The day he sat the bench (Positives Needs & Hopes) [ARS 3-0 NFO]

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

Perhaps one of the reasons that you are reading this is because you know I’m an Arsenal fan.

Up until the last 20 years, viewpoints on games were written by neutrals. That has its benefits, but I found that I could predict what I was about to read at the start of each sentence.

Too predictable. Too generic.

I don’t read any of this type of writing anymore. It’s really all Arsenal fans and journalists that are of interest to me. I’m not doing it because I’m biased towards Arsenal fans. I do this because they are much closer to the club and their observations are wrapped in nostalgia and a similar passion to mine.

I can’t imagine any of the newspapers on Sunday morning are the slightest bit interested in the story of the game being about the bench. There were a few reasons why that was really the story.

In a bizarre backwards type of logic, I’ve been waiting for the day when Declan Rice would be on the bench.

I knew it would come.

He’s fantastic, one of the best in the world at what he does, but it’s what it says about Arsenal Football Club rather than what it says about him.

I wanted to feel that my team felt totally comfortable leaving a player who cost £105M on the bench.

I wanted us to be at that level.

I knew it was coming because there have been other clubs in world football who have done it. It was almost as if it was the last marker to point at that we are a truly elite club.

We are now in the situation where a top quality player goes off and another top quality player goes on, and the difference is just in different skill sets.

We’re getting closer to people believing this when they think about Rice and Merino. Most everybody thinks Rice is significantly better and maybe he is but he doesn’t have the composure in front of goal like Merino does. Rice probably beats him in most every other attribute, but if you’re picking the team you have to consider that the most important part of the game is putting the ball in the goal and Merino makes himself a huge temptation in that regard.

Then Martin gets injured and Ethan comes on. I didn’t feel concerned and I don’t mean that out of disrespect for Martin. I felt excited.

A home game where we are largely dominant is where Ethan needs to live and he was.

Ethan brings ball carrying and goal scoring threat and Martin brings the ability to conduct and dictate.

I should’ve started my compliments with Madueke. He was fantastic, especially in the first half and to his credit the talk before the game wasn’t over concern for Saka’s absence. That’s a new thing. It’s beautiful.

Martinelli and Trossard were plenty good enough to start for Arsenal.  They might do so for their national team, but our team has grown beyond the majority of national teams now and these two are a step or two below. To see them coming off the bench is fantastic because without trying to offend them, this is where we needed to be. These two players are perfectly suited as bench players for an elite team.

This exact story needs no more words added for Cristhian Mosquera.

He’s trying to displace arguably the best centre back in the world. Right now, he has no choice. He’s the next man up and honestly it’s hard to tell much difference.

I think we have forgotten that our starting left back last season was one of our players of the first part of 2025. Now he has been at least temporarily replaced by a player that is being used to cause utter confusion to our opponents. A player who pops up all over the field, creating overloads.

I don’t get involved in online arguments over who is best, better or terrible. I just don’t find it interesting. It gets in the way of my enjoyment, if nothing else. I’m determined that whether we win a trophy or not I’m going to enjoy this team. If I pass up the opportunity and forget to enjoy such a talented squad of players then I may be giving up an opportunity that doesn’t come again.

POSITIVES:

• Madueke

Alongside many others, I didn’t realize what we were getting. He is exactly the profile we were needing. Somebody that could back up Saka and be good enough to make the coach feel like he could rest Saka.

Also, to be able to play on the left so we can fix that area. Most importantly, the team desperately needs an effective direct player. Without knowing what Arteta is telling Saka, I think it is very fair to observe that he can often kill the momentum of attacks by always wanting the ball to his feet. As crazy as it sounds, he is also often too generous in his decision-making. I love that Noni attempts to beat his man at least 50% of the time. Football doesn’t have to be complicated. If you are significantly quicker and faster than your opponent and you are one on one in space, then the best decision will always be to beat your fullback. He is uncomplicated and hugely dangerous, but more importantly his directness  disorganizes defensive units who don’t have time to talk and organize. He is forcing them to play numbers down and on instinct.

• Zubimendi 

Much like my desire to enjoy my team regardless of trophies, I want to have moments that get me off my seat.

I was on one of those big yellow American school buses when he hit his banger. I’m helping EllieAnn coach a high school girls team and we were on our way to the mountains to play a game. I wonder what the girls thought of their assistant coach losing his mind over what was going on on his phone. Actually, I don’t care which I suppose is the point.

Apart from the goal itself, I just love that he tried the volley. Honestly, if you are a professional footballer, you need to be able to volley a ball on target from 20 yards without feeling the need to take a touch. I remember being concerned when thinking that he was going to be our defensive midfielder because he is quite a bit shorter than Partey. I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but he either has a fantastic leap, such determination or simply great timing in the air. He really didn’t have a right to score his second goal and I hope that both of these goals encourage him to shoot more often. It seems like most Spanish players simply have a higher technical level so they need to use it when it matters most.

• Eze

Things that frustrate me… Fans that think that you have to have a lightning fast player in order to dominate athletically. You don’t.

If you have the ability to make the defender slow down to the point of stopping, then this is sufficient. Eze has an electric change of pace.

That wasn’t a new discovery, but as for our team, what seemed like a new discovery was having a winger cross the ball with their weak foot with their first touch. Not an Arsenal thing we do which is a shame, but hopefully Eze will encourage others simply in his success rate.

• Gyokeres 

Little by little, we are seeing more of his game. Because I was watching the game on my phone I didn’t notice who played that beautiful one touch looping pass to the left wing. It was him. I loved that we saw his thunderous shooting ability even though it was from an acute angle. I love that he has confidence to do that. If you could hit the ball as hard as our Swedish avenger can with his superhuman powers you can defy coaching analysts that say you should never shoot from there.

• Mosquera

I really don’t know what to say. An obvious round of applause to him for all and everything that he did and is doing because it is so very impressive. I think the biggest round of applause has to go to the person that started all of it, which was whoever at the club identified him as an option. A player like that is likely worth six times what we paid for him and that price will only go up.

• Ricky C

Is he the most equipped defender in the world when in possession. In a team of elite players, he is the one that is given the most freedom. That doesn’t happen unless your toolbox looks more like a shed. I’m going to call him ‘The Shed.’ There we go.

NEEDS:

• I’ve been sitting here for two long trying to think of even one, but it seems like I’m reaching so I’ll leave it alone.

HOPES:

• Tuesday

How delightful that we don’t have to worry about selection on Tuesday. Light up a cigar where you would’ve been spending time ranting at your screen. I’d imagine we will see White, MLS and maybe Saliba. Merino back in Spain says goals, but Rice will start no doubt. I’d love to see Nwaneri get some rhythm and perhaps Norgaard gets minutes. Hincapie to give Gabriel a break?

TWEETS and THOUGHTS:

Perhaps our biggest problem last season (apart from PGMOL) was injuries. As long as Arteta rotates well we shouldn’t be suffering fatigue related injuries. Why bring back Saka when Noni is getting it done. Play Rice once a week if Merino can do it. Mosquera can give both Saliba and Gabriel a break. Havertz when fit can do the same. Give our best players a full 3 weeks to sit on the bench or change the ‘n’ in bench with an ‘a.’ That might be a bit cocky.

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.