SLOP & FLOP AGAINST UNITED
No heroes against Manchester United at home, and now we’re all looking for a comfort blanket of sorts. Am I ready to be that item today? Possibly.
Arsenal don’t do bad results, generally. The last time we conceded 3 goals like that was Luton Town, who’ve been relegated twice since 2023, and Jack Wilshere is now their manager. It’s a rarity to concede 3 goals from 3 shots on target with an xG of 0.71. Unfortunately, sometimes football is a cruel bitch, and it will smack you up with gleeful brutality when you least suspect it.
The Perspective FC take is that we were undone by a shocking mistake by one of the best players in the world this season and a goal that was from a different dimension… the space Tony Yeboah occupies, with a cigar and strong scotch in hand.
But, for me, that was only 40% of what the day was all about, because the remaining 60% had a tinge of familiarity that, if unchecked, could lead to a season collapse I am absolutely not prepared to deal with… so let’s talk about what bothered me.
FOUR FRONTS
When you open a panicked fan investigation into a slip like 3-2 against United, you have to look at patterns, and the clearest pattern I can reference right now is that Arsenal are going hard on 4 fronts now that we have a bigger squad, and that has not been working out so great.
United don’t have Europe right now; they spanked Man City last weekend after a full week to prepare. So what did we do? We ignored what happened and we went pretty hard at the Inter Milan game for no reason outside of pride. We won, it felt nice, but you’d be hard pushed to tell me that some of that fatigue didn’t show yesterday.
We had previous. Arsenal went all-in on the League Cup, then we drew to Nottingham Forest who had 8 days free to rest and prepare for us.
Sometimes you have to prioritise, and Arteta doesn’t really do that. There was literally no reason to go hard against Inter Milan. We were three points better off than anyone in UCL. We could have lost that game and made it up with an academy team against the worst team in the tournament. But we didn’t. Arteta wanted to keep momentum going, and everyone went to the San Siro.
SLOP
Arsenal are the best defensive outfit in the world right now. No one comes close. So when you watch a first half against a fairly decent United side and the mistakes are coming from key players all over the park, you’re left with one of two explanations:
They’re dead after all the games they’ve played, particularly the centre of our midfield, which barely gets a rest.
The players are nervous about the run-in, and the fear is getting to them on the pitch.
It could be a combo of both, but I’d much rather the issue be the first point because we can rectify it. If it’s the second one, we’re in trouble, because 15 games is a lot to get through if we’re dealing with fear.
PLAN C
So there are two plans when it comes to Arsenal and many ways Arteta tries to get there with clever selections and tactical variations:
Overpower and overwhelm oppositions by restricting space, nullifying strengths, and attacking weaknesses in a relentless manner.
Set-piece bombardment over and over again.
If those two stratagems don’t work, there isn’t another mode. Arsenal totally controlled the opening 30 against United. We took the lead. It should have been the sort of game we finished out as a 2 or 3 nil kind of afternoon… but we conceded a stupid goal when Zubi gifted Mbeumo. Then they scored a second that was out of this world. Merino clawed us back with a nothing kind of goal. Then we let them back in 2 minutes later and had no answer.
Arteta rolled with a quadruple sub that didn’t really change much. There was a lot of hand gesturing from key players. The manager looked angry on the sidelines. But none of it impacted the lowest intensity push to save a game I’ve seen in a long time. It was so meek it looked like we were the team trying to see out the game.
What is the problem here? Are the team so driven by the culture of low-risk football that they dare not take a chance? Eze looked terrified after exiting a month of solitary confinement after that mistake at Villa. Gyokeres? Useless. Madueke? Gervinho-like. Ben White? Not great. Mikel Merino was the only difference-maker.
This Man United team, as functionless as it’s been for a long time, still have more difference-makers than Arsenal. Mbuemo is doing more than our entire front three in the Premier League. Fernandes, has his faults, but he constantly shows up in big games, and he’s a G&A machine. Even Cunha, who was cheaper than Gyokeres, scored a screamer the likes of which we’re rarely treated to at Arsenal.
