‘Felt like April’
An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective
I’m sitting in the cozy corner watching Inter Miami v Cincinnati. Max and I were discussing how Inter Miami, FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew and LAFC would do in a competitive game against a PL team. If you don’t watch MLS (I rarely do), you’ll be surprised at how improved these four are in particular. It’s no coincidence that Lionel Messi’s arrival raised levels. Better players want to play with and against him and his level is an inspiration to a man.
I’ve been sitting here for a few hours, trying to figure out what the story of Arsenal’s huge win is. Then the word above sat right next to me.
Inspiration.
This tweet from Clive nudged me, also.
I didn’t expect to chest thump in August.
You expect to pump fists or throw cushions but August doesn’t normally include chest thumping. It doesn’t normally feel that pivotal to warrant a chest thump. Max was chest thumping. I’m too old and not cool enough to do this but I was doing the 50 year old equivalent. The firey fist pump, I believe. The moment felt like a pivotal title decider in April. But why? What was it? Honestly, it’s not really just this game. It’s Arsenal. It’s who we are. Is it surprising that David Raya bothered to even get up where other keepers would’ve seen no point. That Saliba puts everything, absolutely everything, into chasing down Ramsey. That Havertz sprinted 80 yards to stop a dangerous counter. And on…
As Clive says in his tweet, it is how we support each other. No blaming. No quitting and pointing to our teammates lack. Just ultimate teamwork.
This is who Arsenal are though. I didn’t expect different. Did you? It’s why so many have predicted that Arsenal will win the league. We are starting to become inevitable. How do you get to the point of being trusted by so many? You get there by mastering ALL of the 4 aspects of the game. Arsenal are technical. The entire team including the keeper. We are tactically miles above most. If they weren’t then they’d only create a chunk of chances once in a while. They’d keep clean sheets but due to individual excellence rather than low XG against. They’d crumble in adversity. Start bickering. Their coach would lose it and the players would fade as the result looked locked in, much like Villa did. They’d have physical players but not a whole team of beasts. Their starboy would be a dribbling wizard but not a dribbling wizard with the strength of Samson.
Not having noticeable weakness. That’s it. In fact I believe that the main reason that folks pick their winner of the Premier League isn’t because they think they are the best, it’s because they see less weakness in them than the others. That they are going to win because they don’t see them screwing up.
To confirm my spirit led feelings, Max is playing ‘If you were there, (you’d know)’ by Wham on his laptop. I wish I was there. I’m sure the chest thumping was substituted by being drowned in Fosters lager twice over. I remember those days. When being sticky is happiness.
I hope April feels sticky.
POSITIVES:
Odegaard:
Last week I gave Saka his flowers for being under appreciated. This week it’s Odegaard’s turn. Not as spectacular as other outings but such other worldly feet. I may have said this a few weeks ago, so excuse me, but I think he is the best footballer in the league. We don’t use that term much but those of my generation know who was the ‘best player’ at their school, down the park or on their team. For me it was the player who could do the most. Saka might be the most important but that might be illuminated by the lack of competition for his place at Arsenal.
Partey:
It can only be a positive that he has played two 90’s. He plays like a youngster, though. Inconsistent in game. I’m hoping it’s just early season rust and not a permanent issue with lack of athleticism. When he was good, he was verey good. In those moments he doesn’t really have a peer.
Raya:
He sums up the attitude of this team of winners. As I said earlier, most keepers would’ve quit on Watkins header and not been criticized because he was on the ground when Ollie headered it. You’ll notice that his two miracle saves in the last two games have been within his reach. He hasn’t had to move but it’s the speed of the reaction rather than the fact that he hasn’t had to move much.
Saliba:
I remember when he arrived. He looked somewhat devoid of personality. Lacking passion. To be fair to him he had just lost a family member. He now matches the passion of his partner. You have to love the faces in this picture. Looks like they’ve just scored. The Raya and Saliba moments might just be looked back on as sliding doors moments in our season.
Trossard:
I’ve spoken often about his efficiency. No need to constantly state the obvious. His propensity to impact games will either break Martinelli’s spirit or make Martinelli a better player.
Saka:
He was 7/10 today. The difference being that when he is 7/10 he still finds a way to be crucial. It was hard enough for him to get any kind of cross over for Trossard’s goal, let alone picking the right one. The weight of his pass to Partey was perfection.
