Due to a hiatus of some kind, the cause yet to be identified, our expected match report on the Villa match has not been forthcoming. I have therefore supplied a few hurried, reflective thoughts on what I thought was an unfortunate defeat and a very decent display against a side who had laid to waste the champions a few days before.
The game was settled as early as the seventh minute when a slick Villa move, typical of their fast start led to Bailey sliding the ball across to McGinn who swivelled and curled a shot into the top corner. Saka had already missed a presentable chance from a great Martinelli cross and after needing about 15 minutes to settle following the goal we began to dominate the game.
Emi Martinez commented after the game that having outplayed City they “suffered” for 85 minutes against Arsenal. That “suffering” encompassed several moments when we looked certain to score. Martinelli beat Martinez to a floated ball and chipped towards the goal only for Diego Carlos to clear. Ødegaard fired a low shot which Martinez anticipated brilliantly as we put increasing pressure on their goal. Their offside trap was brilliantly (but frustratingly) executed and meant we had to time our forward forays extremely well.
At half time, the game was completely in the balance and early in the second half Jesús was clearly, if accidentally, tripped in the penalty area by Luiz but VAR apparently failed to investigate it in any depth – a pivotal moment. Ødegaard missed a very good chance blazing over after excellent work by Havertz who is starting to add quality to our forward play with his ability to get into exciting positions in the inside left position. After Saka had a goal ruled out for offside after getting forward to chip over Martinez (again dismissed without much apparent investigation) the climactic moment of the game came just into injury time when Havertz bundled the ball home but the referee decided (from twenty yards behind play!) that he had hand-balled it. The subsequent detailed VAR investigation eventually concluded that Havertz had handled but Matty Cash, who had his paws on the ball before Havertz touched it had not committed an offence! It was a very marginal decision but I sensed we were going to get very little sympathy from the officials. Add to this a potential red card that wasn’t awarded to Diego Carlos for an off-the-ball forearm smash on Nketiah and the inescapable conclusion had to be that it just wasn’t our day.
When you lose a game like that there are a mixture of emotions. The disappointment of the defeat clouds thinking and analysis and can also distort your sense of the game. We lost to a very in-form side, extremely well organised by Emery, in front of a very passionate home crowd. We certainly deserved a point and had we equalised (earlier than the Havertz ‘goal’), we would certainly have had the momentum to go on to win the game.
This defeat was not a disaster. I had watched Liverpool earlier in the day and they played much worse against an inferior side and were losing until a ludicrous refereeing decision (a very soft red card) destabilised a Palace side who then had their keeper taken off injured. We are playing every bit as well as Liverpool are but had come through a similarly tight game at Luton with little to spare a few days before this one. Citeh struggled to impose themselves on Luton today so given that we dominated Villa there is every reason to believe we are very credible title challengers.
We have conceded (with Liverpool) the fewest number of goals in the division and have scored the fourth highest number of goals. If I have concerns, aside from vulnerability to injury of key players (which equally applies to our rivals), there are two things I would like Arteta to address. Despite Raya not committing any serious errors (other than dropping his first and only cross in the first half), my sense is that the defence does not perform with the same efficiency as it does with Ramsdale. I would prefer to see Ramsdale reinstated.
The big question is whether we need a better striker than Jesús. Let me state that his movement, work-rate and flair are remarkable but he is not as clinical as I believe a centre-forward needs to be. He mis-controlled a huge opportunity in the second half. Top strikers need a better first touch. He is a hugely valuable player who can play wide and even in the 10 role but he isn’t going to get as many goals as Haaland, Salah or even Watkins. Arsenal title winning sides during my time have had a central striker who gets twenty goals or more in the league.
