Just like old times? Vieira runs the show at Arsenal once again

 

Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 2   
Premier League   
Monday 18th October 2021  8pm   

There were wild celebrations when Alex Lacazette (Arsenal’s most spirited performer on the night) struck the ball home at the death of this game, but, like any draw salvaged from a match that needed to be won, it felt like a pyrrhic victory. 

Arsenal have been outplayed by Brentford and Brighton already this season, and at home against Palace, Patrick Vieira’s side were allowed long spells of domination, and controlled far too much of the game. The players available to the managers of the three sides mentioned are not as good as Arsenal’s by a long way. But they have coaches that are getting the best out of them. We are a couple of months short of two years since Mikel Arteta took over at London Colney after the Unai Emery era ended badly. That was allowed to drag on too long, as it became clear the more experienced Spaniard was not able to get a tune out of the resources at his disposal. The same is happening now, and on occasion on Monday evening, the crowd (which featured plenty of no-shows) let their displeasure with Arteta’s safety-first un-dynamic football be known. 

In honesty, the three games against Brighton, Palace and Villa, on the back of the one convincing performance this season v Spurs, offered the opportunity for Arteta – free of European distraction – to put his club right back in the mix. He’s taken two points from six so far. This with the players that are largely his – the majority of the starters against Palace came in under his watch. Sure, Xhaka is injured, but the club were trying to offload him in the summer, so please don’t tell me the team cannot get a result in his absence. 

Arteta went with an attacking formation against Palace, choosing a midfield trio of Partey and Odegaard deeper than Smith Rowe. It didn’t work, as the opposition faced little resistance, with Partey himself guilty of losing possession for their equalising goal. Sure, it was a great start with Aubameyang converting the keeper’s parry from Pepe’s shot. But then, Arsenal failed to go on and kill the game with a second goal, as would have happened in the days when the Eagles’ current manager ruled the roost at Highbury. 

Palace accepted the invitation to build their play and in the second half scored twice to take a deserved lead, the second down to sub Lokonga losing the ball with his team-mates upfield. For the final 20 minutes, we finally had a bit more intent and aggression from the home team, and Tierney hit the bar. Eventually, Lacazette saved face and a point, but the bigger picture is more worrying for Arsenal’s season.

Having watched eight league matches so far, the overall picture is not promising. Yes, Spurs at home offered genuine hope – it was an example of what the players are capable of. Wins against Norwich and Burnley, with a single goal each time, were welcome, even if the performances were seriously underwhelming against teams currently in relegation positions. Brighton and Palace have seen two draws, so after eight matches, the club have 11 points and are sitting in 12^th position. Arteta has the players he wants to work with in his squad, but whatever the tactical plan is, it’s not working. Arsenal look laboured, predictable and fragile. Possession is lost too easily and the midfield looks seriously porous. Defensively, a lot of basics need to be worked upon. 

Arteta has been given every chance, but here is a coach who is probably better as a number two. He was given a job too big for him, based upon his reputation within the game, and presumably a very good interview in which he laid out his plans. As a personality for a conservative club, he was a safe bet, who would say the right things. Not in the mould of a Simeone, a Mourinho, a Conte, a George Graham. The thing about all of the above was that they hated losing so much that they prioritised defence, not conceding cheap goals. It wasn’t always entertaining at times, but trophies were won and confidence built. There is no confidence at Arsenal now. Years of gradual decline and poor results have led to a culture where players are highly paid but – as a unit – psychologically brittle. They so rarely take games by the scruff of the neck. 

It’s interesting to look at someone like Kieran Tierney, who seems to have been dragged down from his previous levels. Maybe he is just exhausted, maybe he is carrying a slight injury. Not sure, but he has been far less of a threat lately. Something’s not right. Arsenal lack much in the way of an obvious style, aside from an aspiration to try and keep possession when things are going well (although with little end result – hence only four goals scored in the seven matches this season once you take out the Spurs result). There feels as if there is little belief in Arteta’s tactics. There are some strong characters in the team – the aforementioned Tierney, Ramsdale – but not enough. We have kids looking to the likes of Aubameyang and Partey for leadership. It’s hardly Bergkamp and Vieira. You don’t have to be a great player to lead by example. You just have to show spirit, that you care, that you will finish a match having given everything. Historically, successful Arsenal sides have had such individuals. Think Frank McLintock. You could afford a George ‘Stroller’ Graham in your side if surrounded by enough battlers. Martin Keown roughed up the likes of Bergkamp and Henry in training to make sure they were prepared for what they would receive in actual matches and be able to deal with it.

The feeling now is one that has been around for far too long at Arsenal. Too nicey-nicey, too much comfort bubble. Even the Arsenal crowd are a bit too loyal these days. I’m not encouraging abuse, but more expression that this is not what we want to see when the backwards and sideways passes are just too many would be no bad thing, a reminder that you score goals by being aggressive in your play. 

Right now, it feels like this is a season going nowhere and that the club is marking time in the hope that Arteta comes good. One friend observed after the game that the only thing keeping him in the job is surely the potential embarrassment and humiliation from having spent so much in the summer for this coach’s system.

Doktor Schneide offered - “So, there we are then. A club where a home draw against Palace - PALACE - is celebrated like a win. Christ, we’re about as exciting and dynamic as a Victoria Beckham podcast.”

The club’s tortuous lengthy slide from better times continues unabated, four FA Cup wins since the move from Highbury masking the decline. The truth is that changes are not only needed on the coaching side. Those above them are inexperienced at running a large football club and this has been exposed badly. The owners are the owners. That isn’t going to change. But they need to get the boardroom and executive positions stuffed with people that know what they are doing. The problem is that the club is such a mess that the best candidates don’t want to know. As for who would replace Arteta? The club need Conte, but that isn’t going to happen. I’ve written off this season already. I predicted at the start that Arteta would get his cards in December because the club will accept second best for way too long. Time will tell. Someone at Arsenal needs to take the bull by the horns, both on the pitch and off it. I just don’t see the personalities to do what’s required. It all feels a bit “meh” these days.

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