Tag: Thomas partey

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Tottenham 2 – 0 Arsenal

Better?

Most would agree that we looked the better side before Heung-min Son’s long-range curler hit the back of the net. Bellerin, Saka, and Tierney are to be credited for at least trying to get the ball into the box throughout the match. Willian–who played his first full 90 since Week Four–also looked more dangerous than he has in awhile. That said, many of their final balls were behind their intended targets. Forget quality, our boys are in desperate need of a bit of luck–a deflection, a fortunate bounce of the ball, anything–to rebuild their clearly broken confidence going forward.

After Partey

Other than his being dispossessed by Giovani Lo Celso at one point, I would have argued that Thomas was our best player before he was forced off due to injury. Not only did he do his usual work breaking up play in the middle of the park, but he also tried to get forward either with the ball at his feet or via a searching ball or two ahead to teammates. Perhaps it speaks more to José Mourinho’s tendency to park the bus once his sides have a lead, but who would have thought that we would have kept Spurs scoreless (and no shots on goal in the second half) without Thomas on the pitch? Let’s hope he is truly fit sometime soon, because I still contend that his presence in the midfield is critical for any sustained success that we may have this season.

Title Pretenders

Gooners’ wildest hopes of competing for a Premier League title faded fairly early this season, but I suspect we were not the only faux title-chasers in today’s match. While no one expected a different result today, can Spurs concede this much possession against higher quality, more confident opposition and expect to consistently win? How many times out of ten does Son make that shot? How often does Harry Kane score top-shelf near-left post with his left foot? Does anyone really believe this version of Spurs has more quality than they did during the 2018/19 season, which included nine players who featured in the semis of the 2018 World Cup (i.e., Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembélé, Eric Dier, Kane, Hugo Lloris, Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier, and Jan Vertonghen)? That Spurs side made the Champions League final, but alas, ended up trophy-less across all competitions. What will be telling is how this Spurs side responds when they hit the inevitable rough patch this season and Mourinho starts publicly blaming his players as he is wont to do.

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Arsenal 1 – 2 Wolves

His Darke Materials

As NBC match commentator Ian Darke pointed out during today’s match, Wolves had not beaten the Gunners away from home since 1979, our average of nine shots on goal per match is our worst in the last 22 years, and a loss today would ensure our lowest point total through the first 10 matches of a season in the Premier League era.

Charlie Brown, Lucy, and a Football

I foolishly believed our early season defensive results would at least somewhat offset our offensive struggles, but if our loss to Leicester (who played without Jamie Vardy for nearly two-thirds of the match) wasn’t bad enough, today we somehow managed to concede twice in the first half to a Wolves side that had only scored two goals in an entire match just two other times all season. Even more damning, they did so today without their leading scorer. How much longer will Gooners and ownership give Arteta to turn things around?

Silver-ish Linings

This is a tough one. Sideshow Bob actually looked pretty good playing with a concussion through the end of the first half? We scored a goal from open play in the league for the first time since October 4th? Willian picked up an assist for the first time since Week One of the league season? We actually took more shots today than we averaged coming into today’s match? Perhaps Partey, Elneny, and Pépé will be available next week?

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Arsenal 0 – 3 Aston Villa

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.

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Manchester United 0 – 1 Arsenal

Pre-game Jitters

Our well-publicized impotency against the Top Six in recent years. Our poor away record last season. A resurgent United who in the Champions League won at star-studded PSG less than two weeks ago and then put five past a very good Leipzig side on Wednesday. And to make matters worse, the notorious Mike Dean as lead referee. Needless to say, I wasn’t confident going into this match.

Same As The Old Boss?

In another pre-match storyline, much was made of Arteta’s record through his first 26 league matches as manager and its similarities to that of Unai Emery who was sacked after 26 league matches in charge. However, one of the most striking differences between the two is that the Gunners conceded only 28 goals under Arteta vs. 37 under Emery. And today, that defensive difference was on full display as our defense kept us in the match with one tackle (we had 20 vs. 10 for United) and clearance (23 for us, 12 for them) after another until we deservedly took the lead in the 69th minute and then allowed us to hold on to that lead through full time.

