A ‘Real’ Eight ways to lose to Arsenal

‘Eight ways to lose to Arsenal’

A very beautiful Arsenal blog from the perspective of a very happy Arsenal fan

We love a last minute winner! (Credit Arsenal.com)

A last minute winner might be the best way to win a football match.

Or is it a thrashing?

Perhaps a comeback?

It might be a stroll? A game that’s without nerves. Enjoyable from start to finish.

Or could it be a game against the world’s biggest club where you dispatch them easily in the first leg with a world class performance and world class goals? Then they try 8 ways to get in your head in the second leg and none of them work, and you beat them…..again. That might be the best way to win a football match.

This doesn’t happen much in a fans life so I’m going to wallow in the mud of Madrid’s multiple failures and then applaud our superiorities.

1. The roof

I believe it’s a very nice roof. A designer roof. Louis Vuitton would be proud. I don’t think he makes roofs though. Well, Madrid decided to close it for the sake of enhancing their acoustics. Now I wasn’t there and apparently it was loud. Even 30 minutes before kick off. But if the point was to win the song contest then they won, but they lost the football match.

2. The ‘Remontada’

Initially, I thought this was the Spanish word for ‘deep lying playmaker’ and I thought that maybe they had found a strategy where their DM maybe had been in training with Yoda and had attained ‘the force.’ Then I realized that remontada is an exotic word for ‘comeback.’ Well, fancy exotic words or having special powers didn’t come close to working.

3. Ronaldo

I would’ve thought that the roof and the comeback was enough, but apparently they needed Ronaldo in the locker room before the game to get them fired up. I thought that the point of the roof in the comeback chatter was to get them fired up? What a compliment to Arsenal that they had to think of a third method. Or perhaps it’s a sad indictment of Carlo Ancelotti’s motivational skills?

4. Press

Then the game started. Madrid started with much energy. Almost like a Premier League team. Using the energy of the crowd to press with intensity. No mockery here, as this was clearly the right tactic, but what must feel so defeating to them is that it doesn’t really bother Arsenal Football Club. When you’ve been practicing this yourself on a daily basis for multiple years in a row at the training ground and experienced it often in your league alongside the fact that your players are too good to be flustered then Madrid and the semi organized press doesn’t work. You might be thinking that Saliba’s mistake on Vini’s goal gives them some credit, but that wasn’t the reason why that happened. That was an odd choice by Raya and an unnecessary risk by Saliba who did not have his hips facing the right way. Vini Jr. was just the beneficiary of two mistakes.

5. Diving

Their low percentage very deep crosses weren’t working. A very strange tactic to begin with. Mbappe realised this and clearly thought that the only way to make them work was to collapse like a piece of cooked spaghetti. Thankfully the ref had balls. I was surprised. Bellingham, Asencio and Vasquez had obviously been in the spaghetti pot too and had unstable legs too. I’m really not sure how Vasquez, in particular, didn’t get a bouquet of yellow cards.

6. Wind ups

Bellingham had clearly made the decision that he was going to try to get Rice sent off. He was the main protagonist.

7. Violence

Alaba tried to send Saka to the hospital. Rudiger wanted to tattoo his studs on MLS’ chest. Bellingham spent the entire game on one mission and it wasn’t scoring. Until Thomas Partey lost his head, Arsenal never reacted. Huge.

8. Dani Ceballos

This might be my favourite. Not only were there rumours that ‘CEBALLOS COULD BE BACK!!!!’ before the game but Madrid clearly don’t know how Arsenal fans and players think about Dani Ceballos. Like them, we were also hoping that Dani Ceballos was back.

Arsenal. Mentality monsters.

