might be a Jamal Musiala that we were otherwise not going to be able to get.

Penalty kicks

I wonder if Arsenal will win a trophy on a set play? We are rather good at them. I didn’t realize that we have scored all 17 PK’s this season. That’s not luck. You can see from the four we scored on Tuesday, they have been practicing their technique. Notice that they all hit it with the inside of their foot but hit it with intense power. There isn’t a pass in the game that needs you to hit it that hard with that surface. It’s used exclusively for top quality penalties. It is also far more accurate than using your instep.

You may also have noticed that Arsenal take much longer to take their kicks than everybody else. That is very deliberate. They have been told to pause for at least 4-6 seconds after the refs whistle before they run up. This allows for a few things to happen. Calmness, focus and clarity. Why rush, anyway? It’s not as if the ref is going to take the kick away from you. Mentally it puts you in charge too. It sends a signal to the keeper that you are going to take it on your timeline.

Finally, it was super cool to see Ramsdale blocking anyone from seeing or hearing the conversation between Raya and the GK coach. True team mindedness from Ramsdale.

NEEDS:

Nerves

Why were we so nervous? I know the answer is the occasion but I didn’t expect it to last 120 minutes. You could tell the nerves when we had a chance to clear the ball. Ordinarily, we would get our head up and take a touch and pass out. That didn’t happen. These kind of moments are infectious. Rice was the main one who kept hooking the ball forward and not bringing it down with his chest in midfield. Porto were certainly well set up and rarely left us without pressure, but I was a little concerned that we weren’t willing to be braver. It was also very evident when we got around their left back. Saka, in particular, lost composure. In these situations a team like Arsenal has to do much better. We get into this area so frequently and panic.

Subs

I thought that they were revealing. Jesus just needs rhythm. Not worried about him. Eddie solidified my visual that I’ve had in my head for a year or so. A picture of an Arsenal badge with legs running after and getting close to catching the PL and CL trophy and Eddie chasing the Arsenal badge but not able to catch up with our levels. For me, I just don’t trust Eddie. It’s as simple as that. I’m not necessarily surprised when he scores but beyond the goals I’m rarely impressed with the consistency of his game. I have a feeling that we will move on from Zinchenko this summer. He is so very good and most certainly elite in his game understanding and vertical passing but there is never a game that doesn’t include a possibly important mistake. He was over confident on at least three occasions and nearly cost us the tie. If he was a youngster you’d think he could change this habit but he’s not and he will want a 3 year contract.

What was more interesting was who was not used. If you consider that there were many whose legs looked like they were about to fall off, the fact that ESR, Vieira, Nelson and Partey didn’t play is possibly revealing. If I’m overthinking this then it’s because those whose legs were falling off had to take a (successful) PK.

Trossard’s dad

I have to be honest and say that this ref is one I normally admire. He is emotionless which helps him get respect. His ability to understand that he was being conned by the Porto players was embarrassing though. They should’ve been briefed after the first game. Actually, no. He has been reffing forever and he doesn’t need to be briefed at all. He should know. What they need to do if they are not sure, is either insist that they are immediately removed from the field on a stretcher (because they are obviously going to act like they can’t move) or tell the coaches that they will add 3 minutes every time. If there are complaints because it’s legit, you tell them they are being punished because they can’t be trusted. Then it’s up to the club to change their reputation. Those two games would’ve actually been good games by two good football teams, but were ruined by constant cheating.

Jesus strides

I’ve been studying Jesus’ finishing. The root of the problem is a lack of composure/over excitement. There is another problem which is probably linked. His stride pattern is way off. He gets so excited that he either takes too many little steps and the shot gets blocked or like Tuesday, he takes huge strides and loses balance.

HOPES:

Final 8

Anyone but City for me. I think we get Bayern Munich and beat them. Lovely.

Break

Do we have time to go to Dubai before the International break? I hope so. Either way, I’d love to see Odegaard get ‘injured’ as he needs a rest. Maybe a fractured eyebrow? Severely broken fingernail? It doesn’t have to be an actually injury though. You just need a tightness. How about claiming a ‘tight head?’ Either way, Norway aren’t playing in the Euros.

A second playmaker, perhaps?

It’s not the first time that a team has shutdown Arsenal by shutting down Odegaard. Fair play to Porto. They found Arsenal’s kryptonite…. the mid block. Don’t tell anyone. They denied entry to Odegaard with a tight V shaped 5-man midfield with their two wingers dropping inside. The use of Havertz as a target man is likely our first choice now as teams are clogging the gaps for passes through the lines so going over and even over the defence becomes necessary. In the summer you might see Arteta go for another playmaker at left eight so if Odegaard is targeted we can go the other way as an exit route out of midfield. Or he could be patient and trust Fabio Vieira to do this in games where Odegaard’s influence is limited. Musiala, Wirtz, converting Frenkie De Jong to an eight or even the worlds cheekiest bid for Foden (who was at the game). That’s a bit too cheeky, perhaps.

SCOUT MAX

I’m on Spring Break so Max and I have watched a lot of footy. Here are a couple of players that will likely get a big move in the summer. One is Manu Kone at Moenchengladbach is an eight. A midfielder with similar strength to Saka and fantastic feet. Our squad doesn’t really have this profile in this position and Kone is an option.

You want another Gabi?? Here is Gabriel Sara. The other one is probably not the kind of player that Arsenal will sign (yet). He will likely go to a Palace or perhaps a higher level like Brighton first. He is an attacking midfielder with a wand of a left foot. Likely to win POTY in the Championship. He reminds me of Olise at Reading. Do you gamble and sign this type of player for 15-20M or wait until he’s 60M like Olise will be this summer?

Scout Mike doesn’t have the same eye as Coach Max but I’m keeping my eye on Alan Varela. He looked like a very useful and robust midfielder over the 2 games. Perfect age profile at 22 and perhaps a very good Elneny replacement.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Rewatching the game, I’ve just noticed something very important. Just before Trossard’s goal, Saliba was booked. Jorginho can be seen using the stoppage to talk to White. Directly afterwards White drifts over to Jorginho’s left as an inverted left back. Varela was man marking Rice and this was designed to release Rice. The ball travels left and Varela gets caught up in trying to watch White and Rice. The ball gets played forward and is won on a second ball as Varela loses his assignment. The ball goes over to Trossard and Odegaard and bingo.

If you rewind any goal there is likely a sliding doors moment like that. Especially in a tactical match like that where they are prioritizing denial.

Jorginho really should’ve been one of my chips. I will regret this forever. I’m not convinced that Jorginho would care much. He’d probably point to the fact that he came 3rd in the Balon D’or 3 seasons ago. We forget that. Probably because in the modern game he looks lightweight and that scares us. We forget that the brain is more important. Look at Messi.

Lots of great pictures from Tuesday, but for some reason I really like this one. We belong.

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.