Through the fog of stress… (Positives Needs & Hopes) [ARS 4-2 LEI]

Through the fog of stress

  An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

I’ve sat here for a rather long time trying to figure out the story of the game. A really unique game. Arsenal were largely extremely good but you know that. Leicester’s keeper had a big day but their defence rode their luck rather than kept Arsenal out. That would be a match report though and I haven’t read or wanted to read a match report since we were spoiled with coverage of every game. I suppose I could talk about our spirit and belief. That sure helped. Just don’t think that was the story. The amount of opportunities and the record breaking expected goals is a little expected against Leicester at home, so no.

I think the most interesting discussion is….. could that have been easier?

Football is a simple game that is now very complicated. We see that when we watch the woeful pundits in the UK. They are so baffled by what they are seeing that the pre-game and post match is more like the next episode of an unnecessarily polite Netflix drama starring some of the cast of The A Team, Baywatch and Dallas trying desperately to stay relevant.

I digress.

The game could certainly be simplified by noticing that although their keeper had a very good game, almost all of the 435 shots we had went straight at him. Lots of fantastic reflex saves but he wasn’t cat saving them.

Now I can’t prove this, and only Max is my witness, but as the game went 2-1, I stated that we should have moved Rice to DM and brought Partey off and Nwaneri on. The coach in me is reminded how armchair coaching is easy and sideline coaching is head spinningly difficult as your eyes are in charge of so many problems, so this is less of a criticism and more of an observation. Not sure that ‘spinningly’ is actually a word, but I like it.

Partey is generally doing well and better at DM than last season. Rice at left eight is impacting games as ever but not really deciding them, as his talent suggests he could. Both played well yesterday. Both 7.5/10. The issue in a game of fine margins though, and when you have a top squad like Arsenal, becomes can we address these fine margins? Can we put a DM in who can give you an 8.5/10 and an attacking midfielder who can do the same? A team more suited to play against the low blocks. Rice at left eight against a team like Villa is smart. He can play both ways.  He contributes so much to preventing Villa from progressing and Villa threaten progress far more than Leicester. You don’t NEED Rice’s offensive contribution against Villa. It’s great to have it but you can trust your forwards to make the difference. You need Rice the two way player who serves as. a strength going backwards and an important part of switching the play and finding the extra man when going forwards.

You do however NEED his defensive contribution against Villa. Against 435 shots Leicester, Rice COULD win you the game, but do you NEED him to?  Is he more likely to make the difference than Nwaneri? Is he more likely to stop one of Leicester’s very rare attacks?

It seems like Partey playing DM against Leicester at home is a good idea and should be fine. What I have noticed is that even though Partey is a more progressive passer than Rice, it wasn’t an issue because Leicester backed off our DM, so Max could’ve played there and made progressive passes.

The skillset needed in this particular game was a player with some cuteness. a player who could open up the block like Nwaneri did when he came on. A player that offers belief to those around him and energizes the crowd. I think you have to ignore the age, the squad hierarchy and the names on the back of the jersey and pick the player that is best suited to the game in front of you. It’s not that Arteta doesn’t do that but if he does have a lean it’s to ‘next man up’ as if there is hierarchy supersedes the right call. Because we have lots of players it hasn’t hurt us much but in the games where the margins are slim the right call is pivotal. Arteta;’s improvement in this situation is simply seeing this earlier as he waited until the 83rd minute which becomes hard for a player to have any impact at all. Kudos to Nwaneri for ignoring that thought.

It’s not all about Nwaneri though. Odegaard is obviously first choice but even though Odegaard is many things, his ‘spark’ is different. Nwaneri looks like he has the talent to scare defenders. A ball carrier. A dribbler. Unpredictable. Odegaard is a passer. A combiner. A playmaker and dictator of tempo and remarkably consistent at the elite level.

Arsenal have discovered another tool for their toolbox. A different one. One that I think will now be trusted and not just for development minutes. He has just elevated his status. He looks like a player that can win you games.  I think we thought he was going to be a Carabao Cup player and get development minutes when games are already won. He will now be an option for the first sub. The 65th minute sub and like I’ve stated here, if we were to play that game again, I’d sit Partey, play Rice at DM and Nwaneri would start at right eight.

How quickly talent can change your mind. How impressive that through the fog of stress, he had the guts to try to win the game himself.

Honestly, I didn’t know he had that footballing personality.