POSITIVES:

Defensive organization:

I’m not sure if we realize how good we are at defensive organization. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that we are in the conversation for being one of the best organized teams in the history of the game. I say this boldly because this level of defensive organization and consistency in production has only really been a thing the last few years. For those of us that are older than 20, football was like a basketball game back in the early 2000’s and most certainly before that. Honestly, it was probably more fun, but there is always something to see and get your enjoyment from whether it’s the stubbornness of a group of players, as we see with Arsenal. Mourinho in his better days will put his teams and himself in the conversation but honestly when you play a forward line of Mbappé, Rodrygo and the guy who didn’t show up to the Balon d’Or because he thought he was the best player in the world and he wasn’t. Then you shut them out twice even when they have aura, RamanNoodles or whatever it’s called, Ronaldo, and the roof, you better start thinking about my claim.

Timber:

Credit: Arsenal.com

How good are you when you replace one of the best defenders in the league who has such a natural relationship and flow with the players ahead of him, and look like an upgrade? I feel for Ben White. I don’t think that his participation next season will be like his participation since he returned from injury. I think that we will be smart with rotation and that he will play at least 40% of the games. It’s more of a reflection on what an excellent consistent defender Timber is. Again, the player who was too good to go to the Balon d’Or ceremony never got the better of him in two legs. I might be wrong about this, but when I say never, I mean never. If Vini Jr is the best in the world (which he isn’t) or not, he is certainly considered the best winger, and so this puts Timber’s performance in a category that nobody else can say that they have entered into.

Saliba:

His mistake aside, he once again showed how imperious he is. He reminds me of a footballing prince. I’m really not sure what a footballing prince is supposed to look like, but I’ve just invented the term and Saliba is my visual.

Kiwior: 

These two games against Madrid might have given Kiwior an Arsenal career moving forward. Not only has he been mistake free after the first two minutes of the first leg, but he has produced goal saving actions. The addition of his wonderful left foot and sprinting speed put him in a category that would be hard to find a better third choice centre back. There is a reason that the top teams in Serie A want him. We just hadn’t seen it yet.

MLS:

I wasn’t gonna put him on this list, but considering the experience that he just had to go through of playing in that kind of atmosphere, he was bloody brilliant again. It’s such a compliment to him that Madrid went down the other side significantly more than his side. Rodrygo is normally a huge threat to any full back, but I can’t remember one productive thing that he did over two games. I think the cockiness in Skelly’s game is more advantageous than dangerous. It puffs his chest out and gives him and us a confidence. It erases any fears that we might have with his age and inexperience.

Partey:

Zubimendi must be a superstar.

Rice:

No superlatives left. (Credit arsenal.com)

For those that watch the Premier League and are Arsenal fans, apart from Rice’s free kicks his performance is of no surprise. In fact, it is what we thought we were going to get. The nuance to that thought though is that a player can be capable of being a game winner as an attacking and defensive player, but can he do it in the biggest games? Rice most certainly answered that question and has elevated his status in world football. Many are talking about him as being the best midfielder in the world currently and because a midfielder is asked to do most everything that everybody else on the football pitch is doing, it is hard to see past him right now. We are getting goals. We are getting set play perfection. We are getting motivation. We are getting a cool head under pressure. We are getting athleticism going both ways. We are getting bravery to tackle in the box. We are getting elite positioning. And I would imagine that in the next couple of years we will be getting 15+ goals.

Saka:

Credit Arsenal.com

He is not yet at his free-flowing best but like the very best players who have ever played the game, he never leaves the pitch without making an impact. His penalty kick looked like a player that changed his mind or to be fair, a player that was being a little cocky at the wrong time. Whatever it was, it was a mistake, but most players would hide after having done this He just rose. His defensive effort was by far the most important thing that he did over the two legs and his goal was quite delicious. My favourite moment by far was seeing him run behind the defense. Not so much because he scored, but because this is the greatest need of improvement in his game. He is too quick to want the ball to his feet and misses so many opportunities to make his life easier. The gap was large and hopefully the success in having scored from Merino’s pass will encourage him to look for more gaps in the future.