Radford and Kennedy, Alan Smith (twice), Anelka/Wright and, of course, Henry did provide that goal threat. Jesús has two league goals this season and never topped twenty even playing for Citeh. I’m not advocating ditching him (I would sell Nketiah) but I wouldn’t have him as our focal point upfront. I think Ivan Toney’s physicality would unsettle defences and he would provide a threat that Jesús cannot. It’s not an original argument and is peddled by the media but I’ve never worried about them. We need more presence in the box. Whether we have the FFP leeway to purchase him is another matter.
But, to reiterate, this was an unfortunate and undeserved defeat. I am bored stiff by complaining about VAR and poor officiating even though I was again disappointed by the quality of the officials. We are in the mix and this title will probably be decided by small margins. The sort of margins that a high-scoring striker can provide!
well. first.
i never get a chance anymore since i’m often the one making the change over. so there!
i still haven’t seen the game, except for the six minutes leading to their goal, at which point i had to go to work blacksmithing for the day. i am glad i had to do something else; i trimmed my nails earlier this week and would have been down to the first knuckle by the end of the game, it seems.
i am not a fan of bringing in toney. i imagine, given arteta’s discipline, that anyone who is indisciplined enough to bet on games, and get caught doing so, isn’t someone we’ll see in our dressing room. regardless of who we might sign, does that put jesus as a roving utility man, depending on state of game and date of game? left front with martinelli on the bench, 8 with havertz on the bench, or ???
Brilliant stuff TTG.
I thought we could easily have come away with a win from that game on another day. After a rocky first 20, which still could have seen us one up had Saka put that glorious pass from Martinelli on target, as he will 9 times out of ten, we controlled the game. The defence neutralised the Villa attack that had so dominated Citeh and our forwards worked their socks off to craft the chances we just couldn’t take against a well organised defence and offside trap and an excellent keeper (second thoughts, chaps?).
I thought we failed to utilise the ball over the top as effectively as we might have done with only Martinelli’s dart through and chip over Martinez, Saka’s disallowed one-on-one (both deemed offside on review) and Jesús’ late tired-legged mis-controlled run through standing out in my memory. I think the opportunity was there and Havertz in particular made several runs but didn’t receive the ball. Zinchenko in particular was dilatory in making that pass. All-i-all, we just didn’t get the rub of the green or the type of generous decisions that the Mugsmashers received.
Clearly you are correct in inferring that Jesús’ best work is outside the box and I think he remains our best alternate for Saka at wide right. Another centre forward (whom MA8 trusts) would allow more variety all along the front line with Jesús capable of playing both wide right and wide left. The lateness again of MA8’s substitutions does, I think, reflect his lack of trust that his available options can make as effective a substitute contribution as our first choice front men even with tired legs. However, I think Raya’s loan deal indicates we are right up against the FFP barrier and while I accept that he offers something different I am personally not sold on Toney especially not at over £30m. I do think that we will get a new striker in the summer but I have absolutely no idea who that will be.
COYG
Thanks TTG for stepping in and sharing your wise words. I’ve only seen the first 20 minutes so can’t comment on the game but we are still right there at the top with all to play for, so COYG.
Elegantly stepped into the breach, TTG, and with such a sharp eye, not that I have seen anyfhing but highlights but I get the impression it was one of those days that was just never going to be one of our days.
VAR, it seems, got the Havertz handball right by the letter of the law, but the handball law is an ass. Cash’s handball met the criterua for being accidental and thus not penalizeable. So did Havertz’s, except that as he then scored, it was. Had Nketiah got a final toe on the ball, not Havertz, I believe a goal should have been awarded — unless the VAR wanted to bail out his on-field mate by deciding it was not a clear and obvious error to call handball in the first place.
Impressively expeditious and generously to the rescue TTG!
I agree with your assessment that we need another central striker of pedigree who can play along with as well as instead of Jesus, a player I love and who brings a lot of variation, potency and workrate to our forward line, but who is never going to be a high percentage chance converter. I don’t know who that player would be, an established striker or someone up and coming like Artem Dovbyk who is leading Girona’s surprising charge to the top of La Liga. They beat their more illustrious Catalonian neighbour 4-2 away at Camp Nou.
