No Score But No Bore As Arsenal Deny United

Arsenal 0 Manchester United 0
Premier League
Saturday 30th January 2021 5.30pm

It was the kind of game that showed how fine margins in football can be. It could as easily have been a 1-0 win to Arsenal as a 1-0 defeat, and you can bet that many of the reactions would have been disproportionate in either the case. From ‘we can win the League now’ to ‘sack Arteta’. In reality, it was an evenly contested, open game between two sides who were both sloppy and creative in turns, enjoying some very presentable chances to score, and came agonizingly close enough times to make a very open game a far more entertaining spectacle than the result suggests. And we have seen some instantly forgettable matches between the two sides down the years, alongside the memorable epics.

Mikel Arteta is seeking genuine squad depth in his attempts to improve Arsenal, and he was tested on Saturday evening with the absences of Tierney, Saka and Aubameyang. I’ll take a guess and say the Arsenal captain landed in the UK before midnight on Thursday, and I believe he can return to work if he gets a negative COVID test after five days. This would count him out of Tuesday’s game at Wolves, but make him available for Saturday’s visit to Villa. Saka and Tierney we simply don’t know about, although neither are assumed to be long term absentees. 

Arteta continued with Cedric at left back, bringing in Martinelli for Saka. The latter was missed as Martinelli struggled to make too much impact, although defensively was switched on, which was pleasing to see. Arteta obviously wasn’t happy about something though as he was replaced by Willian at half-time. Arsenal’s pressing was not as intense as it was against Southampton last Tuesday, but there were odd spells when they recaptured the good football of the win at St Mary’s, especially at the start of the second half. 

Ultimately though, this felt a bit like two slightly below top level boxers struggling to land the knockout punch. And there was a time when this fixture was a genuine heavyweight clash. In theory, United are re-entering the hallowed company of genuine title challengers, top of the table the preceding weekend. One point from the next six has taken off the sheen slightly, and it should be remembered that only a few weeks back there was a belief that Ole Gunner Solskjaer was likely to be handed his P45 any day. It’s been that kind of season. 

The United manager, Arteta and Frank Lampard are all club legends relatively unproven at top level as coaches. Their appointments a leap of faith by the respective club boards. Arguably, Chelsea’s more ruthless ambition is the reason for Lampard’s exit, and the club are in a better financial position for compensation payments that follow their policy of dismissing underachieving managers with a long time left on their deals. Player power does seem to determine decisions at the Bridge since Abramovich bought the club. Arsenal have been reluctant to sack managers so lightly. Bruce Rioch was an exception, and although Unai Emery’s tenure was less than two seasons, hindsight tells us he should have gone at the end of his first, such was the collapse in the Premier League, which the club are still recovering from.

The players that remain at the club seem to be buying into what Arteta is doing, helped by the younger prospects showing the way and getting tangible results. When they play well, you can see the plan – the high press, the use of full backs as a key source of attacking moves, possession at all costs in the first two thirds. The effort expended demands a lead is established so that the game can be controlled more and counter attack a method of ensuring the result. But the team are not truly consistent yet, in terms of performance. You can see they are getting there, slowly. But the squad is a little too light at this point to compensate for the inevitable absences. Judicious activity in the transfer market is required, and less errors like the amount of the budget blown on the likes of Willian, although in fairness to the Brazilian, the half match he played was a vast improvement on most of his displays since joining the club. Thomas Partey had a disappointing game by his standards and the brief cameo of Martin Odegaard told us very little, so we wait to see how much impact he can have. 

Given that Arsenal face a tough run of matches over the coming weeks, it was important to avoid defeat on Saturday for psychological reasons as much as anything. And it has to be said that Bernd Leno’s contribution to the result was highly significant. A week before he was guilty of a howler in the FA Cup, but it does not seem to have impacted him greatly. He made one outstanding fingertip save and was brilliant in blocking Rashford. 

It’s been a good run since Christmas, with the exception of that FA Cup defeat, and the no-show at home to Palace in the league, a really bad day at the office, although at least the game was not lost. The run needs to continue for the season to really be marked as one of progress in Arteta’s plans. The United match was far from a great performance, but there was a resilience there, and it has to be said that David Luiz is beginning to justify the decision to retain him this season. Arsenal look to be spoilt for choice at centre back these days, which is something I didn’t think I’d be writing anytime soon.

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