POSITIVES:

Big game Trossard:

I went to the Arsenal pub in Knoxville to watch the game. My buddy Jacob and I, demolished some poutine and settled in to what looked like a comfortable morning. Conversation in the pub at one point turned to Cole Palmer and how he had already scored a hat trick in the first half. Agreement was made that he is a super finisher. My point is that Palmer finishes with ice in his veins. A different level of composure. Almost like he doesn’t get the butterflies and raised blood pressure that the rest of the world gets when faced with the possible joy of scoring. Only a few players have this. We were lucky to have four players at one time back 25 years ago in Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Ljungberg. Now we have two. Saka and Martinelli get a half vote each and Leo is the main man. Beyond composure he has a second same characteristic to the four studs named above. He scores when it really, really matters. His first goal was normal for him but what was super interesting was that in injury time, when the game was running out, both corners went to him.

Saka:

As far as beating his man was concerned, this might have been the best game I’ve ever seen him play. Whoever that poor chap was, he may have blocked a few crosees but Saka skinned him every time he tried to. Quite an amazing achievement considering that his defender never lunged in either. What really helps Saka attain these levels is that he is now starting games by repeatedly going to his right first, so his full back isn’t as ready when he goes left, curling one in the bottom corner. Only criticism is that he slows done when shooting on his favoured foot, but seems to not decelerate when going right, and is hitting the side netting.

Again, it has to be mentioned that his corners were perfection on a number of occasions including for the winning goal.

Calafiori:

This was a game of discovery.

We learnt that Timber is not only just a good option at right back, but possibly the best option. We learnt that the left side of our midfield box rotates and confuses opponents. We got Martinelli’s confidence back and like Timber, we found that Calafiori is a monster inverted, outverted, everywhere-verted full back/central midfielder/left half space attacker who is a true danger at set plays too.

What a find by the club. I don’t know if he grew up as an attacker or midfielder but he has such a natural drive to accelerate the play. I hope he never cuts his hair because even though he has a chant already, there has to be the option that his nickname and chant becomes something to do with biblical Sansom.

Timber:

That graphic is quite something.

Should he be able to hit these heights in his first full game at right back? Not even right back really. Arteta’s version of right back which is fluid but based on attacking certain spaces at certain times. Off the ball he reminds me of N’golo Kante and I bet he could play DM if we needed. On the ball his terrier style is hard to stop. His punchy passing hard to see coming. Such an agile, quick player who is very hard to stop.

The main benefit with having Timber and Calafiori playing is that we have a more natural choice of options in wide areas when attacking. Our wingers are both inverted so it’s ideal to have the left foot option on the left and right on the right. If not, then every left sided attack is delayed as Martinelli and let’s say, Tomiyasu, move the ball to their favourite foot before executing.

Martinelli:

Although his goal is the main story, his cross to Trossard was some of the best of Martinelli. The goal was harder than it looks as sweeping the ball away from the keeper with one touch on a square pass is technically difficult due to the angle it arrives. The cross is even harder as the gap is there for one second and then gone and so you have to be so alert and have very quick feet to squeeze that through.

Organization:

Watch our players on the second phase of set plays and then watch Manchester United. The latter is just random chaos as is all of their play. I watched our players in the box when a corner went out the other side and was being retrieved. Not only did they re-set their runs but they all moved in sync into a new position that was obviously pre-determined. Arsenal are such a well organized team and as meh as the word ‘organized’ seems, it might just be the most important coaching word in the modern game.

Partey, Zinchenko:

I feel sorry for Thomas Partey. He is experiencing what Zinchenko deals with. You can have a really good game but make two dodgy decisions and you glow neon because Arsenal just don’t generally make silly mistakes.

Comeback win:

A good coach won’t tell anyone that they need their team to experience and prevail like we did on Saturday, but they do. Coaches do training drills that are scenario based. First team to score three wins, but one team is 1-0 up. Eleven v ten. Ten minutes left and one team is a goal down. It’s vital that training is under stress. If it’s not then stress will be too stressful on gameday and lead to an obvious lack of composure. You will notice that the majority of teams panic and lose patience. The result is a flurry of randomly tossed balls into the box which favours centre backs and goalkeepers who can then lay down and waste time. I noticed as the clock ticked past 90 minutes and 7 minutes was announced in the stadium, that Arsenal started calmly passing the ball around the back rather than using the crowds energy to barnstorm forwards at the wrong time.

Leicester keeper:

Got to give flowers to Hermansen. even though most of his saves were reflex saves there were two that were unreal. His point blank save from Havertz volley in the 68th minute, was almost suspicious as to whether he had the gift of pausing time. His save in the 87th minute from Calafiori’s header was stunning too. A keeper worth keeping an eye on.

