De Mortuis Nihil Nisi Bonum
While the act of typing the score above was pretty painful, it was nowhere near as painful as watching Sunday’s thrashing. If what they say about “speaking ill of the dead” is true, then perhaps I spoke too soon by giving Arteta the edge over Emery through their respective first 26 matches in charge at the Emirates. Where should I begin? John McGinn’s first-minute screamer that was ruled out on a technicality? No way Leno makes that save (even without Ross Barkley in his line of sight). Or perhaps Willian’s stray ball which set up the Villa move that ended with Saka’s own goal? I was hoping the crafty ball Willian delivered to Bellerin last week (which resulted in the game-winning pen) was the beginning of something good for both Willian and us, but alas, he has yet to contribute anything positive since Week One v. Fulham. Zero shots (not on goal, no shots, period) for Auba? Our inability to create chances continues to plague us as one of our best chances of the day was created by…you guessed it…Gabriel…for…wait for it…Holding.
The Difference Maker
On the positive side, Thomas continued to impress. And who knows? Things may have ended differently if after he intercepted McGinn’s poor back pass Thomas had found a way to put his close-range shot past former Arsenal journeyman Emi Martinez in the ninth minute. Multiple times during the first half Thomas was able to break up play and help us maintain possession. Who says one man can’t make a difference? Not only did we look like a different team after Thomas did not return to the pitch after half time, the scoreline ballooned in the second half without him sitting in front of our backline, and if I’m honest, Villa could have scored at least one or two more in his absence. With our anemic offense,–and I never thought I’d say this–our defense may be the only thing that gives us a chance this season, so let’s hope Thomas is fit again after the international break.
Tip of the Hat
In the department of giving credit where credit is due, hats off to Emi for his performance on Sunday. After spending most of his career outside of the Arsenal Starting XI, he came on late last season for us and performed well with Leno out injured, which led to Villa picking him up over the summer for a reported £20 million. In the words of commentator Ian Darke during Sunday’s match, “It took him ten years to become an overnight sensation”. I can only imagine how it must have felt for Emi to earn a clean sheet against his former teammates at the Emirates.