The right side:
If you ran a coaching clinic on offensive threat, movement off the ball and the importance of variety of attack, you’d show a montage of Arsenal’s right side. It’s where Arsenal’s magic happens. It is so good over there that even though Arteta is clearly trying to make the left side as effective, he is going to struggle as he likely has the best right winger and right eight in world football on that right side. Add in the timing of White’s movement and Arsenal always have hope no matter how games are going.
Emi M:
“Cocky often invites karma”
Mike McDonald
August 24th 2024
NEEDS:
Ode on the edge:
Have you noticed how Odegaard often gets tangled on the edge of the box. He has a tendency to find himself moving his legs too fast in this area and fumbling the ball. Outside the box, no issues, and rarely does he lose composure inside the box (like he did when he hit the ball over the Holte End), but he needs to relax his feet at the top of the box.
Combinations:
No criticism as fluid combinations don’t often appear in August, but we aren’t quite consistently clicking in our attacking understanding, yet. Considering we have won 2-0, 2-0 it does make you wonder what happens when we do click. Leicester at home on September 28th could be delicious.
Trossard:
Two things.
I have concern that Trossard takes his upset at not starting too far. It’s game two and he knows from previous seasons that he will start, play a significant amount and has the product to change the coach’s mind without looking like he wanted to hurt someone.
Secondly, he looked very gaunt. Sickly. Like he’d lost 5-8 pounds. Maybe he had been instructed to and all is good but when you have big deep set eyes and pasty skin it makes you look underweight.
HOPES:
Zero balance:
Has Edu been told to finish the window with a zero balance? It’s not necessarily a problem, but I’ve been wondering. Perhaps he has simply been challenged to be better at selling and wants to prove that he can do this as well as he buys. Just wondering.
Vieira:
Not sure Vieira had the heart to play in this version of Arsenal
Nico Williams:
The Nico Williams story is confusing. Max tells me that he has committed to playing one more year with his brother, rejected Barcelona and is staying, yet Ornstein seems to think we are pushing for him. Whatever the truth is, Arteta won’t sign him if he is undecided.
Merino:
I have a feeling that Mikel Merino will be one of the reasons why we win the league. To get the No.1 dual winner in the whole of Europe in his prime who has already played in the PL and will be hungry for glory after his first taste this summer, I see a bigger signing than we might be thinking. Cheeky prediction…. he scores on his debut.
Striker:
Regardless of whether Jesus is out for 5 months or 5 minutes, I think Arsenal are making a mistake by not signing another striker. as I said last week, leaning on two strikers whose weakness is their shooting is risky.
There is every chance that Arteta is playing games and doesn’t want us to seem desperate and be priced out, especially if either of Oshimen or Gyokeres are targets as their clubs want close to 100M.
TWEETS and THOUGHTS:
Musiala? Isak? Kudus?
If it’s either of Gyokeres or Oshimen then this tweet would be off, as their teams have known of interest all summer.
FINAL THOUGHT:
Looking at Villa today, I think they have the third best squad behind Arsenal and City. Players on the bench as good as those on the field. Stronger than Liverpool’s bench even though their first team might not be as strong. Kudos to those at Villa for their ambition and good transfer decisions. It’s interesting and quite funny that the decisions made in the executive boxes are seeing teams like Villa and Brighton rising beyond teams like United and Chelsea. A testament to how money is helpful but smart decisions win the day.
Arsenal have been the model for smart decisions ever since the day that the fans put their foot down over the Super League. That day must have rocked many owners who thought that they could trample on those they need most but found out that the common fan has a better pulse for what is needed. It’s ok to dislike and change your mind. The Kroenke’s needed a slap but they’ve come to discover truth and bought in to our way.
In the fog of love that I have for the team and coaching staff, I have a big appreciation for our owners and how they are now Arsenal.
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.
Mike! Thank you for your thoughts.
I have joy and worries from our game against Villa.
Joy:
1. Raya is my MOTM. He made important save and keep us still relevant until the first goal coming. He never go below his own standard. Mr Consistent.
2. Partey is our keystone. He did everything to make our structure working; anchoring the midfield, inviting press, progressing passes, “smart-fouling”, and finally: goal-scoring. Our bridge will collapse were he taken out of our squad yesterday. I hope he stays fit throughout PL campaign. Or at least our manager preserve him exclusively for PL games.
3. Odegaard is our unsung hero. He did everything to carry our team forward. From pressing, returning between pocket to collect pass from backline, and creating final third opportunity.