Martinelli:

I feel like I need to apologies to Martinelli. I had a bit of a doomsday scenario for him coming up this summer where Arsenal sell him or he drops to significantly less minutes next season. It’s just been a good while that we haven’t seen any progress from him. My apology though is based more on the coaching staff at Arsenal. I didn’t put enough intelligence into remembering that every player at our club improves. They aren’t allowed to not improve. Whether you call what we are currently seeing in Martinelli as improvement, or returning to his previous level it’s still improvement. He was at a sticky point where he plateaued. That singular moment of scoring the winning goal at the Bernabeu will lift his confidence all by itself. Also, I love that his goal made us look like the superior team that we were. It was a goal that exuded superiority as it never looked in doubt, even though it should’ve been 50-50.

Merino:

Do you know what is wild? Merino’s improvement and value to both our attack and midfield, actually made me wonder toady if Arteta might not buy a striker and just go with Kai and Mikel. I don’t think this is going to happen as Arsenal have gone too long without a specialized striker and it is our biggest need, but it is an interesting thought to consider that we might win the Champions League with a striker who isn’t a striker. It reminds me of France winning the World Cup with Petit and Vieira and also with an invisible striker, Guivarc’h. Merino isn’t him. He is a true threat and ever since he started playing in the false nine area, we can see the benefit of his passing weight too with the two perfect assists. He may well start next season on the bench and if he does he will be very unfortunate to do so based on his huge contribution since Christmas.

Arteta:

Much like Declan Rice, Mikel Arteta’s stock has elevated. Much like Rice, those that pay attention properly will not be surprised that Arteta has put on a tactical master class yet again against a big team. He’s been doing it for at least two years. We have to brace ourselves for offers that will come in for him. Real Madrid themselves may knock on the door, even though the rumour right now is Jürgen Klopp. If Barcelona or PSG fall out of the Champions League in embarrassing fashion, then you know that their owners may look elsewhere, however mad that is. If City don’t get relegated, then they will certainly ask for Mikel when Pep leaves. Vincent Kompany won’t be at Munich much longer and so they will ask. If we do win the Champions League this season then I’m not worried. He won’t think that he has made it at Arsenal until he wins the PL

Arsenal players vs Madrid players:

Was there anybody in Real Madrid’s team that was better over two legs than the player in the same position on our team? Both games? I think that our goalkeeper is in the same conversation as Courtois. We clearly have the better right back. Would you swap Skelly for Alaba? I wouldn’t. There centre backs are good, but I’m not a fan of thugs. No chance I would swap ours for theirs. They have extremely talented midfielders of which Valverde is the one I’d love to see at Arsenal. It would be hard to argue though that any of them would come to Arsenal right now and sit any of our midfielders down. Mbappé would certainly be an improvement in most scenarios but I wouldn’t take Rodrygo over Saka. No chance. There is no doubt that Vini Jr is more efficient than Martinelli but much like Rudiger over Gabriel, one bad apple who isn’t willing to defend could ruin our team.

Based on my assessment, not only did Arsenal win both games, but I think that we are a better team anyway. We have to prove that we are more likely to win major trophies than them in the future to be considered this way by others and that is fair. Arsenal have been the club in Europe on the rise in the last few years. Of that that there is no doubt. These two games have just woken up those who were asleep. The tide may be turning in our favour. It was very noticeable that Vini Jr approached Bukayo Saka for his jersey after the game. In the past, it would’ve been the other way around.

NEEDS:

Ancelotti’s genius:

Did you notice that Rudiger was often man marking Saka? Watch him again on Saka’s goal. Ancelotti has completely confused Madrid’s defense by moving their centre back out to the left when Saka had the ball. You’ll see the gaps in Madrid’s defense and although Merino’s ball was delightful, it actually wasn’t that difficult. You can’t be this extra tactical if you don’t have a basis of tactical organization to start with.

Fans:

I’ve seen the Real Madrid ultras many times before. I loved how our fans were singing Tottenham songs at them and I did observe that they looked like they are auditioning to be stormtroopers.

