Whatever happened today I knew I would still feel the glow of last weeks outrageous performance. And I knew that we could not replicate that performance, atmosphere, or result. But then the opposition could not be that abject again (unless we had a re-match). And, I was nearly right. We certainly were not the same team as last week and nor were Brighton. We were fortunate to come away with a point. But at least we did not lose.
The team selection was about right but we just lacked the urgency and energy of last week. Too many tackles were lost, too many times we lost the second ball, too many times we had many players around the ball and they always came away with it. It was a frustrating game to watch just waiting for that moment when they nicked the points. To be fair they were pretty good and played decent football. I had always thought that if something unfortunate happened to Arteta – you know, like losing an important body part like his head – Potter would be a possible replacement. When you see what he’s done on a limited budget with some truly irritating players – i.e. Neal Maupay – and you see their performance today, I’d still keep him in mind.
As brilliant as Odergaard was this week he was anonymous today. They gave him no room and pressed him tight. But his first touch was not there and he remained pheripirahl throughout the game. Saka seemed more like the player that turned up against Brentford. You knew it was going to be a long, tedious game after his first minute foray down their left-side which ended up with a weak shot on goal. Equally ineffectual was Aubameyang. When we ask him to play a hold up role he just can’t hold the ball up; his first touch is often too heavy. But when he is receiving through balls he’s actually dangerous. There were so few opportunities for Odergaard to thread the ball through. One ESR pass did open them up but the Aubameyang was too indecisive and the chance was lost. Of these stars from last week ESR was the more effective. He continued to work hard and his touch and skill did not desert him. At some point over the next few years he will develop into a goal scorer. That chance when he tried to put if though the goalies legs was the only real clear cut chance we had in the second half.
Tierney looked dodgy today. Too many times he lost the ball or gave it away cheaply. He seemed off the pace today barely getting forward. And his defending was uncertain and he did not look confident. On the other side Tomi had his most difficult game yet. From giving the ball away early to set up a chance to him losing headed duels and being beaten on his outside, this game was his most challenging yet. But there were a number of occasions when, even when making mistakes I just knew that if Bellerin was playing it would have been far worst. Tomi hung in there and ended up with a solid if uninspiring performance. Alongside him White also managed to give the ball away too many times. He seemed to play in a shell today. Maybe returning to his former club had him play more conservatively. Behind them Ramsdale was not as confidence inspiring as he was last week. His handling was uncertain. Dropping the ball from their cross in the first half was unlike him. But his distribution was also off. It was noticeable how often he played long today. To Ramsdales’ credit though he made a number of important saves in the second half. But our defense was anchored today by the one player who was generally excellent throughout – Gabriel. He barely put a foot wrong. His distribution was good and his positional play was excellent. He helped marshal the defense. So, as drab and workmen like as we were he managed to gain a point and keep a clean sheet. And that was due to him with a helping hand from Ramsdale.
I have – so far – one wish for Christmas. Not that I believe in Christmas. Nor do I believe in wishing. But aside from those details. I wish someone would tell Partey not to shot. Under any circumstances. Because he is more or less incapable of hitting the target. Today was reminiscent of last season. And to cap it off, with both he and Odergaard standing over a free-kick, it’s Partey who takes the shot and manages to reach Row Z in the stands. As much as I appreciate the merits of Partey – and today, he provided the required defensive cover and aside from one wankey pass, he helped with the link up play – I worry that if and when he does eventually scores that rather than consider it as one would if you won the lottery, if will encourage him to shoot more.
Alongside him Sambi was quiet but reasonably solid. You can see what you lose by not having a left footed player like Xhaka in that position. Maybe, contrary to what our fans think, we actually missed Xhaka covering. Sambi has the potential to be superior to Xhaka but he does not read the game as well (yet). With non-functioning Tierney behind him it meant that our left hand side was less threatening than normal.
Cigarette brought better balance when he arrived. He is able to hold up play and has a deft first touch. Unfortunately we brought on Pepe and then switched Saka to the left soon after. Pepe really is a luxury player and we can’t afford to carry one. After sitting on the bench all last week and for most of this game you’d have thought he’d be energized when he came on. Rather, on defending, when the game was on the line, he was his usual lackluster self. Thankfully we had the hard working Tomi behind him not the debonair Bellerin.
We should have brought on AMN sooner to help add some steal to the team. It’s a shame we waited until Saka got hurt. AMN will get more minutes than he expected in the next 3 months. This will be his chance to establish himself. And hopefully to both push Sambi and also provider cover for him. Too many of our team are too young to allow us to compete. But all these games help them build up experience.
It’s refreshing that as dour as we could be for such long periods we came away with a point. The defense saved us today even with more than ½ of that unit being below standard. A better team – anyone in the top 4 – would have beaten us today. But fortunately they have to rely on Maupay to score their goals. Today I thought we looked like what we are – a middle table team. Which is an improvement on the start of the season when we went into the last international break dead last. Over the next few months we’ll see if we can climb up way up towards the top 8. With such a young team it will inevitably involve mishaps and awful performances brightened up when we play the lower, shittier teams – like we did last weekend.
In the meantime, it’s incremental growth and improvement. The team is still gelling. And it’s still overly dependent on Partey. When he heads off to the ANC in January we will be formally, officially and completely fucked. But until then we have another break for our better players to go off to foreign climates and see if they can acquire either COVIUD or an injury.
As we head off to fill our time with useless activities pending the resumption of play in two weeks, I would give us a C+ or B- so far this season. The last four matches gives us some hope given the introduction of our new signings and the return of Partey. There is a backbone to this team. We finally have the goalie we’ve been missing since tender, gentle Lehman. Someone has started to fill the shoes to Vieira. And we have a defensive pairing that is as close as we’ve seen to Koscielny and the BFG. In this match last year, which we lost 2-1 when we had Mustafa, Kolinsac and Guendouzi in the team. We’ve come a long way since then but unfortunately, we still have a lot further to go. So, strap yourself in and be patient. We’ve ridden out the immediate storm of trying to kick Arteta into touch. But once last weeks glow finally dissipates, the pressure will mount again.
In the meantime, I’ll be re-watching last weeks game. I can’t exactly remember who we played but I seem to remember we enjoyed a favorable outcome.
-LB7