Why, just why?
Morning all. I had the luxury (if you’d call it that) of going to the Emirates Stadium to watch the game yesterday. It involved driving down and back, so I’m fairly exhausted both mentally and physically.
I was going to wait to watch highlights of the game before writing this, but I thought I’d give it a go straight away the morning after…
1. The line up
Look, I’ve been complaining about this for each of the last 2 games. And I’m not going to stop now. Partey at right-back doesn’t work for me. White and Saka have a great connection when White is at right-back and we lose that when White goes more central. Since the whole inverted full-back position became a thing, lots of other teams have been trying weak versions of what worked so well for us last season. I feel Partey at right-back is also a weak version too.
Lots of players had bad games yesterday, Trossard and Havertz being 2 of them. We know Trossard can be great – so, is it down to something they’re being asked to do that they’re not comfortable with? Martinelli too, he just seemed isolated down the wing and when he cut in to shoot it was often straight at the keeper with little to no power behind the shot.
And why are we not starting Gabriel?…
2. Defending
I’m not saying if Gabriel started yesterday we would have avoided some of those errors that led to goals. However, it’s no secret we are conceding far too often at home. Especially in the first minute! Why is there such a lack of focus at the beginning of games?
What I will say is we need to be more solid at the back with the next 3 home games coming up against Utd, Sp*rs and City. And in order to be more solid at the back you have to start one of the best defenders in the league in Gabriel.
3. The subs
Arteta has an issue with overthinking things. It was nice to see him make up for the errors in his thinking by bringing on Nketiah and Vieira. I’m guilty in thinking we should have started Trossard up front in the last couple of games. He had a great pre-season, but it didn’t happen for him yesterday. But Nketiah came on and made a huge difference. And Vieira too. I would never have guessed he’d do as well as he did but at this rate maybe it’s time we take Havertz out of the firing line for the next game and try something different.
And when we were 2-1 up against 10 men, Arteta threw it all away by taking our captain, Odegaard, off. Why? Why does he do this so much?
We’ve seen the difference Odegaard makes when he’s on the pitch till the very end in games like that against Southampton at home last season. We shouldn’t be taking him off when there’s 15 mins to go!
4. Atmosphere at the Emirates
This one is hard to measure. It wasn‘t as great as last year. But then we were also 1-0 down from the very first minute. I mean I didn’t even know what happened in the first goal as it was so early – I just looked up to see Ramsdale out of position and the ball going into the back of the net. The atmosphere did pick up in the second half but there was a lot of frustration at the final whistle.
I think last year the title challenge was a surprise to all of us, so the expectations are higher this year and that’s probably reflected in the atmosphere. We are only 3 games into the season though, so let’s try to stay behind the team.
The smaller number of the Ashburton Army in attendance was obvious too. They’re good at pumping up the crowd so can the lack of numbers there be linked to a decline in atmosphere?
5. Stadium vs television
I enjoy days at the Emirates more often than not. Yesterday was no exception. Talking to those sat beside me for 90 mins, on the tube back, high-fiving and hugging strangers when we score (despite it being ruled out for offside) … only to never see those people again. There’s something beautiful about those moments.
The young woman sat beside me made me laugh. On first impressions she was very sweet and friendly, then all of a sudden something triggered her, and she’d be swearing and bashing the wall behind us to make some noise. I loved it!
The downside was I was sat at the very top, so whilst the view of the pitch was great, I couldn’t see the screens. And with no reception on my phone, I was left guessing what was happening at times (like how the first goal occurred for Fulham).
Song at the whistle
Guess what question is running through my mind since the game?
It’s still early days, a lot is going to happen this season and I’d rather drop points in yesterdays game than the next 3 home games… COYG!