We’re still top of the league. But only just. That was a painful reminder of how far we’ve come but yet how far we’ve yet to go. This is a long journey. Let’s hope we don’t get lost. I decided to wait 24 hours to put pen to paper (well, not literally – neither exactly 24 hours nor pen on paper). We had deserved something from this game but somehow managed to make crucial mistakes
Did I mention VAR?
This was the first game of the season where we did not start with possession domination. For the first 15 minutes they, had more energy, looked fairly decent but did not create any outright chances. We held a firm line and waited. Then we had a counter attack goal, beautifully executed from Odegaard winning the ball back to Saka playing through Marintelli who’s speed and delicate chip was reminiscent of Overmars.
And then VAR gets in on the scene. How this is clear an obvious error? It takes 3+ minutes to decide it might have been a foul. But don’t tell me that’s clear and obvious. That wanker Tierney was two inches away and had eyes on this. He did not think it was a foul. Yet, VAR hundreds of miles away, someone deep in a bunker, decides this was clear and obvious. They spent an extended period looking in microscopic detail for any contact or possible foul. If you look long enough and in excruciating detail, you’ll always find something. Now, it’s clear and obvious that VAR can’t help trying to re-referee a game. I’m sure other teams had more egregious instances of being penalized this weekend. And we will witness yet more as the season drags on. At some point boundary conditions have to be put in place on VAR. Or, better still, take the human subjective element out of VAR. automated offside and maybe red cards but you don’t have to intervene on any and every situation. To be fair this was marginal. It might have been a foul. But so what? It might not have been. And Tierny is there to referee. As painful as that is.
But from that moment on we woke up (in a non-woke way). Odegaard got on the ball, Zinny feed Martinelli and Saka started to rinse their fullback. But aside from one De Gea save with his feet, we failed to test him. We would get close in the box but missed that final pass or shot. Like Bigg(ish) Willy, this time he shrank way from his shot.
And then we were picked off for their first goal. Gabriel jumped in where he should not have; he broke the line. And then the wonderful Zinny got sucked into a central position to leave their tattooed, ugly new forward to slot it past Ramsdale. It was a well taken goal but not exactly deserved and against the run of play.
The second half started in the same vein. You could see that United were lacking in self belief and confidence. We played some nice football. Pressured them up the pitch but somehow lacked that final killer pass or shot. The truth is we did not make DeGea work too hard. But we still deservedly drew level. High pressure and Odegaard playing the intelligent pass through to Jesus for Saka to sniff out a shot. All good things continue to run through Jesus. And both Martinelli and Saka were tormenting their full-backs. We just needed to be patient. And then Sambi mis-places a pass to Jesus in their half and they counter-attack again. White was caught out this time (and for their third goal). But when we, like Man City, play such a high-line, small errors will be costly.
Back to reality. That’s what this game was. I believe we were better than United. But we did not earn the right to win. We made two many mistakes. Aside from our defense mistakes, in hindsight, Arteta should not have made 3 substitutions at once. And not then. We were still in the ascendancy. They hit us on the break for the second. But we had dominated the second half. He should have been more patient. And I would not have taken off Zinny (though maybe that was more protective) because with those changes we were too open. And that third goal killed it for us. And it might have been more if Ronaldo was, like, 30 years younger. We need to get used to this. Because when we play the wankers down the road this is exactly the strategy they will use – to hit us rapidly on the counter-attack.
It was good to see Zinny back out there though Tierney must be a little pissed. But Zinny adds more for us in creativity and forward movement. He also helped – as did Xhaka – with Sambi. And Sambi had a decent game. Some of his passing was excellent. He controlled his game and could not really be blamed too much – even if he helped on their second. Once those subs came on I think he got a little lost positionally. As long as he is not over played he should continue to develop.
But like the rest of the team they need a year or so to fully cook and mature. I still believe we were unlucky yesterday. We held our own against a re-energized and re-organized United team. The score line flattered them. This is a good team (to be clear i’m refering to Arsenal). We were picked off against the run of play.
And back to VAR. There have been many instances where VAR has interceded correctly (i.e. VARdy diving in our area against Leicester). And I don’t hear of any anti-VAR noises our of Spain or France. Or in International matches. Or European matches. So, just maybe, we in England just have knobs for Referees and VAR assistants? Is that possible? A long line of knobs from Dean to Tierney to Moss. VAR has evolved in the 4 seasons we’ve experienced it. But someone needs to take clear ownership and define clear standards. First off, there has to be a timer on VAR. The person reviewing has no more than 1 minute to assess and make a decision. I mean, that’s still more than 60 times as long as the referee had to make the original decision. If they require more than 1 minute then it can’t be clear and obvious. How hard a concept is that? Let’s see how long it takes to implement this? People will argue, when does the 1 minute start? Well, when the referee refers it or from when the incident occurs. We would need someone to oversee VAR and implement the changes needed. Not FIFA or EUFA thank you. But someone steeped in the knowledge of the game. And, yes, I am available. I would be prepared to make that sacrifice. For a large sum of cash (in re-usable notes – no crypto thanks) deposited into an account in Bermuda, I would be willing to be the Czar Master of VAR. There that’s settled.
So the next few games will be interesting. Aside from the accumulation of injuries, this will be an interesting test. Last year we were a streaky team. A run of wins followed by a run of losses. Is that still the nature of this team? Or can we find a way to immediately bounce back. That will tell us a lot about our character. Let’s see how Arteta reacts in his team selection. As I always say, it’s a long season and it’s early days yet. We are still top of the league. We are still in a great position. It’s not the end of the world. But neither should it be the beginning of the end of the world. So let’s see what backbone we have. I suspect we will bounce back. This team has more confidence. And better players. But we need to sort out the defense. Maybe we’ll see Tommy re-appear. Not to blame White but we need to get this right.
And now we have the distraction of the NoHoppaCup on Thursday. Let’s see if we have any players to put out there. ESR, who was invisible when he came on, now seems to be injured again. I hope does not turn into another version of our Jack. This would have been a fine time for him to get some minutes. But we can’t afford to play Sambi nor Odegaard nor Jesus. So let’s see.
And remember, we’re still top of the league. For the moment.
-LB7