NEEDS:

Skippity Doo Dah and the newsreader:

Firstly, Oliver Skipp needs to give up the comb over. Gotta go short Oliver, or give up and shave it all. Secondly, I thought that Steve Cooper had a lot of cheek complaining about Calafiori deserving a second yellow when his first yellow was a joke and Skipp was collecting cards like an over enthusiastic granny at the birthday card shop. His actual yellow, for a small shirt tug, was chicken feed compared to his other attempts to steal cards from his granny. His challenge on Martinelli was more red than yellow and his hack on Saka was the easiest yellow of the day, but he got no card for either. Oh, and he delayed a restart, but we all know that it’s only Arsenal that this punishment applies to.

The ref wasn’t the story simply because there were too many other stories but he did try really hard to be the story. I’ll credit him there. The fact that he didn’t go to the screen to look at the double foul in the box on Havertz in the 68th minute was a literal joke. The ref looked like a BBC news reader so maybe he’s fed up at looking at screens. Who knows?

Whilst I’m on the referee’s back, I think I’ll talk about what is a card and what isn’t.

So, if Martinelli’s leg wasn’t in motion then Skipp breaks his ankle. No card at all. Buonanotte waves an imaginary yellow at the ref when Calafiori should’ve gotten what should have been his first yellow card, and Buonanotte gets a yellow. Think about this. Calafiori was stopping a very promising attack. Perhaps a sliding doors moment inn the game. Buonanotte was simply telling the ref what he should’ve done and he was correct. How is waving an imaginary card at the ref a real problem? Let the whole ruddy team turn Italian if they want and wave their card at the ref. What does this matter?? If the ref is any good he will make his own decision anyway. If he’s easily convinced then he doesn’t need to referee professionals. He needs to show up for Sunday League.

Where I live there is a shortage of refs as parents are running them off. So, we often get a ref that is the same age as Max. In this situation then intimidating a ref is a problem as he is 14 years old and probably thinks he is about to get in to a playground scuffle. If professional players want to surround the ref and wave their card then they have lost their focus and position. Wouldn’t it solve the problem if you just let them turn Italian and allowed the other team to take a quick free kick? They’d quickly put their cards down next time. The same goes for surrounding the ref. The FA have made a rule that isn’t being followed anyway (see City). The problem is that the ref allows them to give their viewpoint and argue. Just play on. They’ll soon stop.

They’ve chosen the wrong way of fixing the problem.

Trossard strength and defensive awareness:

Small detail but in 50/50 side by side duals, Trossard is being bullied. He needs to give some back. He was also the guilty party when James Justin twice found himself alone at the back post, and it left Calafiori with double duty.

City have a bus:

Is that all eleven City players back in their box? When they aren’t even winning, no less. I thought that was just Arsenal that did this??

HOPES:

I hope that we make smart decisions with Calafiori and White vs PSG. There are plenty of CL games and a variety of ways to qualify. If Kiwior needs to play LB then let’s do that rather than risk either of them. I’ve just seen that Calafiori is in training which is good, but we have to be cautious either way. Tomiyasu is back but I’m not sure if he’s ready for PSG.

SCOUT MAX:

I need to alert you to a player recommended by my son, that apparently Arsenal are interested in. Bazoumana Toure. He’s a versatile, skillful winger who has had an electric start to the season in Sweden with Hammerby. I know we’d all like another ‘Martinelli 6M risk.’ and so players like this become very interesting and possibly a cheap risk with a huge upside.

Max tells me that this new young player could be the new Chido Obi Martin.

TWEETS and THOUGHTS:

Writing this blog would’ve been hard if we would’ve tied the game but honestly, we really did very little wrong and a lot right.

I found this picture and felt great gratitude towards the club for bringing them together and how they got the timing right too.

PSG:

Arsenal are in my opinion in the top 6 teams in world football. Sitting there with City, Real Madrid, PSG, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich. As to the order, that is an interesting debate. Perhaps if we can get a statement win tomorrow then we can confidently say that we are Top 3.

Will we see Merino from the bench?

What is also going to be very interesting is seeing who misses out on the bench as players come back from injury. It’s not going to be Ethan Nwaneri now.

FINAL THOUGHT:

This is a photo of the Knox Gooners. A group who all have a very interesting story as to why they support Arsenal whilst living in Knoxville, Tennessee. Only one English chap and that do be me with my salt and pepper hair (more salt) behind neon Max. Talking with these people is fascinating because every story is different and unlike talking to a match day fan whom likely lives in Islington or nearby.

We had a very successful weekend at our house and the picture below is the reason why this blog is delayed. I was at the fields watching Max qualify for the State Championships by beating the Emerald Inter Milan 3-2. Tony (far left) was the two goal hero and Chris (4th from right) scored the winner with a 25 yard top bins effort. The ‘handsome Luka Modric’ is the only non-Mexican on his team so he’s learning Spanish quickly.

I started the team six years ago and you will be unsurprised to know that we are the Lakeway Gunners.

Thanks for reading and a big thanks to those that comment and share my work!

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.