Four days is a long time in football…

 

Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 1   
Premier League   
Friday 22nd October 2021  8pm   

So what was the difference from Monday evening’s poor display at home to Palace? In short, greater balance in midfield and the playing of Alex Lacazette from the off, whose play asked more questions of the opposition than we saw during the time he was on the sidelines four evenings earlier. Additionally, Nuno Tavares had a positive impact, Kieran Tierney having seen his form decline recently, almost certainly down to playing on with the injured ankle that has now been declared by the club. 

The greater balance – and Arteta has to now field two deeper central defenders after the attempts to play Partey there on his own quite obviously failed – allowed the likes of Emile Smith Rowe to contribute more. There is a feeling that the latter and Odegaard cannot play in the same eleven. I’m not so sure about that, but what does not work is playing that pair to form a midfield triangle with Partey deep.  The Norwegian number 8 was largely invisible against Palace, halfway between Partey and the number 10 position that Smith Rowe nominally took up, albeit Arsenal’s front four were fluid positionally - not that it troubled Palace for most of the game. Possession in the centre of the park was a bit of a collectors’ item as a consequence.

Lokonga replaced Odegaard and Pepe stood down to make room for Lacazette. So three changes and the side started the game well, with good threat in the opening stages leading to a set-piece goal that allowed Thomas Partey to open his account before it became a bit of a John Jensen thing. Sure, ESR’s corner came more off of his shoulders than his head, but it ended up in the right place.

Emi Martinez returned to the Emirates in front of fans for the first time since winning the FA Cup with the Gunners. He got the bird a bit from the crowd, which I thought was unnecessary. Granted, he chose to move on, but that was in the full knowledge that he was going to play second fiddle to Bernd Leno. Having not been given a chance to play regular first team football under three different managers at Arsenal, I don’t blame him, and the move elevated him to the status of Argentina’s first choice, so it worked out well. Mind you, in terms of the pantomime, it is definitely a younger and more domestic crowd at home games these days, which contributes towards a livelier atmosphere. Less tourists, more expressive voices. The East Upper is often a bit sedate, but it’s been fairly rocking at times this season, with the match by match ticket buyers in the rear seats getting the chants started. Even after the fall-off in performance since the win v Spurs, the home fans were behind the players from the off, and kept it going throughout the game. 

The conclusion of the first half had drama and a penalty awarded by VAR for a foul on Lacazette that was clear from the stands, so it was a mystery how Craig Pawson missed it first time around. Martinez did well to stop Aubameyang’s penalty and almost got to his follow-up, but a two-goal lead at half time it was and you felt the game was secure. Villa had not shown a great deal of threat and they certainly feel like a lesser side without Jack Grealish. 

Emile Smith Rowe added a third goal early in the second half to ensure that all three points were secured. Villa certainly had more about them after the interval and came close more than once before scoring fairly late on. But the scoreline reflected the game fairly accurately – Arsenal could have scored more themselves, hitting the woodwork and (at 1-0) Bukayo Saka being foiled by Martinez when he really should have scored. It was good to see Ramsdale berating his colleagues when the consolation goal was scored, Thomas Partey the most guilty… er, party. Arsenal were a little sloppy in possession at times, so this was no masterclass, but certainly a step forward after the two recent draws. 

The challenge for Arteta now is the same one he seems to have faced throughout his time in the dugout at the Emirates, which is establishing consistency in performance and spirit. Arsenal were more combative last night, symbolized by Lacazette’s making a pain of himself amidst the Villa backline. Given his lack of options, the manager has to give Partey and Lokonga an extended run, and perhaps not be tempted to rush Kieran Tierney back from injury. Tavares did well last night and there were some great overloads on the left flank, although the final ball from wide needs a little work as it tended to find a Villa defender too often. 

The side need to develop greater confidence and belief – but consistency of performance will likely follow consistency in selection. Arteta needs to stop rotating too much after one bad result (although it was necessary last night) and give an eleven that works time to hone their understanding. The second stringers will get a run out in the League Cup against Leeds, before what you imagine will be the same eleven as last night start at Leicester. There doesn’t feel like any reason to change. 

We have of course, been here before. As recently as Spurs. The Jekyll and Hyde Arsenal has been a thing for over a decade now – hence no substantial challenge for a league title past Easter, even when Arsene Wenger had teams stuffed with talent. This is as much as anything a psychological thing. The Invincibles season was a one-off, but the confidence in the team was obvious. That was eroded over a number of years and high profile reverses. That early 2000s self-belief a thing of memory now. The manager who can bring that back to the club is what is required. The jury on Arteta is probably 10-2 that he isn’t the man, but he’s hung on due to the type of games that we saw last night – in which his team do turn up and assert themselves. With the quality of squad at his disposal (and we know it cost enough), the club should be knocking on the door of the top four. Let’s see if a good run of results brings that about, but I am one of the ten on that jury, wondering when the pair of that are not convinced will have seen enough. Too many false dawns for this writer, much as I enjoy wins like last night’s.

I’ll end with a contribution from the good Doktor Schneide, who is beginning to message me regularly post-game once again…
Arteta still looks edgy. I guess he wants to get the lads on the bus before the dope testers arrive.

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