HOPES:

Signings:

I’m not sure if the players that we will sign this summer will realize what a compliment it is that they have been chosen. Arsenal simply don’t sign players that they think might work out. You have to be convincing both on and off the field to play for Mikel Arteta. As we now approach the pinnacle of world club football why on earth would we gamble on new players screwing it up?

My list for the summer comprises of players that are on Arsenal’s list, but in many cases are not number one. The players that I’ve chosen will in my mind be more ready to go in the Premier League than the list that I think Arsenal will sign. I think we have already proven that we can be a contender to win the Champions League with the current squad and even with multiple important players out injured, but we are yet to convince in the Premier League that we can overcome the injuries, referees, and low blocks.

Here is my list of players that I would bring into Arsenal this summer…

Striker: Viktor Gyokeres

Central midfielder; Adam Wharton

Winger; Antoine Semenyo/Tyler Dibling

Attacking midfielder; Sverre Nypan

Left footed defender; Jorrel Hato

Keeper; Joann Garcia

Here is my list of players that I think Arsenal will sign;

Striker: Benjamin Sesko

Central midfielder; Martin Zubimendi

Winger; Nico Williams

Attacking midfielder; Kevin DeBruyne

Left footed defender; Jarrol Hato

Keeper; Marcin Bulka (Nice)

Partey replacement:

Not for next season, but for the first leg. I would go for Zinchenko. He’s done it for his national team and has the experience to not be ruffled. This change offers the least shifting of players. I would use him there in our next two league games to get him reacclimatized. If it doesn’t work, then he would still be the player that I would bring into the team moving Rice to defensive midfielder and Zinchenko two Rice’s spot. I’d also consider Nwaneri for the first leg.

There is another option that I like. MLS at DM, KT at left back. Puts both in their natural position and gives us Timber-like one on one ability with KT.

Worldwide:

There were apparently around 500 million people watching these two games. That is 1/16th of the global population. There are moments in footballing time that capture people’s hearts. Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp are responsible for many thousands of people choosing Arsenal. There are many others, of course. Arsenal now have captured the hearts of many new fans in just those three hours.

TWEETS and THOUGHTS:

I’m going to engrave ‘Arsenal’ on my air fryer now.

I can’t believe I missed ‘aura’ in my opening piece. Rather than pretend I remembered and correct it, I’ll give Chris credit for this tweet. You should follow his account by the way. He has the gift of articulating what you are thinking.

I’m with Laura. Ever since the beard appeared, he’s not been at his best.

Lucas, Lucas, Lucas.

Not again, Lucas. Were you hypnotized before kick off and thought you were playing Alaves?

No comment needed.

I could write another blog just on this stat. Completely different commitment levels. This stat may get Ancelotti fired all by itself.

Nuff said.

FINAL THOUGHT:

This is a Pep-less observation. Did you notice that arguably the 4 best modern coaches in world football all have their teams in the Semi Final of the Champions League? Hansi Flick, Luis Enrique, Simone Inzaghi and Mikel Arteta.

All four of them are tactical and motivationally elite. Two of them specialize in defensive organization (Inzaghi and Arteta) and the other two specialize in attacking threat (Enrique and Flick).

The team that can do both most effectively will likely win the Champions League.

Arsenal are starting to get their forward line back and back to form. I’m not sure if the other 3 can touch us in defensive organization, commitment to defensive effort and ability to consistently shut down the best players in world football.

I think Arsenal will win the Champions League. Why? Because of their wingers. Saka and Martinelli are returning to form and Trossard is a safe bet for a big goal. More importantly than that, our wingers are committed to taking defending seriously and I don’t see that anywhere on any team in world football. Barcola, Doue, Yamal, Raphinha and Kvara can win you the CL but can also be responsible for losing it because of their inconsistent desire to help their full back.

That’s on Arteta. That is the ‘non-negotiables.’ They could win us the big one.

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.