test 3

Manchester City 5 - 0 Arsenal

 I didn't even know what day Arsenal was playing this weekend, or whether it was televised.  So when I looked at LiveScore today while grocery shopping, it was a surprise to see that our game was already over, but it was not a surprise to find out we lost.  Xhaka did what Xhaka does best:  earn a straight red doing something stupid.  But we were already down by two goals.  We never had a shot on goal, despite having all our "creative" players on the pitch.  The three-man back line may as well have been two or one for all the good it did.  Five easy goals; from what I read it could have been eight had Leno not kept making good saves.

Bottom of the table.  With 105 points on offer the rest of the way, I'm sure we'll get at least 40 to avoid relegation, and may pick up 50 or 55.  But on the evidence so far, we'll do well to finish 8th again.  Unless there's a dramatic turnaround after the break, the only question is how long it takes to sack Arteta.  Shame, really--Sanllehi and Edu stuck him with some players he did not want and the club has finally backed him this season, perhaps too late.  I like the young players and I fear Kroenke will cash in on them and doom the club to mediocrity or worse.

WBA 0 - 6 Arsenal

 West Brom is off to a good start in the Championship (10 points from four games) so this looked to be a real test.  But their manager decided he'd rather see how his young players could do on the pitch than have the distraction of the EFL, so it was a mismatch with the strong lineup the Gunners put out there.  Kolasinac as a center back alongside Holding was a surprise.  Tavares was left and Chambers right in defense.  Xhaka and Elneny played in front of them, with Odegaard as the #10 and a superstrong front line of (from L-R) Saka, Aubameyang, and Pepe.  Ramsdale was in goal, and made some nice saves to keep a clean sheet.  Arsenal sliced through the Baggies' midfield and defense on numerous occasions with stylish attacks.  The final score did not flatter Arsenal; they really were that much better.

Man City will be a very different proposition this weekend.  But Auba's hat trick ought to boost his confidence (the third was very nice) and it can't hurt for the forwards to have been rewarded for making good runs.  The makeshift defense wasn't severely tested.

This was just the second round of the League Cup.  Arsenal got a bye to the third round for the last 25 years because they were playing in Europe.  With no European football, the domestic cups take on added importance, and Arteta should be able to put out a strong team every time.

Arsenal 0 - 2 Chelsea

 "Too easy" is something I say at least a dozen times every Arsenal game.  Both Chelsea goals were the result of Kieran Tierney's getting caught inside and leaving his marker totally free outside.  The Chavs could have had more.  The Gunners didn't really come close to scoring, if you don't count that 50-50 penalty shout on Saka that we didn't get.  Both CBs are on a yellow for dumb challenges far away from the goal, so they'll be even more ineffectual in the second half.  The Blues could score again if they wanted to, but may just decide to hold on to the three points.

[after FT]  Yeah, they decided to dial it back a notch and make sure Arsenal didn't get back into the game.  We looked better in the second half, and almost scored a couple times.  (Holding's header was the best chance.)  But Leno had to make some smart saves to keep this from being a total laugher.  Tierney came up lame, but Tavares looked very good to me.  Chelsea were the better team, no doubt, but we were hampered by Arteta's tactics.  The press did not pay off and we wasted a lot of energy.  Against Chelsea, I think we should have looked to counter, and made things secure in the back.  Every team in the league is probably looking forward to playing against a Holding-Mari central defensive pairing.  Lukaku can make almost any defender look bad, but this was ridiculous.  Is White injured already?  

In relegation territory already!  Overachievers.

Brentford 2 - 0 Arsenal

 1-0 at the half, and it could be worse.  We're getting outplayed.  No excuses--there are injuries and illnesses, but I like the team sent out there.  Sambi made a couple errors, Xhaka nearly gave away another goal by dwelling on the ball, and our back line looks lost.  I hope the second half features a more energetic Arsenal.  What I've seen so far is not a great advertisement for the Arteta Way.

...No such luck.  The goal seemed to me to be a clear foul on Leno; but that's not how the officials saw it, and it didn't matter anyway.  It was a disjointed performance.  Sambi and Chambers were obvious weak points, but mainly it was a lack of ideas and organization.  That's Arteta.

It does not look promising.  Brentford is exactly the type of team Arteta would have wanted to play.  They just did it better than we did.  Yes, we had chances, and Raya made a great save.  But Brentford had chances too, with Leno making a fine save.  A healthy Partey would have made a difference, but on today's evidence, top half looks like an aspiration rather than a given.

Reasons to Be Happy

 We ended the season with five straight wins.

61 points is not good enough, but it is five better than last season's total.

We reached a European semifinal.

Arteta seems to have figured out who he needs to play, finally.

Luiz is moving on, and there is some clarity about who should follow him.

As much as I wanted Arsenal to be playing in Europe next season, there is something to be said for the added time and focus on league play that can be spent without the distraction of a lower-tier cup competition.

Arteta is being backed by management.

All right, now progress has to be demonstrated.  While some additions will undoubtedly be made this window, and they will probably help, most of this progress must be generated from the players we have.  My suggestions:

Departures:  Let Lucas Torreira go back to Argentina.  I really like him, but he'd be way down the pecking order in midfield.  Sell Guendouzi for whatever we can get.  He's a head case.  Try very hard to move Willian on--what a mistake his signing was!  We can't afford Odegaard and we don't need Ceballos.  Mavrapanos is so far down the depth chart that he has to go, though I suppose another loan can't hurt.  Bellerin wants to go, possibly to Real Betis, so let him, as much as he adds to the team.  He's still got a lot of football in him, but the Arsenal phase of his career appears to be over.  I still like Lacazette, but apparently Mikel has fallen out of love and this is a good time to part ways.  Nketieh and Nelson are fine players but not what we need to get better; they might be happier elsewhere, and we might get decent money for them.

Internal additions:  Bring Joe Willock back and play him.  With a little improvement in decision making, he can be a huge asset, filling the Ramsey-shaped hole in our midfield.  Besides Willock, I'd promote Balogun to the senior team and stick him in for Auba if he's not doing the business for us.  Saliba has to be integrated into the corps of central defenders (Holding, Gabriel, Mari) that will do a good job.  If he can be happy playing fullback, I'd like Maitland-Niles there.  He was quite good.

New guys:  If we don't have a very good GK in the youth ranks ready for promotion, Mat Ryan or some other solid backup has to be found for Leno, who I still have a lot of confidence in.  Runarson is not good enough.  We have to replace Hector and get a good backup for Tierney.  AMN is one possibility, but the market may have to be tested.  Cedric is not the answer.  We have to get another ESR/Odegaard type in the midfield, someone who can combine and create.  If it's Odegaard, great, but I don't think we'll shell out what Madrid will ask.

Arsenal was one of the younger teams in the league even with Luiz, Willian, and Auba driving up our average.  It's reasonable to hope that Saka, ESR, Martinelli, Tierney, Willock, and Saliba will be as good or better next season.  I'd keep Elneny and Xhaka, though the former's minutes may be limited.  We have not seen the best of Partey.  He could own midfield for us 100% fit.  Pepe is very good and needs more time on the field.  

I'm optimistic.  But I'm always optimistic before the first ball is kicked.  I think it's going to come together and we'll contend for top four, and without Stan dipping far into his couch cushions for loose millions.

Outcoached, Outplayed, and Out of Europe

 Big game, big disappointment, again.  I had high hopes for Arteta, but the man has not gotten the best out of our squad.  Worse, it does not look as though he understands his part in our decline.  I'm not going to join the "Arteta out!" chorus, because he'd certainly be replaced by a more expensive veteran past his prime who would do no better, given the people running AFC.