We played quite well, exerted control and moved the ball well enough to at least earn a point, if not all three. There is not much new to be said about the refereeing (including VAR) standards anymore I guess, especially when words like “atrocious” seem insufficiently critical.
Hopefully Mikel will leave at home much of the regular starting eleven and play entirely a second string (but Ramsdale on goal) at PSV given that the result matters naught, allowing a bit of recharge to the core group before a sequence of key matches in PL.
Cheers TTG and well in scruz.
I’m with all those who felt it was ‘not our day’. That feeling was settled when Martin skewed his shot wide on his correct foot.
After that, VAR not giving anything in our favour is par for the course, so I expected nothing else.
Now for a free-hit vs PSV and hopefully back to efficiency* on Sunday.
*that applies to Eurostar too, still unable to claim any compensation, might have to actually ring them eventually.
Thanks TTG for an excellent report of a frustrating game. As you
say at least a point should have come our way.
The penalty for the foul on Jesus was an obvious call for me but we
we had other chances too and it wasn’t like the Newcastle defeat where
we created little.
I don’t want Toney unless he’s relatively cheap though it
certainly wouldn’t hurt to get more depth up front.
Personally, I think we will win the league even if we don’t get a striker in providing our key
players stay healthy. But then I am always optimistic……
It also depends a bit on whether de Bruyne has still got it on his return, Shitteh are missing him.
Congrats to the Arsenal Women on a 4-1 crushing of Chelsea.
Didn’t see the game but we gave them a bashing apparently.
Well rescued chaps!
Superb Arseblog this morning.
And another excellent piece in The Athletic. I do think, in the misery of defeat, there was some over reaction on Saturday, not least in these pages. I do still think we have every chance of winning the league, and I would not buy Ivan Toney.
https://theathletic.com/5124545/2023/12/11/arsenal-should-not-have-lost-to-aston-villa-this-is-why/
Interesting and enjoyable to have these reflections at this stage, TTG as a as an alternative to a blow-by-blow account of the match (already covered copiously elsewhere).
Arsenal enjoyed an advantaged share of the play for the majority of the game but unfortunately, proved unable to turn this into goals and hence points. It was always going to be a tough challenge that required all of our players to be at the top end of their skillset. It was my impression on the day that many/most weren’t.
Whether because of weather, crowd noise, nerves or the time of the month, a frustratingly high number of passes were hit too long or not long enough, too hard or not hard enough. Our front players sailed close to the offside wind and either the timing of their runs of the timing of the ball release to them reduced their edge. Jesus hit a cross field pass that fell mid-way between White and Saka before rolling into touch; then Saliba (unprecedentedly) passed a ball straight out for a corner.
And of course, shit happens in football, and for the most part, when it does, this excellent young team drives itself forwards and conjures amazing turnarounds. That this didn’t happen on Saturday didn’t result from lack of effort to create chances. It did however result from skill dips that in a couple of cases were particularly unexpected – and of course some help from PIGMOL.
I don’t think that Arsenal will burden themselves with the repetitional damage associated with Toney. While I’d like to see a potent striker arrive, I think that January acquisition is unlikely. Frankly, I’d rather have all four of Partey, Timber, Tomiyasu and ESR fit to play from the start of February until the end of the season. With that reinforcement, Saturday’s team can win the League.
I was disappointed when Lavia left Southampton for Che$ki, where he seems to have disappeared without trace. A cheeky bid for him in January anyone as a Partey replacement?
Didn’t Lavia pick up a serious injury very early in the season?
Will be ‘interesting’ to see how they do when Nkunky comes back too.
Nkunku even. He might not be clunky.
Thanks TTG – speedily and excellently cobbled together !
Reflection can be a very useful thing – as the Ugly Duckling found out.
CL training pics show ESR in full flight. Starter? On from the bench? Spectator? Pleased to see him back in some kind of action.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>