TOTL. Again. If only momentarily. After the last week this was the performance we needed. Actually, it was the result that we needed to stay attached to this race.
Though others will see the last week through the eyes of the grim reaper, the performances have not been too shabby. In both games we missed our first half chances and then visibly tired in the second half. Today though, Trossard, who missed that chance against Villa, somehow managed to squeak out an all important toe-poke right at the end of the first half. That was the game changer we needed last week but I’ll take it today.
Prior to that I’d been moaning about how anonymous he’d been up. Or rather ineffective. Unable to really defend and unable to breakout in attack – or place crosses. It’s interesting how Arteta has lent on him rather than Martinelli during this period. I suspect Martinelli is not quite fit. Yet, right at the end of this game we saw a breakaway that Martinelli, care of his speed, jumped on in a way that Trossard would have not. Yet his finish was all too different from Trossards. Maybe that’s why Trossard starts currently.
The team selection is pretty established by now. With so few games left now and every point vital as we chase the City 115 machine, there’s no reason to shake things up. Clearly a number of players are running on fumes. Saka being the prime example. It’s hard though to put him on the bench. Even on one leg he will both occupy their defense and still generate chances.
Until we fully resolve that left back position the balance of this team will continue to be through our right hand side. That combination of White, Odegaard and one-legged Saka, generates most of our chances and creativity. While we dominated right from the beginning this game, fueled with the accumulated anxiety this week, had that ominous dreadful feeling of us not being able to score. This is just our fear of the past versions of Arsenal revisiting this version. But this version is different. We are somewhere between last years immature version and the mature Invincibles. And closer to the latter than former.
Our defense was as resolute as ever unlike earlier this week. No mistakes – except for the curse of the left-back – and no real attacking threat to deal with. Until Timber is able to return, we will have to endure the defensive vulnerability down the left. I like Kiwior. He’s defensively better than Zinny (though, to be fair, so am I). And at least he’s not a Santos. Their one outright chance, care of our left-back, in the first half was well saved by Raya. Aside from that he barely had a save to meet. And, as a bonus, his distribution was quite reasonable. There I go lavishing praise on Raya again.
Jesus is a fascinating player. We hear that he’s still not quite fit, carrying a knee injury. Yet he roves around the pitch with such energy, linking up the play and working so hard. It’s just a shame he can’t score goals. That’s the one thing missing from his game. It’s just a pity he’s our center-forward. Otherwise he’d be perfect. His pressing and work, in combination with the buzzing Odegaard allows us to apply pressure much higher up the pitch.
Have-that had yet another one of his reserved, quiet but very effective performances. There were two great chances in either half but it’s hard to be critical of either. Aside from that he won headers, was calm and controlled. It’s also nice that he’s got a nasty little edge to him. Don’t let that languid style fool you, he’s not averse to pulling shirts or being a little bit sneaky in his tackles.
I could not see us actually scoring today. We continued to insist on making that additional, unnecessary pass rather than actually shooting. But thankfully Trossard toe changed all that. The second half continued to be one-way traffic. Arteta seemed to unleash both Rice and Have-that. Both wandered over to the right hand side. There was more fluidity and control. Yet, we still lack that second goal.
As the game wore on, Wolves had their moments of control but without any threat. Yet with that scoreline, with our history, the anxiety levels inevitably increase. You’re one Gerrard-like mistake from being out of the race for the league. Thankfully though we have Declan Rice. He was, yet again, immense today. And you could see how exhausted he was. But he functioned on fumes. He is the primary difference from last year. And his effectiveness – aside from the last two games – continues to grow. Today, it felt, for him, was a statement game. He was determined to stop the slide and propel this team forward.
His second half performance was dominant. He was a true box-to-box player today. Dragging himself all around the pitch. It’s that mentality we were missing last year (in addition to a few injured players). Each game now has the potential to define our season. All we can do is lose the race for the title with one slip-up. We have to win every game now. And there are some difficult ones ahead – and today could have had been one of those. And that’s something we have to embrace. Because that’s the pressure that’s a natural part of wanting to win the league.
Todays performance was mature, calm and reassuring. This was the Arsenal we’ve come to expect. Ok, maybe slightly less exciting than earlier this (calendar) year. In truth, both in the first half against Villa and initially against Bayern on Wednesday, we played like this. The difference is that first goal. And today we found a way. So we did not have to suffer through the second half decay we’d seen of late. That goal provides all the motivation you need. And more importantly, it means you don’t have to go all kamakazi desperately looking for that winning goal – and then leave your self exposed to the counter-attack.
Sure waiting to the last minute of overtime for that second goal seemed a little unnecessary but this was three point well earned. And it leaves us in the race. And, most importantly (rant warning) it avoids others (and, unfortunately, some moronic Arsenal supporters) from accusing us of choking.
I genuinely don’t understand the use of this word. Choking. It’s so emotive. And designed purely to trigger a reaction. Which, of course, what this is. But it’s so illogical. First off you can only “choke” if you’re in the position to actually compete and win something. So, technically, shit mediocre teams that never come close to actually winning anything – you know who I’m referring to – can’t be a choke team. Because. They. Are. Shit.
This word is designed to be inflammatory. It’s designed to instigate. It fails to recognize the reality of those teams that just don’t win. So, by this standard City choked over the last 7 years because they’ve only won the Champions league once. Liverpool are chokers because they only won the league once. But this is clearly rubbish. And technically all the English teams that got knocked out of Europe mid-week are chokers. Well, aside from our Accountant and Villa. You can only “choke” if you can compete. So that counts out that bunch of wankers down the road.
I digress slightly. My point is this word, aside from being insulting, is a distraction. The reality is that it takes time to build a winning team. And failure to win is part of that evolutionary process. That is the journey we are on. And today demonstrated that. Care of Rice and Odegaard, we demonstrated the backbone we arguably lacked last year. That failure helped prepare us for today. That is how teams evolve. It’s not choking it’s maturing.
So let’s review the last week or so. We failed against Villa. Then we arrived in Munich and competed and controlled the game for long period but failed to convert. Bayern, who are an improved version of Porto ,exploited – in both games – our naivety and nervousness, to use all their years of experience, to find a way to win. That pain we suffered will come in handy next year when we are (hopefully) back in the quarter-finals. The teams we face in Europe are more technical, with some outstanding, world-class players (i.e. Sane) that are able to rest and rotate their players all year long as they are in one or two-horse race leagues. These teams only have to seriously worry about one other team in their league. They have uncompetitive leagues. Which is why they all want a Super League. But it also explains why we saw the collective aversion to Europe this week. The most recent version of Brexit. The departure of all the EPL title chasers. There’s no coincidence to this.
With just five games left, the next two are the major hurdles. After next Sunday we can revert to a game per week. That will help both Saka and therefore us. We saw over Christmas what happens when we have to play every three days. Arteta does not trust his bench. It’s hard to fault him when that includes Vieira. I can’t tell you how scared I was when Partey came on. One casual, nonchalant pass away from them equalizing. At this stage of the season there is no rotation. It’s just play your best eleven and suck it up. In five weeks everyone can rest. I just feel sorry for ESR.
As you can tell, I don’t consider the last week to be one of abject failure. Of us “choking”. You’re just not living in the real world if you think you can win every game. It helps that City do not have to live in our world. Check out Liverpool against Palace. It’s how you deal with these setbacks. And today we learned, yet again, that team has the mentality to react and respond. Those fine margins, or toe-nails, just have to go in your favour. And today they did.
TOTL again and now onto Tuesday night.
-LB7