Weird, weird game. Arteta has to be thrilled with this lesson in endeavor and optimism. I actually switched the channel after the PK out of disgust (Mustafi! Arrgh!), but of course I switched back a minute later. I wanted to see how we reacted, though I was positive this was not a deficit we were going to come back from. Buoyed by the way our ten men were playing, I kept watching, growing prouder of them by the minute. We didn't look good on corners, we allowed too many shots, but the ball was kept out of the net the rest of the first half and for a long time in the second.
The Martinelli run and strike were magnificent. He had Laca on his right but he wanted to take it on and he came through. He's a teenager with enormous confidence and heart. I figured the Chavs would get another goal, probably off a corner, and we'd lose. Well, you know how wrong I was on the second part of that prediction. It was shades of that spanking we gave Liverpool years ago as Bellerin lashed a left-footed shot into the far side of goal. We held on and got a point that was much more than that in terms of forging a team spirit and faith in their manager.
Yes, Chelsea could have had four or five goals on the night, but they didn't. We took two shots all game and they both went in. Under the circumstances, it's hard to argue we didn't deserve that point.
I'm sure Shkodran Mustafi is a nice guy. He obviously likes the club; he has been invited to leave it numerous times but hangs on. But come on--that horrible back pass was just one of the unforced errors he made in this game. He keeps trying to find that killer throughball but he never does, and in the process turns it over cheaply several times a game. Remember that Mustafi was at fault for Chelsea's winning goal in the Emirates game. He costs us points quite frequently with poor play. Can't we move this guy on? Luiz probably should have avoided the foul; at least we'd have had 11 on the field. But I don't really fault him for his play there. Leno might have come out quicker but I suspect he'd have been beaten to the ball anyway and it would have been his red card (albeit outside the box) or a goal anyway. Our GK played well and made a few decent saves.
OK, the honor roll:
Xhaka was excellent, both in midfield and as a makeshift center back.
Torreira kept them from setting up clean shots up the middle, and kept possession several times under duress.
Bellerin was quite good, corralling Willian and of course for the goal.
Saka put in another fantastic performance, at least after the first ten minutes or so when Hudson-Odoi turned him inside out a few times. He got solid on defense and he was a real threat.
Martinelli did the business yet again. He's clearly a real prospect and has already proven indispensable on our first team.
Pepe was pretty good, I thought. The way he takes defenders on is awesome, and he's going to start connecting with the other frontmen soon to bang in more goals and rack up assists. It was important that he kept Azpilacueta et al occupied.
Lacazette did his job and then some. I love the guy. The goals will come.
Ozil was the underperformer. He just wasn't on. He's trying, but he's not sufficiently switched on. At 11v11, he didn't show up, and it took the steam out of the attack.
Well, I'm rather tired of character-building draws, and I know Mikel is too. Burnley for the FA Cup tie, then we get Auba back and some winnable games in the league. Nine points would make our prospects look a lot sunnier.
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