Still top of the league. Amazing. But soon to be caught by the Nordic giant from the North. What a contrast to last year. Five games with maximum points. Time to end the season I think. Who needs a nine month season. August is sufficient to determine the league winners.
I was petrified that Arteta would juggle the entire team to adjust for the lack of Partey and Elneny. Instead he made the wise choice to go with the as-yet uninjured Sambi. Fortunately, against such muted opposition he was not tested greatly. However, he performed admirably and linked up the play quicker and more smoothly than our injured Egyptian. In fact, we looked a little more nimble with him there. He does though have weaknesses that others will exploit. He can’t seem to win headers and is caught ball-watching on defense. Too often he fails to track his man back as he watches their possession develop. But, all in all, it was a good introduction for him. It’s been a while since he’s played 90 minutes and deserves time to adjust to no longer sitting on the bench.
Our attacking strength was on fall display today. Again, we came out of the blocks pretty quick. We dominated. Well, as much as we could, while Villa were hacking us to bits. It’s amazing that McGin did not get a yellow card until the second half while the wonderful Odegaard picked one up in the first half. Maybe it was their colours, but there were times when they looked like and played more like Burnley than Villa. Not that Gerrard is as ugly as Dyche. But like Burnley, if they continue to play like this they will be relegated. Though they will discard Gerrard before then.
There were so many chances to score in that first half. Our interplay was at a level they could not compete with. Jesus continues to shine brightly. Martintelli buzzed around and Saka showed signs of life. At some point he will rediscover his scoring boots. Maybe he has to learn to shoot with his right foot or learn just to stand on it. Marintelli set him up with a gorgeous chance that he missed. And there were so many skirmishes in their area that you wondered if we’d ever manage to get that opening goal.
Martinez pulled off a number of excellent saves. And it was refreshing to hear the crowd continually boo him. Well deserved after his comments. Thankfully though the curse of our old goalkeepers returned to help us. He should have done better with that first goal. As good as Xhaka was again operating in that forward position, he should never have been allowed to advance without being offside but they could not hold their line and then Martnez should have held onto that deflection. Thankfully Jesus was alert enough to pounce and deservedly give us the lead. It was suprising how muted the Villa reaction was to going behind. We continued to dominate and miss chances.
Most of our best play came down the left. Tierny and Martinelli linked up well and Xhaka, operating in that free role, pulled the strings. He looks so much happier these days. And on the other side Odegaard continued to stroll around. Saka, aside from not scoring, flitted in and out of the game. But once he hits his stride, this team will explode. Of course, by then we’ll be playing teams that are more towards the top end of the table so we’ll need him.
The defense, while untested, was solid again today. In fact, I thought when White was taken off we actually got worse. By the end we had ESR and and Tommy on the right and we looked more venerable. First off, for their goal, Tommy has to take some of the blame. He was in front of Ramsdale and should have made more of an attempt to attack the ball. And then, while he is better at getting forward, he gave their players more space to operate in. It made me appreciate a little more the work White has been doing. In front of Tommy I was surprised at how low ESRs work rate was. It’s noticeable now once you see how much running Jesus does – and even Eddie, when he came on. ESR has to figure out how to work harder. He came on for Odegaard who was still suffering from the hacking of that thug McGin – when he was not booked.
By then we demonstrated our new found resiliency. I had the fear that Villa would find a way of scoring after we passed up so many chances and had started to withdraw into a more game management mode. But then, like against Leicester, we found a way to respond immediately. That must give us increased confidence. It started and finished with Martinelli. But this time Saka returned the compliment of setting him up. And Martinelli showed him how to put it away. And, again, Martinez, did not cover himself in glory. Maybe against United, they can sign Almunia or bring back Peter Cech.
To be able to recover the lead so quickly was so refreshing and so unlike Arsenal of the last few years. I’m still in partial shock. Of course it was deserved. But after all those missed opportunities it felt like we decided to wake up from our deep slumber to just put Villa down again. We had outplayed them and were so clearly superior. When you think back to last seasons encounters you can gauge how much progress we’ve made. And so much of it stems from Jesus. Not just his scoring but his work-rate and attitude. It infects everyone. Including Eddie. When he came on, aside from spurning one great chance, he worked so hard, held up the play and occupied their defense.
I’ve yet to mention Saliba or Gabriel. And that’s because they had little to do apart from swat away Watkins. How Gerrard left David Luis, Coutinho and Ings on the bench for so long is beyond me. Maybe he was scared of being picked apart. Maybe he did not notice that was happening anyway. But even when they did come on (apart from the freak corner) our rocks in defense held firm. We even saw a late appearance from Holding and his new improved, coloured hair.
That’s not to say the game was not annoying. Beyond the constant Villa (aka Burnley) fouling and weak referring, we had to deal with our own sloppy passing late in the game. When we should have been holding onto the ball we seemed to give it away to easily and started to lose the second tackles. It was enough to put my nerves on edge. Fortunately, Villa had no punch in them (ironic I know). Even Fulham were more threatening than this lot. As I said, hopefully they will go down this year.
Beyond this though, the most annoying part of the game was the abject camera work. And the habit of showing replays at least 3 times. While the game is going on. Or shots of either manager that linger while the game is going on. And now, whenever a player does anything, the camera goes in for a close up on that player. While the game is going on. For example, when, in the first half, when Martinez was closed down by Saka and he tried a back heel while right by his goal-line, we did not see that because we were being subjected to yet another re-run of a replay. Whoever is making these decision is an obvious moron. I can’t believe, in this age of ubiquitous iphones, streaming services and tick-tock (whatever that is), we don’t yet have either (1) picture in picture or (2) a choice of camera shots. This would alleviate the pain of being subjected to some producers idea of the collision of art and football.
So, when we next meet, we might or might not have made a few more transfers. If we haven’t it’s still going to hard to claim that this was not a great window for us. Remember this is a team for the future. One more year and one more window and we’ll have the full squad we need. But, let’s return to Sambi and Partey. As I said after Saturday, we can’t rely, unfortunately, on Partey. He was barely injured while at Atletico. But, in the English League, with its increased intensity and increased thuggery (that’s you, Villa), he can’t be relied on. And with Elneny felled by some mysterious injury, we can’t just rely on Sambi. As much as I’d like to have Neto it’s more important that we add a defensive midfield player. Once Sambi gets injured we’ll have to move Xhaka back into a position where he’s guaranteed to get booked and sent off due to his lack of pace. Not that I know who’s available at this late stage. But, as I’ve said even a blind man could see this exposure in the team. Not to say I’m a blind man, because I could see it.
This team is so exciting to watch now. It reminds me of our best Fabregas lead teams with Hleb, Carzola, Rosicky and Jack. Except that team was more mature. You have to go back to Eduardo to find a forward of the caliber of Jesus (sorry Giroud). We are close to operating at the level of the top 2 but we just need that defensive midfield cover. And we need another year or two to mature. This season cannot continue like this. Enjoy it while it lasts. It’s unreal. After the pain of the end of last season we deserve this. All I’m doing is watching the points gap with Chelski, United and that other lot. Give us as much cushion as we can to get that Champions League position. With the NoHoppaCup due to start I’m sure we’ll pick up yet more injuries. That’s what undone us last season. Even more reason to bring in a few more players. And we should also say goodbye to AMN and Hector. And all before our journey up into the red midst of the north. Let’s hope Ramsdale is fit and we have someone in midfield to demolish their cheating, faking, rollover at every chance clutching you face Fernandez.
In them the meantime, can I remind you of something? We are top of the League.
-LB7