Spirit and Resilience – Yes. Attacking Threat - Minimal

Wolves 0 Arsenal 1  
Premier League  
Thursday 10th February 2022 7.45pm   

There was no debate that this was a huge match for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, even before it kicked off. Perhaps what followed in the game itself might prove highly significant for the remainder of the season – and that can be looked at in two ways. Firstly, in terms of spirit, resilience and defensive qualities, it was a highly encouraging result. On the other hand, if Arsenal’s wide forwards are nullified, it’s difficult to see them picking up enough wins. Thursday evening saw two shots on target for the visitors, with a full complement of players for three quarters of the game. If the Gunners somehow seize fourth place in May, they will have done so without a goalscoring centre forward. In fairness to Lacazette and Nketiah, neither are exactly goal machines. 

Now don’t get me wrong. I was highly delighted with the victory, but I do try to write objectively. Whilst there is a lot to take from an away win such as this, neither can we hide from the reality that Arsenal tried to buy a forward in January - Arteta evidently having burned his bridges with Aubameyang - and failed. One wonders what was discussed when Mikel Arteta flew to meet the Kroenkes in person after the Burnley home draw. One thing that is indisputable – the club’s wage bill has been slashed. And rightly so. They have been paying Champions League level wages since 2017-18 and not taking part to actually afford the policy. That’s four seasons of carrying a wage bill incommensurate with achievement on the pitch. The Kroenkes, notorious cost cutters, have likely informed Arteta that he has to cut his cloth accordingly, so that the club are paying Europa League level wages, which is pretty much where they are now, most seasons anyway.

Which is why winning at Wolves may prove key. If Arsenal are to ever rejoin the big boys in the Premier League, the first step to that will be regular Champions League participation. We are talking a minimum of two seasons in every three to begin with, but ultimately, the one way to guarantee participation in Europe’s big money-spinning tournament is to be contending for the domestic title, something Arsenal haven’t really done since 2016 (and before that, you probably have to go back ten years for the previous occasion they were at least in the mix for the bulk of the season). 

After the break that followed that horrendous home draw to Burnley, Arteta was able to pick what is more or less his first choice eleven, minus the still injured Tomiyasu. Cedric took his place at right back, and what followed was a game that wasn’t high on attacking quality from either side. Given the surprise points dropped by Spurs and Manchester United, it was a real chance for both teams to advance their chances of European football. Wolves away has ceased to be an easy game since their last promotion from the Championship, although at least Armond Traore is currently elsewhere, plying his trade alongside Arsenal’s former club captain. 

Arsenal’s goal came after 26 minutes and was mired in controversy about whether Alex Lacazette had fouled the keeper. Martinelli’s corner was cleared, but when Ben White nodded the ball back in, Laca beat Jose Sa to the ball to get a touch before clattering him. Gabriel poked it home and we awaited a VAR decision to award the goal. Replays confirmed the initial impression that the keeper was simply a little late coming out and ultimately he would not have got the ball, even if he has avoided being taken out by the collision with Arsenal’s captain.

The game became a bit spicy as the half wore on with a cynical foul on the breaking Odegaard from behind an indication of the tone – it was one of three yellow cards before the break. More worryingly, the other two were for Arsenal’s sitting midfield duo of Xhaka and Partey. At half time, you could foresee a dismissal for a second yellow after the interval, given the two names already in the ref’s notebook, but nobody would have predicted how it came.

The second half saw a mix of clockeating, determined defending and some occasional forays into opposition territory. Odegaard was replaced by Emile Smith Rowe halfway through the second period. On occasion, ESR has replaced one of the wide attackers instead, and with the benefit of hindsight, it’s a shame that Martinelli was not the one chosen for a rest. 

So let’s deal with those two yellow cards. Here, apparently are the rules.
From Law 12 of the Laws of Football:
Advantage
If the referee plays the advantage for an offence for which a caution/sending-off would have been issued had play been stopped, this caution/sending-off must be issued when the ball is next out of play. However, if the offence was denying the opposing team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, the player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour; if the offence was interfering with or stopping a promising attack, the player is not cautioned.

So you would think that Michael Oliver therefore got his interpretation wrong and the red card should be rescinded. However, an IFAB ruling on a previous similar incident in an international game also seems to disregard the rules. Confused? Me too.

Arteta reacted promptly and fair play to the manager for making a good call by putting on Rob Holding at the expense of Bukayo Saka. He read the game. Wolves were getting the ball wide and hitting in crosses. Arsenal defended stoutly, with Eddie Nketiah giving Lacazette a break by replacing him in the 81st minute. However, with a mixture of resilience and game management – the latter not pretty, but a necessary evil, the Gunners held on. 

Although there was great encouragement to take from the shut-out and the way it was achieved, somehow, the issue of putting the ball in the net at the other end will need to be worked upon. Who knows, we might end up seeing the latter era George Graham approach – just make sure the opposition don’t score and try to nick one. Unfortunately the club don't have an Ian Wright.

The performance was summed up by one friend (who prefer to remain anonymous for work reasons!) as follows…
Just watched the whole Wolves game again. Pretty turgid. And that’s before the sending off. Time-wasting, long throws, Ramsdale holding the ball for 18 secs (!!! - Rule says 6 I think) etc - all the stuff we accuse the likes of Burnley of. Moment of the game was Gabriel’s brilliant pass to Laca - which he fluffed obviously. Occasional sparks from Martinelli and Saka, solidity from Partey, plus White - Gabriel is a positive from this season. Cracks starting to appear in Ramsdale’s performances though.

And yes, it wasn’t flowing football from Arsenal, even with eleven men on the field. However, a win is a win, and this was a very important one. No one would have swapped the three points for a more stylish display that wasn’t a win. Arsenal’s next eight fixtures present a huge opportunity – all winnable games.
Brentford (H)
Wolves (H)
Watford (A)
Leiciester (H)
Villa (A)
Palace (A)
Brighton (H)
Southampton (A)
All nicely spread out, only one of the games not at the weekend, although of course, the bomb of Spurs or Chelsea away or Liverpool at home might be dropped in at some point, which would be midweek matches.

However, go on a run and win these eight winnable games and that adds 24 points to the current 39. 63 points and another eight fixtures including matches against Leeds, Newcastle and Everton would be enough for fourth place. The question is, without firepower, can Arsenal actually take three points from these winnable games? Arteta has a free week to get his players prepared for an important run. Sadly, the Dubai trip did not seem to provide the impetus for the creativity we were seeing before Christmas, but in mitigation, as stated earlier, Wolves away is never an easy match these days. 

So credit to the boys – three vital points in the bag as others slip up around them. Let us see if the Arsenal attack can get their mojo back in the games to come.

To be notified when there is fresh content on my blog (generally the day after matches), follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/KevinWhitcher01