A car with three gears’
An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective
I never like playing Brighton away. We’ve been pretty successful there recently, but they are always a team that I think are capable of beating us.
Always well coached, unafraid, and capable. Capable of beating us at the same game.
The result was a surprise because Arsenal are on a roll. Not only confident, but really hard to create chances against.
Unfortunately, Brighton found a weak spot.
We looked like a team that either showed up having done a two hour training session before kickoff and/or a team that had won the last five games in third gear and never had to utilize the other three gears.
Unlike every other game this season, including Manchester City, Brighton forced us to use gears that we haven’t had to use this season. This was perfectly embodied by Arsenal successfully playing out of the back until the vertical pass was needed. The first three gears meant that we didn’t create ridiculous errors that led to easy chances (apart from the odd one) yet Brighton’s relentlessness and aggression forced us to make choices that were risky or play with one touch when we were used to getting two or three touches.
Strangely, Arsenal have managed to become an elite team without really utilizing one touch football. Perhaps it’s because the coach sees us as more of a team crafted to be reliant on power. Power in physical strength. Power dribbling. Power in upper body strength. Power set plays.. There are only a few players who are cute and want to take the risk of playing a one touch ball.
We were exposed because we relied on patterns that they were very familiar with yet played the pattern even though there was a better option. When you rely on patterns, you can get lazy as you feel like there is no need to scan and check. Especially when you’ve done it for the last five games and got out easily.
What was particularly frustrating is that Arsenal in fourth, fifth and sixth gear can be unstoppable. Even against a team at the very top of their game like Brighton. We had periods of possession and opportunity but much smaller. Unfortunately, when good and great opportunities arose in front of goal, our players snatched at them, which seems to be an ongoing issue.
Arteta will be frustrated by many things that I’ll talk about later, but I think that the lack of leadership when the game went 3–0 will have rattled him. There was still time left in the game to come back, especially for an inform team like us. Nobody seemed to raise their game or try to get anybody else to and their energy gave the impression that they were calling it a write off.
The coaching head in me sat in the pub in Knoxville and was telling the people around me that on some level it is better to be beaten 3–0 than 2–1. A closer game can live with you longer because you were so close to not losing.
When a leading gets spanked across the backside, the cheeks and the backside again it normally results in a far more serious group the next time. Mikel will be thinking of how to rally them, but then again I doubt that he will have to. Even though the leaders and the team let themselves down, Arsenal is such a well run club with such high standards and principles, they will not need to be told that they have let themselves and each other down.
I expect Leeds to get spanked in a few weeks.
It’s a shame that this game isn’t next weekend because the frustration and anger may subside a little.
Either way, Leeds are getting spanked.
POSITIVES:
This:
Dowman:
I applaud Arteta for playing Dowman. Personally, I would have brought him on at halftime. Sometimes the age has to be chucked out of the window, and if you have a player on the bench with the deception and running power to disturb a press and man marking system, then you can’t just give them 10 minutes.
He needed to be given at least 45 minutes to play as the number 10 and even though the rest of the team were not on it, he would’ve provided at least a couple of opportunities whilst running with the ball. Opportunities that nobody else in our midfield even attempts to do. That might be harsh on Declan Rice, who has tried it a few times over the last few games, but he doesn’t have the cuteness or for some reason, the confidence to finalize the action in this situation.
VG:
The kind of opinion and analysis that I like is from somebody that offers a flexible point of view.
He was pretty woeful against Ipswich, but that doesn’t mean that he’s a bad player and needs to be sold. He was still our top scorer in our most successful season in over 20 years.
We still haven’t seen the best of him. Bangers have been his main weapon at previous clubs and I don’t think we’ve seen that even once at Arsenal.
He provided the best pass of the entire game for either team when he lobbed the defense to give Havertz his big opportunity.
Most analysts just want to mention his negatives when I could comfortably make a compilation, even from the five games this season, of some very good creative one and two touch ideas that he has had.
He gets beaten with the fan stick harder than others simply because his weaknesses are more obvious than the others.
NEEDS:
Madueke:
I do wonder if the rumors of other clubs being interested in Noni is a real thing. Like VG, I wonder if his head has been turned. It’s not like Arteta to bring on Dowman in front of him, but I felt that there was a message being sent.
On the other hand, I was surprised because Saka is yet to hit his form and Madueke has looked equally dangerous in his first action. Saka, has the end product of three goals and so I get it but I do think moving forward that players like Saka, Odegaard and Rice need to be sat down for their own sake.
Madueke runs hot and cold, but his hot is right up there with Saka.
Raya:
After saying last week that David Raya is our best player, he has what for him, was a stinker.