4. Trossard is the game changer. That left side dynamics change once he enter the field. He does not need to feel dissatisfied with his game time. He is not a supersub, he is the main hero who enter the battle on the right moment of glory. Maybe thats the plan: tiring up the backline with fast-leg Martinelli, finishing them with fresh-leg Trossard. He could create chaos among the tired defender, stay fit and less prone to injury throughout the campaign, and scoring each time he is introduced. Perfect.
5. Timber is PL quality. He has that physical presence, engine to roaming all over the field and not disappointing us on his defensive duty.
6. Saliba! What a player. We are witnessing a CB that will become a BallonD’or contender
7. I am happy we have met Villa on our 2nd game. Most of our starters have played together for a year, while Villa still ‘fine-tuning’ their fresh and existing player. Watkins may also still tired from a lot of european cup games. Thats probably why he missed two sitter. I agree with you that Villa is third best team in term of squad, manager and tactical drills. Our better established teamwork made difference yesterday. Had this game occur one or two month later, things might different.
Next is Brighton. I salute them for always being relevant for top four despite losing so many managers and players. I feel sad to see De Zerbi left. He brought something to PL. But current Brighton aint no joke either. I am happy we will meet them this early while they also still ‘fine-tuning’.
8. I appreciate our coaches to promote a tactically-correct approach against Villa. We are not hunting Martinez and backline, instead we are waiting until they start rolling the ball upfront. We stayed compact and restricted their long ball, we keep Tielemans in check, and creates many turn over. The downside, they keep returning their possession to GK, but thats fine. It was like a prep/rehearsal against a more excellent ball possession GK (Alisson, Ederson), thank you Martinez!
9. Overall, our boys rocking all around. Trossard and Partey scores, same goes for ESR and Iwobi. Raya and Leno made great saves, Martines conceded two. What a happy day.
*Today is Liverpool vs Brentford. I expect Thomas Frank provides an idea of how to deal with Arne’s side.
Worries
1. Not playing Zinny showed how important he is. In comparison to last week, where we progress the ball following our back line through Partey, Zinny, or Odegard. Zinny passes found Havertz (that created many duels with mosquera), Martinelli, and Rice. Against Villa, there is lack progression to the left side; resulting in less duel from Havertz, Martinelli and Rice. We need Zinny in a game where we expect for domination.
2. I wonder where Calafiori will play. He is strong defensively, another option in the air, but he is not fast. He already suffer against a tired Leon Bailey. Atm, I can only trust Tomi to deal with right side PL threat (Mo Salah, Kukusevski, Bowen, Savinho).
Calafiori is not as progressive as Timber or Zinny either. Of course he is better than Kwior and could deputise Gabi Magalhaes. But we are expecting him as difference maker, right?
3. I dont like this transfer window. Of course we bring important names: raya, calafiori, merino. But we sold ESR and loaned Vieira. Who should reduce the burden (I mean “competing”) with captain Martin? We suffered last night because we only have one pipe of creativity. This is a long season. Before transfer window, we have the best creative attacking midfield armament. Now, we will squeeze our captain fantastic through each game. Including the less important. I am worried.
COYG.
If Jesus injury is serious (I’ve seen two months rumoured), it throws fat on the fire for both a new striker purchase and the exit of Nketiah and the latter may well be cancelled. If Eddie leaves, we have four forwards at PL level, the four who played yesterday as well as Nelson and Nwanieri (who may be better considered as a midfield replacement for Vieira – sadly Fabio showed little sign of ever reaching PL level at Arsenal). I wonder if Eze is under consideration as one of the two we’d need to bring in post-Eddie? Making the correct acquisition(s) may well make the difference on who wins the title this year.
Mike! Thank you for your thoughts.
I have joy and worries from our game against Villa.
Joy:
1. Raya is my MOTM. He made important save and keep us still relevant until the first goal coming. He never go below his own standard. Mr Consistent.
2. Partey is our keystone. He did everything to make our structure working; anchoring the midfield, inviting press, progressing pass, “smart-foul”, and finally: goal-scoring. Our bridge will collapse were he taken out of our squad yesterday. I hope he stays fit throughout PL campaign. Or at least our manager preserve him exclusively of PL games.
3. Odegaard is our unsung hero. He did everything to carry our team forward. From pressing, returning between pocket to collect pass from backline, and creating final third opportunity.
4. Trossard is the game changer. That left side dynamics change once he enter the field. He does not need to feel dissatisfied with his game time. He is not a supersub, he is the main hero who enter the battle only for the right moment of glory. Maybe thats the plan: tiring up the backline with fast-leg Martinelli, finishing them with fresh-leg Trossard.