STEP UP
A lot of people are arguing the system is the problem, but we can’t avoid having a big conversation about the individuals because it hasn’t been good enough.
No one has more than 5 Premier League goals, and we’re nearly in February. No one has more than 4 assists. That is shocking output for a team challenging for the Premier League.
Saka, 0 goals in the last 13 PL games.
Big Vik, 0 non-penalty goals in his last 13 PL outings.
Martinelli, 0 goals in his last 13 PL appearances.
Madueke, 0 goals in his last 25 PL appearances.
Eze has contributed nothing in the Premier League since November 23rd.
Trossard, 1 goal in his last 11 outings.
Martin Odegaard has 1 goal all season and just 4 assists.
That’s pretty diabolical when you consider Ruben Amorim had United players crying going into work every day and United have created the most xG in the league this season.
Martin Odegaard also deserves special mention because that performance was dreadful. He was hooked against Forest because he was useless in the duels, and against United, he hid deep in midfield, presumably because he doesn’t want to be a duel monster. A captain, removed from the field on 58 minutes… that is some dreadful symbolism.
Gabi Jesus was a hopeful savior, he didn’t really change much upfront, though you’ll never convince me it’s better to have Gyokeres there getting mauled by Lisandro Martinez. I’m prepared to try Jesus for more than one Premier League start before I’ll beg to revert to someone who doesn’t shoot, doesn’t create, and doesn’t win duels.
Bukayo Saka, freshly anointed as our highest paid player, has just 4 Premier League goals this season… is that good enough? No. Yes he played well, but he should be carrying us on his shoulders in games like this and he hasn’t been doing that this season.
Whilst there are improvements to the balance of the system to be made… it’s the players who are on the pitch, playing in games they’re totalling dominating… and they’re still playing with their food, and it costs us in games like that United one.
SUMMER SIGNINGS
Arsenal spent a huge amount of money last summer to deepen the squad, and looking at how the signings have performed… well, it hasn’t been good. Our two hits have been Mosquera, who is a back-up, and Zubimendi, a deal that was done the summer before. We moved for a Sporting Director who was favored because of his deep links with super agents. Outside the bump of having enough players, I’m not sure we’re looking at the money spent and feeling too good about it.
Madueke is so much fun to watch, but he doesn’t do much with the fun. I’ve never enjoyed watching zero output so much. His aimless run led to the counter for the Cunha goal. Everyone was on the edge of their seat and… he just ran it out of play.
Gyokeres, my word, I can’t keep going on about it… but on 97 minutes, when you find yourself here:
and the ball ends up here:
You just have to ask questions about the scouting that came from one man’s point of view.
Eze, a player we thought was the solve, looks like a ghost, broken by the punishment of Villa Park.
Hincapie is a long way from being a hit.
SO WHAT NEXT?
We don’t go around saying that Arsenal are bottling the season, because that is pure projection from fans who are scared because of what has come before.
Arsenal are still top of the table. We have a fully fit squad to choose from. We have been brilliant most of this season.
Games like this happen to big teams every season, and we are no different. We’re the best team in the world right now, don’t care who needs to debate that; for me, no one comes close to what we offer.
As fans, we have to moan it out of the system, then get behind the boys and go again.
There is no choice. This is what winning a title looks like. The players have to do better, we need some heroes to stand up and be counted, and we need to murder our Premier League games and not give a fuck how it happens.
Children moaning online that they’re not enjoying how we’re winning… couldn’t think of a more embarrassing mindset.
‘I’m only happy if we win the way I want to win’ just reeks of the noise people who have never won make.
If we win the league this season with a stingy defence and 75% of our goals coming from set-pieces, I’m gonna love it. We all should. Winning is all that matters. We can worry about how we fix the issues at the end of the season because those issues haven’t been enough to rock our season so far.
Leeds is massive. Kairat is only good for getting minutes into players who need them. If we can take three points at the weekend, then we can move on from that United mess and make a charge at glory.
Hope, cope, and belief is all we have at this stage of the season. If you’re giving up now, what is the point in following football? You are everything you accuse the players of. Buckle up, this is ours to win. x