This was Arteta’s game. His initial selection and then his substitutions. Without Southampton taking the lead I’m not sure we’d have won this game. It was only once we brought on Martinelli and Trossard that we finally we looked like our true selves.
I’d been looking forward to this game. It seemed ideal for us going into the useless international break. Southampton look like cannon fodder and we after the impressive PSG performance we were bound to slice them apart.
Yet when I saw that team sheet I recoiled. I hate the idea of Partey being right back. I would have switched Calafiori to the right and started Kiwior on the left. But that’s why I’m not the manager. From the onset we totally dominated. Saka was positively sizzling. They had to move over more players to cover him. On the other wing Sterling settled in quite nicely.
That left Jesus in the middle. And that’s where our issues began and ended. He was so ill-suited to this role. He barely held his position and was never in the right place at the right time. And nearly every decision he made was the wrong one. He’d pass when he should shot and shot when he should pass. He can’t score goals and can’t link up. Sure, we know he works very hard but, by now, all our players do that.
So many times in the first half Saka would create opportunities and he was never in the right position. With Partey at right back I thought that would be our weakness. Instead it was Jesus. Throughout that first half we controlled the game but actually created only a few half chances.
I suppose I understand Partey at right back. Missing the wonderful Timber and White still being in the stands. And I suppose Arteta had to give minutes to his peripheral players such as Jesus. In the last two years it’s the lack of rotation that has ultimately cost us. But today showed that Jesus is not really a viable alternative. He over complicates every situation. Refusing to play the simplest, cleanest pass. In the first half, during a rare moment of pressure from Southampton, the ball broke to him by the half-way line. As he turned, Saka made a run from deep on the right-hand side and was wide-open by the halfway line. But, No Jesus had to take an extra touch and slow the game down. Another missed opportunity. Anyway, he’ll surely pick up his regular knee injury soon.
Now I’ve exorcised my Jesus demon I can turn to every other part of this game. There was so much to enjoy. We know that Saka has, a long time ago, established himself as the first name on the team sheet. But surely Have-that must be the second. Today these two were shinning lights on the pitch. This was one of Sakas most dominate performances of the season. He created two goals and scored our third. He terrorized their left side of the pitch. And Have-that, operating in the Odegaard position, was involved continuously. He has developed into a confident player who drives us forward. And he scored the most important goal. That first goal was just so well taken. And it changed the entire game.
Somehow before that Southampton managed to take the lead. Maybe Saliba should have been closer to Archer but it was a well taken goal. But clearly they did not deserve to win this game. Instead it woke up Arteta. And immediately the introduction of Trossard, Martinelli and Merino rejuvenated Arsenal. The worst thing Southampton did was score. Until then there was a chance they could sneak a goal. Once these changes were made we rediscovered our fluency in the last third.
Though Sterling was half way decent Martinelli added that extra pace and energy. And Trossard and Marintelli enabled Have-that to move further forward. Oh, my last Jesus comment. Right from the start of the second half when Sterling won the ball back in their half and charged forward. It was Jesus that took the ball off his feet. And then proceed to shoot meekly at Aaron in goal. OK, no more Jesus (for the moment).
What a transformation to the team though. The energy flowed and Saka finally had people alongside him of a similar caliber. Those last 30 minutes where what I’d been waiting for post PSG. As soon as they arrived it just seemed inevitable that we’d turn the match around.
I don’t understand Southampton. They are just so naïve. Why do they play the way they do? From the first minute they insisted of playing out from the back. Arsenal are one of the best pressing teams. And they just don’t have the talent or skill to pull this off. Countless times they would lose the ball under pressure in dangerous positions. Yet they just continued to do the same thing. I’m sure we’ll heard the usual crap about how this is their style, their identity. But this will, as night follows day, result in them being relegated.
This is what Burnley did with Kompany last year. Until the last 3 months when they reverted to a sensible team. Southampton can’t survive playing like this. And certainly not against us. Without the skilled players to execute this approach they can’t possibly succeed. If we had started with the players that finished the game (you know what I mean – no Jesus) we’d have won this game before half-time.
It was nice to see Aaron back in goal. But now I’ve emotionally recovered from his departure, you really could see the difference between him and Raya. Sure he had a kamakazi defense in front of him but his passing is just not the same. Nor his control of the game at the same level. He just lacks that calmness. I can see it now. It just took me a year or two to accept.
Another benefit of the initial substitutions was that Rice dropped into a more defense role. It suits him so much better. He would be my fourth name on the team sheet, after Saliba. But I like the look of a Rice and Merino partnership. And behind them we saw yet another impressive performance from Calafiori. He really looks a special player. Sure, he got beaten twice by Dibble (what a classic English name that is) but his forward play and roaming around the field is to additive to this team. And then there’s his physical presence and skill level. We are so lucky to have added him to this team. He is going to a genuine star.
And we had the surprise of seeing Tommy come on towards the end to replace Partey. Again, I can’t believe that, not once, did Southampton try and use their pace to run against Partey. Partey really played quite well but they never once tried to take him on in our defensive area. We also saw what the lack of Timber and White meant. There was not a single overlap for Saka today which makes Saka’s performance even more impressive. All his passing was with Have-that. Partey can’t overlap. He can’t speed forward or backwards. He’s really like one of my older cars that basically had two speeds and limited milage capability. But to be fair it wasn’t him that chose to play right-back; that was on Arteta.
The team that ended this match looked like the real Arsenal. With both full-backs in place and a midfield that controlled the game we finally had players up front who could take advantage of the opportunities that were created. Did I mentioned how good Saka was today. He was unplayable – and clearly enjoyed himself. Everything good ran through him. Well, until Martinelli fired up the left hand side. Another goal for him. Hopefully his rediscovering his past form that we’ve missed this year.
So we enter into another international break in a great position with a great team in place. This team is better than last year. The addition of Calafiori and Merino and the return of Timber might be the final pieces. We now have an established spine of Raya, Saliba, Gabriel, Rice, Have-that and Saka. And we can add Calafiori and Timber to that. That’s 75% of the team accounted for.
And that’s all without Odegaard. Going into this run of games who’d have thought we survive his absence with this run of results. Certainly not me. Arteta rejigged our tactics and approach to compensate for his injury and we’ve still thrived. I’m sure we still won’t see Odegaard for another month or so.
So, let’s hope during this international break, that no-one – in particular Saka – pick up any more injuries. I don’t see why England need to play him for 90 minutes in both games. They already know he’s irreplicable and one of the first names on their team-sheet. So protect him, please. It’s just a shame Brazil don’t pick and play Jesus.
Now we have to find distractions for the next two weeks before we can resume our battle for supremacy in this league. But so far, we’re looking very impressive. We’ve matured, developed a backbone and improved this team. Arteta – aside from his initial selections today – has continued to develop as a manager. I’ve mentioned this before. But he’s noticeably more calm on the sidelines. He has more faith and belief in his own team. He is, like us, a supporter. And he sees what we see. A team that can genuinely compete. That’s not too shabby.
-LB7