5. Timber is PL quality. He has that physical presence, engine to roaming all over the field and not disappointing us on his defensive duty.
6. Saliba! What a player. We are witnessing a CB that will be a BallonD’or contender
7. I am happy we have met Villa on our 2nd game. Most of our starters have played together for a year, while Villa still ‘fine-tuning’ their fresh and existing player. Watkins may also still tired from a lot of european cup games. Thats probably why he missed two sitter. I agree with you that Villa is third best team in term of squad, manager and tactical drills. Our better established teamwork made difference yesterday. Had this game occur one or two month layer, things might different.
Next is Brighton. I salute them for always being relevant for top four despite losing so many managers and players. I feel sad to see De Zerbi left. He brought something to PL. But current Brighton aint no joke either. I am happy we should meet them earlier.
8. I appreciate our coaches to promote a tactically-correct approach against Villa. We are not hunting Martinez and backline, instead we are waiting until they start rolling the ball upfront. We stayed compact and restricted their long ball, we keep Tielemans in check, and creates many turn over. The downside, they keep returning their possession to GK, but thats fine. It was like a prep/rehearsal against a more excellent ball possession GK (Alisson, Ederson), thank you Martinez!
9. Overall, our boys rocking all around. Trossard and Partey scores, same goes for ESR and Iwobi. Raya and Leno made great saves, Martines conceded two. What a happy day.
Today is Liverpool vs Brentford. I expect Thomas Frank provides an idea of how to deal with Arne’s side.
Worries
1. Not playing Zinny showed how important he is. In comparison to last week, we progress the ball following our back line through Partey, Zinny, or Odegard. Zinny passes found Havertz (that created many duels with mosquera), Martinelli, and Rice. In comparison to wolves game, against Villa, there is lack progression to the left side; less duel from Havertz, Martinelli and Rice. We need Zinny in a game where we expect for domination.
2. I wonder where Calafiori will play. He is strong defensively, another option in the air, but he is not fast. He already suffer against a tired Leon Bailey. Atm, I can only trust Tomi to deal with right side PL threat (Mo Salah, Kukusevski, Bowen, Savinho).
Calafiori is not as progressive as Timber or Zinny. Of course he is better than Kwior and could deputise Gabi Magalhaes. But we are expecting him as difference maker, right?
3. I dont like this transfer window. Of course we bring important names: raya, calafiori, merino. But we sold ESR and loaned Vieira. Who should reduce the burden (and compete) with captain Martin? We suffered last night because we only have one pipe of creativity. This is a long season. Before transfer window, we have the best creative attacking midfield armament. Now, we will squeeze our captain fantastic through each game. Including the less important.
COYG.
Hello Mike Happy new season to you. Excellent analysis as usual. I watched Partey closely yesterday and thought he was excellent on the ball but lacked something off it. I think the benefit he gives with his passing and vision outweighs the negatives. The other thing I noticed was the lack of nerves I felt even when Villa were cutting through the midfield. The defence are so strong and team so hardworking that even George Graham would approve. Speaking of which, if you get a chance watch the bbc series on the Scottish and Irish influence on English football. Features Arsenal quite heavily. Graham admits he might have been to defensive minded!
I think we are overplaying the positivity.
Our first 11 is mint. But behind that, we have only two dependable players; Trossard and Kiwor. The rest; Jesus, Partey, Zinchenko, Tomi, Timber, Tierney – are either perma crocks, very injury prone, or don’t have the desired athleticism or ability to be trusted. To expect more than 15 games from Partey, or consistent goals / 15 games from Jesus, to expect 15 good games from Zinchenko or him to not be a defensive liability against top tier teams, if anyone expects that, after multiple seasons of these players demonstrating that they cannot give that output, well then it’s just a lot of hopium.
Yesterday we had 5 players for our front 4 positions. On a good day you can add Jesus to the mix. But is that enough for a team aspiring to win the title and reach CL semis. Does Declan look like a $100m player.
Great post Mike, I loved the way that Ben White booted the ball into McGinn immediately after McGinn had booted the ball into Saliba, we will not be bullied by anyone!
Enjoyed the short Califiori cameo as he unfussily made several interceptions and blocks that go unnoticed but I noticed them, he’s a class performer and he’s going to be huge for us.
As Amy Lawrence would no doubt remark this was a ‘f*ck off’ result.
I hope this doesn’t go into the spam