Who Arsenal really are… (Positives Needs & Hopes) [ARS 2-0 OLY]

Who Arsenal really are

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

Sometimes I think that people are getting fed up with extreme opinions. In a world of extreme ridiculousness that seems like an actual dream you’d be embarrassed to tell anyone about because they’d laugh at you, I think many are now seeking the actual truth. I certainly am.

In Arsenal world we are lucky because we don’t have to lean on the mainstream media and pundits for opinion. We have a plethora of elite content. I see that Clive Palmer is breaking slowly into the mainstream which shows that there is a pining for the truth without exaggeration. For what is elite. Not the belief that truth is only found in fame or with those with the loudest voice.

At Arsenal we have a small handful of players who we are told are terrible. Then 90 minutes later they are valuable. Great. Should be playing on Saturday. This problem is certainly not Arsenal-exclusive. We all have friends who support other teams. Most of mine who suffer from this football life of extreme views are United fans. Their list of terrible/brilliant players is far longer than ours. Rashford sits at the top of their conversations. He is world class and yet needs to be sold, in the same fortnight.

The truth of Marcus Rashford is that he is potentially one of the best wing forwards in the world who is also frequently desperately mediocre. He can be ice cold in front of goal, yet miss sitters. He seems inspired off the field and his imaginary twin brother from another planet on the field.

He is all these things. So, how do you sum him up? He’s talented, inconsistent and unreliable. Capable of Michael Laudrup. A player with a Ballon D’Or ceiling.

At United they have a whole squad of players like him. Maybe with a lower ceiling but equally as inconsistent. Actually, beyond Fernandes and Dalot, their entire squad is inconsistent.

At Arsenal we have a far smaller problem. We have Zinchenko, Partey, Jesus, Nketiah, Nelson and Vieira. Three of those won’t start and maybe all 3 are leaving. Of the other three, only Partey is lent on because he has the unique eye for penetrative passes where his competitors are more comfortable with safer. Arsenal have it good. Those that we rely on are consistently very good. Reliable. Because they are so reliably consistent, those that are less so stand out with neon lights on their heads, illuminating their flaws far beyond reality.

When I watched Thomas Partey and Oleksander Zinchenko yesterday I wasn’t surprised by their excellent performances.

In my mind, this is who they are;

Thomas Partey

1. The most gifted DM in Europe
2. Injury prone
3. More willing to play daring, progressive passes than all other central midfielders
4. Athletically waning
5. Not just perfect for games when we are dominant, but capable of winning a tight game with 1 pass
6. Too quick to vacate midfield on transition leaving a hole in midfield
7. Has more ways of escaping pressure than any other DM
8. Can’t be relied upon long term

Oleksander Zinchenko 

1. The most unique left back in Europe
2. Capable of one unnecessary mistake per game
3. Technical level enables Arsenal to play accurately and directly back to front
4. Becoming more injury prone
5. Best of the smaller left backs in the air in the Premier League
6. Loses fitness and focus in the last 1/4 of games
7. Experienced the level Arsenal are trying to attain
8. Not quick enough to stay with most wingers

Gabriel Jesus

1. Champions League difference maker
2. Like Zinchenko, becoming more injury prone
3. Arsenal have to play against low blocks/tight spaces. Jesus is one of the best in tight spaces
4. His weakness is his finishing which is the most important part of his job
5. He over complicates in a team that doesn’t
6. One of the only strikers who is as comfortable running with the ball as a winger
7. In his prime but not yet playing like it
8. Big wages for a part time player

What’s the conclusion?

All three are elite in certain environments. Play them in these environments and stop being surprised when they fail in environments that they don’t specialize in. With everybody fit and playing well, if we are playing Everton or Lille at home, all three start. Against Lyon, Zinchenko and Partey were excellent. Partey seemed to make the right choice every single time and his level of composure under pressure was comically better than Caqueret and Tolisso who are two very good midfielders. Zinchenko was as creative and dangerous as Odegaard who was imperious.

Time for us to stop being surprised by things that are unsurprising.

POSITIVES:

Competition 

So, why did Zinchenko and Partey put in such a top performance against Lyon in a pre-season game? Likely because both of them have serious competition. Martinelli was knackered but kept pushing. Same reason. I’m hoping that when we get a winger to rotate with Saka, that he has success running behind the defence and running at defenders at full speed. It will push Saka to do the two things he rarely does but should.

Quicker set plays

Arteta has been chatting with the ball boys/girls. They’ve been at Colney. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m right.  The ball was returned into play rapidly and Raya as well and White in particular were constantly trying to catch Lyon napping. Every little margin. Very clever. There will be a game or two that we capitalize on Raya’s speed of thought and score directly off a goal kick.

Arsenal in a Ferrari

This was the name of my last blog. It was about our new fast start and the importance of it. One advantage that I missed was taking advantage of Arteta’s strategy. Most coaches aren’t near his level and so if we have a new press (we do) then it may take 20 minutes for the opponents coaching staff to figure out how to fix it. Lyon took 15 minutes to make their first pass in our half. Read that again. Their first shot was after 39 minutes. They were completely nullified. If we start fast we could be 2-0 up against teams like Bayer Leverkusen or Lyon by the time that their coach can do anything to adjust.

Jover

I saw that Nicholas Jover has been weaving his set play magic again. Saliba’s goal was so clever. Saliba was blocking the goalie, unmarked and able to peel away and score unchallenged. With the focus on Gabriel this was very smart.

The choo-choo train at the back post gave a running start to 6 tall trees. Utilizing Saka and Martinelli to head it back across was avoiding the players that Lyon were marking.

Saka

It was nice to see that he looks like he’s been working on his heading.

Odegaard

I think he’s on his way to being an Arsenal legend. In a team of top class players, he can still stand out. It’s such a feat for a creative player to be so consistently dangerous and effective. Compare him to another very talented player playing in similar spaces like James Maddison and the eye test and stats are both worlds apart.

Calafiori

I want to like him. I want to like every new signing. I want to be objective. So, I hope I’m lucid enough when I say that I think he will be a huge hit. He gives ‘warrior’ vibes. Like Tony Adams, Kolo Toure and Gabriel.

Rice

Small detail but Rice lost and then won the ball in Lyon’s box. He won it back by slide tackling a Lyon player who was trying to clear the ball. I’ve always thought that players should do this. What’s the worst that could happen? They get a free kick. You could get a penalty kick.

Saliba

He’s up there with Odegaard. A contender for a statue in the future. Just has everything and at an age where those in his position become complete at 32. I love this picture.

NEEDS:

Martinelli 

I think that he needs to get his head up quicker much like you probably do too. To get context it’s important to know that dribblers don’t look where other players look. They are watching the defenders feet and body to get a feel for when they can beat them based off the defender acting first. This video of Cristiano Ronaldo and how he does what he does is fascinating. It’ll help us understand Martinelli.

The difference between Ronaldo and Martinelli is that Ronaldo straightens his back quickly after beating his player to assess his options. Martinelli is tardy in doing this or doesn’t at all.

HOPES:

Edu

There has been a report that Edu told an Arsenal fan that we should….

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.