I was tempted to mention that the only weakness I see in his game is every few months he plays a risky ball out from the back. He needs to eradicate that totally. In his position, he has to be 100% certain that the player he is passing to will 100% find the next pass or he needs to not play it. I’m sure that this is overconfidence and somewhat of a compliment to the players in our team that he has so much trust in what they can do under pressure. The reality is though that regardless of the confidence level of our players, if you put a top player in a very tricky situation, you have to also take into consideration that the guy behind him might also be a top player or simply good at reading what’s about to happen. That then negates what you thought you could do.
The only other small weakness in Raya’s game is that when he makes a mistake, he tries to make up for it by trying too hard. He flapped at the first cross and instead of staying on his line in a huge crowd he kept on coming for balls that were not his. Like they say with field players, after you make a mistake, make the next few actions simple for yourself so you can get your game back. Don’t try and do a step over after you’ve just done a step over and nearly broke your nose.
Bruno:
Not sure if what we saw was rust or just a bad game. No particular judgment as that might’ve been his first start with Rice in the Premier League and so that will take time. If Arteta had that game back then maybe he doesn’t throw Bruno into a game where rhythm and understanding of partnership is not there yet.
Gabriel and Konsa:
Again, no hard judgment because they are a new partnership. It’s just come to my attention that over the last three games they don’t seem to have figured out which one of them needs to step out to block the shot and who needs to stay back and squeeze the others in.
I was also concerned that they were too quick to sink into their box when they could’ve held the line at the top of it. Every split second matters, and when that ball went through both of them, David Raya had half a second less to see it.
Saka:
I hope that I am wrong, but he seems to have lost some of his quickness after all of his Achilles issues. He is struggling to find separation whether he goes right or left.
If we were to go ahead by two goals or more in the next few fixtures, I would give him half an hour as a left-winger or attacking midielder. If his issues creating separation on the wing are going to be a long-term problem then a fresh look would help in the short term and a different position might be needed in the long-term.
Havertz:
Maybe one day I will research this. Somebody else probably has already. Havertz seems to struggle to finish in certain scenarios. I think it’s actually the scenario that he found himself in.
When he is running with the ball straight down the middle of the field, he doesn’t seem as confident as when he is approaching the goal from an angle.
Tzolis:
I don’t believe in making final conclusions and shouting at people when you just started something. Just wanted to mention that Tzolis has been significantly better and looks more comfortable in home games.
He obviously has to play away games, but in the short term, you might want to try something else away from home until he adapts to the leagues intensity and atmosphere.
I’d be fine with giving Eze a run because it’s hard for any good player to reach the top of his game with just bits and pieces.
For those that read my work regularly, you will know that I suggested a Saka switch to the left-wing to refresh the attack. I also think that Noni would be a good option out there.
HOPES:
Arsenal have Arsenal’d me out this weekend so I’m going to finish up with a non-Arsenal story.
If you don’t listen to ’That Peter Crouch’ podcast, I would advise you to give it a try.
Much like his book, he is just a very regular guy doing regular guy things with regular guys who aren’t famous.
His stories are always so relatable and humorous.
In the latest episode, they were talking about however Everton have an executive game package that costs £25,000 per person.
You read that right.
I was on the edge of my Mini listening on the way home as to what is in the package.
You will have to listen to it yourself to get the full list, but here were a few things that Everton are offering…
- Pre-match meal with the players
- Join part of the training session on Friday with the players
- Stay at the players hotel
- Pre-game meal with the players
- Ride the coach to the game with the team
- Sit in on the tactical meeting with the coaches
- Sideline access during the warm-up
- Sit in the dugout with the substitutes
There is of course a signed jersey from the whole squad and other bits and pieces you would expect.
A few hours later, I’m still a little confused as to whether I think that is one of the biggest ripoffs I’ve ever heard or one of the most memorable days of your life.
Just to think that they can pay Jordan Pickford’s weekly salary by four people taking up this executive package.
I’ll wake up in the morning with more clarity as to what I really think about this, but I do know that this seems two or three steps too far. Very uncomfortable for the players, coaches and probably for the fans themselves.
How do they vet these people? How do they know that they’re not going to go share secrets that they saw and heard?
How do they know that they aren’t Liverpool fans?
Isn’t this the kind of thing that takes the heavily edited club documentaries to a whole new level?
Either way, it’s not happening at Arsenal. Yet.
My last thought is that if I was stinking rich, I would quickly drop £25,000 on this experience because I’d probably never know that the money had left my bank account but I’d definitely remember discussing whether David Moyes should park the bus or high press with David Moyes.
Blessings to all and a quick extra thanks to those that are sharing my writing 👍🏻
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.
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