TOTL again. Finally. If only for a day. Unlike our rampant demolition of the opposition in nearly every game this year, this one was more of a grinding out victory. This was back to what you expect in this league. Tense, nervy and nail-baiting. But, nonetheless, well deserved.
Brentford fought harder than these other teams, wasted time and disrupted as best they could our rhythm. And they thoroughly deserved to lose. This felt like some of those last minute winners from last season. But here our character really shone through.
A good starting point is Aaron. What a game for him. The whiplash of uncertainty, indecisions and mistakes to be followed by redemption. His distribution was erratic. The throw out to Trossard for the quick break was excellent. If Martinelli had been playing that would have been a different outcome. But too often he played it long right back to them. And then, of course, there was that hesitation leading to their goal. His teammates could have helped more by providing more options to him. But it’s his responsibility to recognize and read the situation. That last second twitch or stutter cost him – and us. And potentially our title chase. I felt so sorry for him. And some of this is a by-product of having mostly sat glued to the bench for the last 6 months; a certain amount of rustiness is inevitable. There is no substitute for actual gametime.
Then there was the second half redemption. Two outstanding saves. One from the long distance speculative Toney shot and then the close range header. This kept us in a game we continued to dominate. You could see his relief when Have-that scored. And in the celebrations on the final whistle. I fear though this is the last time we’ll see Aaron in Arsenal colours. You could see that in the way he was waving to the crowd. We’ll miss him. He could have been an Arsenal legend. It will be a shame to see him move on. But he should. He deserves it. He’s too young to waste away on the bench. And, unfortunately, we could see that jittery side to him today. He is a wonderful goalkeeper. As much as it hurts me to say so, and even before his mistake, I was sat there thinking, OMG, we’re missing Raya. Strike me down with a feather. But suddenly, finally, I realized what others have been claiming for months now. Sure, I’m a but dense. And just a little slow. But, Raya is better suited to the style of this team. We are a better team with Raya plays. There I’ve said it. Now take me out and shoot me (form an orderly line please).
Before going further it would be remiss not to comment on the referee today – Rob Jones. He, in addition to Brentford, did his utmost to disrupt and slow down the game. He blew up for nearly every niggly foul. He booked people for breathing on a player. The collective frustration of everyone with him meant that far more emotion and anger seeped into this game. It could have easily boiled over. And that would have been on him. Of late, the refs have been pretty reasonable but todays officiating was picky and rewarded the Brentford players for falling over and wasting time. He did not have a grip on this game. Let’s hope we don’t see him again.
One of the many beautiful things about this team is how they consistently try to play their football. We’ve seen this all season though in particular since the start of the year; well after Fulham anyway. Our captain, who was instrumental again today, is the perfect bellwether for our team. He personifies how we approach the game. He is our heartbeat; he is a microcosm of Arsenal. Consistent and calm. No panic. But a relentless commitment to controlled, intelligent and intricate football.
The vast majority of our threat today – due to the absence of Martinelli – was down our right. That triangle of Saka, Odegaard and White ran Brentford ragged all game. On the other side Trossard was largely anonymous. He only came alive when he drifted infield. Saka torched their fullback and, and in the second half, as we desperately sought the winner, was instrumental as he asserted himself. His character and determination really shone through; leading the charge, challenging their defense and pulling the string along with Odegaard. Though he did not score or provide an assist today, but his presence was pivotal.
And then there is Ben White. What a performance for a right back. Two amazing assists and forever providing options for Saka. How he is not in the England squad is mind-blowing.
Today it was all about the “2”s.
– The two summer signings – Rice and Have-that – both scoring our goals
– The two assists from Ben White
– Our two goals
– The two Ramsdale saves
– The two winning Have-that goals against Brentford this year.
Without those two summer signings we, literally, would be last years team. What an impact they have made. Sure, that was a ton of money to spend. And while there was no doubt about Rice the same can’t be said of Have-That. Yet again today he was the difference maker. Yes, he missed a breakaway chance in the first half where he should have scored. But, when the pressure is on, with the clock winding down, with us all fearful we’ll stumbling to a dreary underserved draw, there he is in the six yard box to head home the winner. That’s six points he’s earned us against Brentford this season.
And more credit to Arteta. He has backed Jorginho this year and he’s been rewarded. He had another fine game. And that has released Rice to operate further upfield. His goal today means that he has scored more now than all last season for WHU. And he hit the bar today. He is developing into a true goal scoring threat now. He is developing into that Lampard, Gerrard role now. A box-to-box midfielder who can score goals. And he makes Have-that a better player. It was Arteta’s decision to take off Jorghino and push Rice back to defensive cover though that enabled us to apply further pressure. Bringing on Nelson and Jesus injected further urgency and pressure. Culminating in White, yet again, setting up that glorious winner.
These are the games that you have to find ways to win. Look at Liverpool at Forest. You have to find a way to win. And we did that while staying true to how we play the game. There is a belief and confidence in this team. They stick to their principles and continue to play the same way knowing that it will yield results.
I’m still not convinced we’ll win the league this year. We might but it’s going to be so tight and we have three tough away games coming up starting with City. This team though has elevated itself from last year. We have more maturity, more intelligence and more ability. Our game has evolved and we play the best football in this league. And we will, over time, only get better. These are two teams are cresting while we are still rising.
Before the extended break and the City game we have the small matter of Porto. I’m slightly ambivalent about this one. Sure, I’d like to win. I just don’t know if I want to waste time on this. If I had to chose between the league and the Champions league I’d take the league no doubt. Our squad is still thin and would hate to see any injuries to our key players. Also, Europe is tough for us due to our lack of experience. With the ways refs disallow physical contact and the opposition play negative, defensive counter-attacking football I’m not sure we’re well suited to this style – yet. It’s good experience for us – for next year. It’s also less enjoyable to watch these slow, tactical games with European players melodramatically falling over.
Tomorrow we can hope for one win and one draw. Villa need to put that lot to the sword. And Liverpool need to draw against City. As I’ve said, plenty of red cards and injuries are the order of the day. Let’s see Haaland and KDB stretchered off after colliding with each other only to them watch Walker and Stones both pull each others hamstrings. It would b e convenient if they were all sidelined for our visit. And of course, Klopp should also injury himself running up and down the touchline. Not that the celebration police would ever criticize him.
Even if we do somehow get knocked out by Porto, one positive by-product could be that the 5th place finish would not qualify for the Champions League next year – and you know who’s in 5th currently.
Let’s enjoy today though. What a wonderful, if slightly stressful, result. To be finally back TOTL. That feels so good. Back where we belong.
-LB7