TOTL again. If only momentarily. A nice relaxing three points. Players rested. Clean sheet. Just what the doctor ordered. Minimal anxiety and stress. As much as I admire Luton; plucky little Luton they really offered nothing. I fear they are destined to return from whence they came.
Arteta finally indulged in some genuine rotation. Gone were Rice, Jesus, Kiwior, Jorginho and, not by choice, Saka. They all needed time on the sidelines. It’s the first time in the Premier League we’ve started without Rice. Partey started his first game since before the discovery of electricity. And we finally saw the return of Zinny. Best of all ESR started ahead of Vieira.
From the outset we dominated. But you could see the slight lack of precision which comes about when you swap out nearly half your team. Slightly misplaced final passes or the expectation that someone would have made a run that they didn’t. Nonetheless, there was minimal pressure from Luton so we had total control of the game. It would just depend on whether we created any openings.
Fortunately we still had Odegaard. He linked up well with Partey and helped drive us forward. The first goal came from a high press with ESR winning back the ball before the interplay between Odegaard and Have-that saw Odegaard coolly score making a difficult chance look easy.
In the meantime, Trossard continued to burn their right back but marginally fail to deliver the killer pass or shot. Today was not his day. Nothing realy came off for him. And, you could see what he could not play against City. His defending left a lot to be desired. With both him and Zinny on the left, they conspired to make Townsend look threatening.
On the other hand, while he still had energy, ESR was a live wire. It took him a little time to adjust to actually playing rather than sitting on the bench. But he found pockets of space and linked up well with everyone. He even managed to defend as well. And he was the source of the second goal. Finding space in the box to pull the ball back for Nelson to let the other team score.
It’s a shame Reece could not put that away as he put in a decent performance. It’s hard to have to replace Saka. And while he does not have the incisiveness of Saka he was able to track back and defend Doughty in a way that I suspect Saka would not. Of course, it’s tough for him as well, having spent so long on the bench. But he took his chance today and showed that he can contribute, even if he is no Saka.
The second half was pretty dull. After the domination of the first half, we played game management in the second half. Conserving energy and working the clock. It would have been nice to run up the score as goal difference is going to come into play. However, we kept a clean sheet. I’m not sure Raya had a save to make. At times, especially with Partey, the closet they came was when we were playing the ball out of the back. Partey can seem too casual and nonchalant at times. He was the only one that induced any anxiety. Thankfully we brought on Rice for the last 60 minutes. I fear I’ve just lost faith and, maybe, patience with Partey. He was so key to our success for so long. And I know he needs a run of games to regain match sharpness but I just wait for that slack, careless pass. Today we saw a few, but not from him to be fair.
Behind them all the pillars of stability were barely troubled. Saliba and Gabriel are on fire currently. As is White. They seem impenetrable. As physical as Gabriel is, Saliba was so graceful on the ball. So much in control and he reads the game perfectly. Behind them Raya though untroubled did have issues with his long ball distribution.
Arteta was completely vindicated in his team selection. After the injuries and fatigue of last years campaign it vital that we can successfully rotate players. Some of them – such as ESR – deserve more game time. And some of them – such as Partey – just needs minutes. The extra rest for Rice, Martinelli, Kiwior, Jorghinho and, unfortunately, Saka is vital. We saw again today why Zinny can’t play against a real winger; the boy just can’t defend.
Even Eddie got playing time. At one point we had Eddie, ESR and Nelson all on the pitch at the same time. All three Hale End boys. We were just missing Saka. Of these, it was ESR that stood out. He made the vital contributions and demonstrated he has something to offer to this team. He just needs to stay fit and healthy. Otherwise, he’ll end up treading the same path as another number 10 – Jack. I hope not. And to be fair to Jack he really did play many minutes from a very young age – and was not protected by the referees.
TOTL until tomorrow and then off to the south coast at the weekend. Our run in is challenging. More so than the other two. And the margins are so thin. I suspect one team will go undefeated and pick up the title. I just hope it’s us. But I doubt it. It’s a shame Villa could do us no favours today. And I doubt Sheffield are capable of even tieing their own shoe-laces tomorrow. Let’s hope that at least they keep the score line – and the goal difference – respectable.
The contrast between today and Sunday could not be greater. And that just amplifies the maturity and growth of this team. Actually, this squad. There is the sense that there is just a little more depth to this team now. And there is an adaptability and flexibility to how we can play. We have a Plan B. But, watching Plan A play out is so much more fun. We have seen others struggle to overcome Luton but, today, there was no drama. Just classic Arsenal football.
So, TOTL for one more day. Expect Saturday to be way more tense.
-LB7