Gunners lucky with one point after Pepe’s idiotic red card

 

Leeds United 0 Arsenal 0

Premier League

Sunday 22nd November 2020, 4.30pm

The Premier League seems to be a far more open competition this season, the combination of no home support and VAR seeming to have leveled things up significantly. So we had a situation where Arsenal kicked off at Elland Road yesterday with the noisy neighbours at the top of the table. People are seriously worried that the unthinkable might happen with Jose Mourinho guiding the players, and after what happened in 2016, you can’t rule anything out, but there is still a long way to go before any medals are handed out, and things still relatively tight at the top end of the table.

Having said that, on the basis of the two matches since Old Trafford, one does not expect Arsenal to be competing any time soon. The rebuild job that Mikel Arteta seemed to be making decent strides with four Premier League matches into the current season has gone off the rails. Since then, four points from five matches, the club in the bottom half of the table and with no goals from open play for an eternity. On the bright side, they are only seven points off top spot, and things can change quickly, but you just do not see where it is coming from.

The importance of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goals to the team has never been underestimated, and now he is in a dry spell, there seems no-one to step up and provide them. Neither Lacazette nor Nketiah started, as the captain was given a run in the middle, alongside Willian and Pepe. Although there were a couple of chances in the first half of note, these were easily outweighed by those at Bernd Leno’s end of the pitch. Granted, once reduced to ten men, things got even worse, but it should be remembered that with eleven on the pitch, it felt like half-time could not come quickly enough and a 0-0 scoreline then felt like a huge relief. Arteta hooked Willian and brought on Reiss Nelson, but things really didn’t improve. 

The manager seems to have prioritized defence in his signings, and in fairness, the goals against column demonstrates improvement. But that isn’t providing a platform to go on and win narrow matches. The attacking options just do not seem good enough. The long term hope here is a front three of Saka, a returning Martinelli and a back in form Aubameyang. The rest of them feel like donkeys right now. Pepe is a wildcard and can do something spectacular every once in a while, although his idiocy at Leeds will probably see him sit out matches beyond his three game ban, unless Arteta decides to keep him fit in Europe. You would not be too surprised if he had a long wait to play again though, disadvantaging his team with a needless red card after 51 minutes.

What followed was all too predictable after the first half, as Leeds dominated and created a series of chances. It has been the story of their season – the inability to finish off opportunities, although unlike their opponents, they at least create a decent amount of danger. They were easily worth three points, although were Saka more clinical, might have even paid for their profligacy by losing to a late counter attack. 

Can we give credit to Arsenal defensively, with a clean sheet from this game? I am not sure, although others have praised Gabriel’s performance and of course, he can’t do it all on his own. No question that Leno was the team’s star man though. Saka also played well after coming on for Joe Willock, who failed to make the most of his opportunity, finally getting a league start. Tierney showed spirit, although a bit too much at the final whistle and was fortunate to be ushered away from confrontation with Alioski, who hit the deck to ensure Pepe’s dismissal. Under Arteta, there are tactical theatrics to gain advantage, and at times it feels like watching a Spanish team, so no-one can complain too much when the boot is on the other foot. Pepe was an idiot – it’s as simple as that, and the manager’s view was all too obvious in the post-match interviews. There has been no update on the injury that forced the late withdrawal of Saka, but it feels as if Arsenal are going to turn things around, he will need to be involved.

Is it too early to ask questions about Arteta? Or is the strengthening of the squad simply something that needs more time. I don’t see any changes until the season is over, not least because of how tight things are financially. And in reality, the only way out of this is for Aubameyang to find his shooting boots again. The team are – most games – defending well enough (and played a back four last night), so the foundation is there. I don’t think this is a case of a player signing a contract and then losing motivation. Aubameyang could have probably made more money elsewhere. It’s a combination of a dip in form combined with the supply not being what it was. It must end sometime, but how long will we need to wait? The next two league fixtures are against Wolves and Spurs. 

The football they are playing isn’t very watchable either, a consequence of the priority on playing keep-ball, and not advancing at pace very often. It all feels a bit flat at present, with the idea of competition for places not seeming to fire up the players. Ultimately, given the circumstances, we should be grateful to come away from this match with a point, but let’s not pretend that this was anything but painful viewing, with a lot of head scratching about how this group of players is going to turn this around. Is it too early to think that the team are not responding to the manager’s methods? He has been there 11 months now. Arsenal have played some very decent matches under his watch, but there have been too many like yesterday’s. Inconsistency is the hallmark of a mid-table team, and right now that’s what the Gunners are, and you don’t get the feeling this is going to change anytime soon. There are too many players simply underperforming.

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