Mikel Arteta Finds Reasons For Optimism In Defeat At The Hands Of His Mentor

 

Manchester City 1 Arsenal 0
Premier League
Saturday 17th October 2020  5.30pm

Although the defeat at the Etihad was disappointing (and when aren’t defeats disappointing?), a bit or perspective is required which can be found when looking at the Premier League table. Arsenal have played five matches, two at home and three away. They have lost what are on paper the two most difficult fixtures in the 38 game calendar – away to the teams that finished first and second in the league the previous season. Anything from these two visits would have been a bonus, and Arsenal were not disgraced in either game. What they demonstrated was that the gap still exists between the sides that are genuine title contenders and the Gunners, but that Mikel Arteta has made progress with the organization of his team. Not so long ago, Arsenal regularly collapsed in these type of fixtures, sometimes to a humiliating degree. 

Granted, some players underperformed, but the depth of options available to Pep Guardiola meant that even without key players like De Bruyne and Laporte, he was able to field a strong team, which compromised Arsenal’s ability to play the football their manager wanted. It came in short spells, the main one in the final phase of the first half, but for the most part, the focus had to be on containment. In this respect, they struggled most with Riyad Mahrez, although Phil Foden on the other flank created problems too. The decisive goal involved both players, and Hector Bellerin was picked out for allowing the latter inside to fire the shot that led to Sterling’s goal, although who is to say Foden would not have shot anyway, if the option to cut back was blocked off? For me, it was simply a well-worked goal. Ideally, Leno would have parried the shot wider, but his priority was stopping the ball entering the net, and it carried plenty of power.

That came a little after the halfway mark of the opening 45 minutes, and by then City had established more dominance. Arsenal were able to respond though, and in their best spell, chances for Saka and Aubameyang were foiled by excellent keeping and there was an argument for a penalty against Kyle Walker for a very high boot that came very close to Gabriel’s head at the close of the half. 

The front three didn’t really work out, with Willian generally the central forward – a move which indicated the priority for Arteta was getting eleven players behind the ball when City came forward. On one level, you could argue it was no mean feat to restrict them to a single goal, given the number they normally convert. Arsenal’s best players were Saka, Ceballos and Gabriel. The gameplan seemed to be to overload City on the right side of their defence, but Walker kept Aubameyang quiet enough, and most of the threat came from Saka. 

Ultimately, Arteta’s gameplan to nullify a superior side didn’t work. He’s had some great results at home and at Wembley doing this, but it’s not going to work every time. He expressed pride in his players afterwards and if you compare it with, for example, City’s visit to the Emirates in December of last year when Arteta was on the bench alongside his mentor Guardiola, you can see a huge difference in terms of commitment and organization. Moments of individual brilliance were lacking – but you can’t be over-critical given the ability of the opposition. Undoubtedly, for the money outlaid on Pepe, we would hope to see greater return, and because of that fee, Arteta cannot give up on him yet, as he has done with Ozil. The number 19 had two headers he might have done better with, but at least he was in position to take them. He wasn’t hiding. 

The second half was not an easy watch. Chances were fewer and the team had to work hard to ensure City did not take the game out of reach. David Luiz replaced Rob Holding due to a hamstring injury in the warm up – which is so frustrating for the latter as Arteta is giving him more of a chance. Arsenal did defend well yesterday. We have to allow for the quality they were facing. Ultimately, it was two coaches playing understandably similar tactics, one with a better set of players. 

Thomas Partey was on the bench, and it could not have been a surprise he did not start given the lack of opportunity to integrate with his new team-mates and the manager’s methods. His cameo at the end of the match didn't tell us anything. A few touches, but nothing that we can form any assessment from. The substitutions made little difference. Lacazette for Willian was probably overdue by the 69^th minute, and Nketiah came on with Partey too late to really impact. 

It will be interesting to see who makes room for Partey. If Arteta is to remain with a back three, one of Ceballos or Xhaka will have to step down in the big games. Rotation is inevitable, and my feeling is that Arteta will opt for Xhaka and Partey against tougher opposition. Xhaka is his de facto skipper on the pitch, regardless of the armband, although I am certain we will get the opportunity to see the two players who came from Madrid’s two main clubs work in tandem given the number of matches Arsenal will be playing as European club football gets going properly again. The schedule is about to get fairly intense, and one must hope that Arteta’s injury list does not worsen. He has four centre-backs out of action now.

The next two Premier League matches are key. At home to Leicester and away at Old Trafford are difficult games, no argument there, but they are matches Arsenal are good enough to win if their defensive work is done properly. They played with courage at the back yesterday, sticking to Arteta’s desire for the ball to be played out from the back and the movement and accuracy of the passing was encouraging to see. There is confidence in the side, and this defeat should not impact it greatly. On another day, this could have easily been a draw. Yes, it was ugly to watch at times as fluidity was hard to come by, but this work in progress is exactly that. If we, as fans, can be patient, there is hope that further improvement will come. Earlier this month Jurgen Klopp celebrated five years as Liverpool manager. It took him until his fourth season at the club to win his first trophy. Arteta does not have Klopp’s experience, but he has had a good apprenticeship with Guardiola, which saw plenty of silverware. Even in defeat, even with the areas where improvement is required evident, we can still see the signs that things are moving in the right direction, compared with what has gone before. 

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