Much improved and much needed - Arsenal manage three goal win, minus captain

Arsenal 3 Southampton 0 
Premier League 
Saturday 11th December 2021  3pm   

After the calamities against Manchester United and Everton, the one thing the fixture list has provided for Mikel Arteta to try and rebuild faith in his ability to manage Arsenal is a run of less challenging matches. Yes, West Ham are next up, but it’s at the Emirates and the Hammers are missing three key players due to injury. After that, the three fixtures before 2022 arrives with a bang in the shape of Manchester City are all definitely winnable, and the Gunners really need to be taking maximum points to compensate for the abysmal run of matches that started with the 4-0 thumping at Anfield. 

Yesterday, in a welcome 3pm Saturday kick off, Southampton were the perfect opposition for Arsenal to begin climbing out of the hole they had dug themselves into. Very much relegation candidates, they’d taken two points from their last four matches. 

The pre-match buildup was dominated by the news of Arsenal’s captain being left out of the squad for disciplinary reasons. Apparently, Aubameyang was late coming back from a trip abroad to manage a private matter. I am guessing this was out on Twitter or something, but I’ve not seen it confirmed in the media (and not checked the rabbit warren of Twitter as yet). Anyhow, long and short of it is that Arteta is unhappy with his captain, Aubameyang won’t be feeling particularly joyous at being disciplined, and there are 18 months left on his highly-paid contract. In a sense, it’s probably not the worst thing that he has been having a poor season so far, as dropping him does not seem to be weakening the team – they are hardly missing his goals after all. Nonetheless, he’s the club captain. Should be setting an example to the younger players. I can see why Arteta needs to be consistent, although it would be interesting to find out how other clubs handle this kind of issue. Maybe heavy fines might lead to less public airing of the dirty laundry, and ensure the manager doesn’t play someone for reasons of form rather than public punishment. 

The real problem for Arteta is that the experienced players are obviously more influential in the dressing room, so if they have a beef with the manager, then younger players can have their own views coloured about the abilities of the man giving them instructions. Frankly, it’s becoming a bit of a mess. Arteta’s non-negotiables could end up leading to negotiations about paying him off if his players aren’t giving their all for him on the pitch. Although partly his own fault, Unai Emery was taken down this way. 

Arsene Wenger used to turn a blind eye to this kind of thing – allowing the likes of Mesut Ozil to take a week off here and there. He indulged players a lot more, which could be why they loved him so much. Sadly, this didn't translate to success on the pitch after too many senior pros departed the club too hastily, so there is a balance to be found. Man management is key, and I sometimes say that the art of managing a top flight football team in the 21st century is the ability to motivate millionaires. Respect for the manager is key. I am not really sure Arteta really has that. A reputation built at Manchester City under Pep is one thing. But aside from winning the FA Cup in early months at the club, the lack of progress the team is making with him making the calls does not bode well. 

Antonio Conte started slowly as a head coach. It took him four seasons (and his fifth appointment) before he finally hit a groove convincing enough for Juventus to subsequently give him the job at the club where he used to be captain. Arteta has been managing for two years now. The conclusion with the way the whole Aubameyang situation is panning out is that he is still learning how to handle different types of players, and maybe his ‘non negotiables’ might work under other circumstances, but even the likes of Alex Ferguson made selective allowances for mavericks, to ensure he got the best from them. 

Still, let’s have a few words about the game itself, and notably, the starting eleven from Monday night remained unchanged. This was no bad thing in my view. Yes, the performance at Goodison left a lot to be desired, but there is nothing wrong with consistency of selection as a fundamental principle, and it gave the same group of players the opportunity to put right the wrongs of the previous game.

It didn’t start well, Southampton went for it, and were on the front foot. Arsenal struggled to get out of their own half and Ramsdale was kept busy. The rain was persistent and the atmosphere in the stadium a little flat. Thankfully, a very nice break in the 20th minute saw the home side go one up with some nice work by Tomiyasu to set Bukayo Saka off down the right wing, from where he expertly picked out captain for the day, Alex Lacazette to place the ball in the net with a firm low strike. 

Lacazette had a mixed day, passing up a good chance to score a second when he failed to get a shot away quickly enough, taking an extra touch. He also should have set Saka free for a relatively easy chance on one break, but allowed the ball to be taken off him. 

Still, it didn't matter. Goals came from elsewhere, the second only six minutes after the opener. Tierney was a little fortunate to end up heading the ball to Odegaard to head it into the net himself, as he got a break in the buildup, but nevertheless it was good to see a goal in which both full backs played a part, Tomiyasu crossing initially for Tierney. 

After the interval, Gabriel got the ball in the back of the net twice, although the first one was ruled out for offside, confirmed by VAR. The second one counted though, an old fashioned header from Martinelli’s corner. He’s quite effective in the opposition box is the number 6. 

Martinelli and Saka both hit the post with efforts in a game that was enjoyable because – after they went a goal up – the Gunners played with attacking zest and purpose. It was an entertaining display, and yes, Southampton were poor, but we’ve seen Arsenal struggle at home against relegation contenders often enough lately not to take anything for granted. In fairness to the Saints, they didn't give up and late on certainly reminded Aaron Ramsdale that the game was not completely dead with a couple of decent saves being required. 

By the end of the evening, Arsenal were in sixth place behind Manchester United. Spurs are a point behind, having played two matches less. If Arsenal can take 12 points from West Ham (home), Leeds (away), Norwich (away) and Wolves (home), it will give them a platform to build upon. The first five league games of 2022 include Man City at home and Spurs and Chelsea away. This is why they need to put points on the board. Failure to do so will not immediately put Arteta in danger of dismissal, for no other reason than Arsenal are historically slow to react to managers not delivering what is expected. However, it could well have implications by the season’s end. Arteta has no excuse not to deliver significant improvement on last season’s eighth place. And I am uncertain just finishing in seventh will be enough. It shouldn’t be anyway. 

In the light of the pecking order behind the top three, Wednesday evening’s game may end up being highly significant. 

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