Men of the Match

In fairness to Emery, when he was our manager he did not have the talents of Gabriel and Partey at his disposal. And while Gabriel came close to receiving a second yellow–especially with the red card-happy Dean roaming the pitch–, the Brazilian never lost his fight throughout the match and continues to bring some much needed toughness to our back line. Partey was excellent breaking up play with numerous tackles and interceptions that helped keep United from sustaining any offensive momentum. But in fairness to Arteta, Emery never got much out of Mohamed Elneny. In fact, the Egyptian was sent out on loan to Besiktas for most of Emery’s tenure at the Emirates. But under Arteta, Elneny has started in three of our four league wins this season. While he was always unlikely to score with the rocket of a shot he unleashed in the 65th minute, he had played so well beforehand that he certainly earned the right to have a go. And his gegenpressing in the 91st minute (yes, in extra time!)–almost single-handedly pushing United back when they desperately needed to get forward–brought a huge smile to my face and hopefully made Gooners everywhere proud.

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Arsenal 0 – 1 Leicester City

The Facts on the Ground

Leicester had not beaten the Gunners away in the league since 1973 (i.e., before I was born). The Foxes failed to score in each of their two previous league matches (against “perennial title-chasers” West Ham and Aston Villa). And to put the proverbial cherry on top, reigning Prem golden boot winner and incessant Gunner troll (with 10 goals in 11 matches v. the Arsenal) Jamie Vardy was not fit enough to start.

Things Fall Apart

If Laca’s fourth minute-header is allowed, then does a less-than-healthy Vardy even make his second half cameo (check that, 11 goals in 12 matches v. the Arsenal)? Perhaps Auba shouldn’t have taken those downers during the match? In all fairness, Bellerin could have (justifiably) been sent off for what would have been his second yellow. And if I’m honest, Leicester could have easily bagged a second before full-time.

Islington, We Have a Problem

While our well-publicized woes of recent seasons have been largely defensive in nature, and there remains plenty of work to be done at the back (when Mustafi is your first option to replace an injured Luiz), allowing seven goals in six matches this season does not especially worry me–particularly in light of the recent addition of Partey (who should provide some welcome support in the midfield) and the fact that this season we have already played two of the highest scoring sides in the league (i.e., Liverpool and Man City). Unfortunately we have only scored eight goals in the league this season, and despite taking 11 shots in the first half of this match–which shockingly is an improvement over the 11 shots taken in our entire Europa league match vs. Vienna–, we never really looked like scoring other than when a drug-addled Auba found Bellerin (of all people) with a near-perfect cross in the 68th minute. Should Arteta have kept Auba playing out wide on the left for the entire match rather than experimenting with him on the right as he did for much of the match? Should he have played Auba centrally from the off and left Laca on the bench? Should Saka have played in the midfield instead of Xhaka to offer more creativity through the middle of the park? Well, no rest for the weary – We’ll soon see if our manager has an answer or two when we visit United on the 1st.

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Manchester City 1 – 0 Arsenal

Don’t Believe The Hype

The Master v. The Apprentice. Arsenal off to our best league start in years. City off to their worst start in years. The debut of Thomas Partey. With so many storylines, it’s a damn shame that the actual match was nowhere near the pre-match hype. As passive of an offensive showing as it was, who would believe that we actually got 11 shots off today?

Sunday Morning Quarterback

With Ceballos–one of our most creative players–sitting deep in front of our backline for most of the match, it’s no wonder that we failed to get Auba–our greatest goalscoring threat–more than a few touches in the final third. Thank God for Saka, who–despite being the youngest player on the pitch–seemed to be the only Gunner who understood that you can’t win if you don’t shoot. It’s underwhelming attacking performances like this that make one wonder – Should Arteta set his personal feelings towards Ozil aside and give the nothing-if-not-creative German a chance to earn his £350,000 per week wages? But alas, our manager chose to bring on Laca and Nketiah, as if finishing was the issue rather than a lack of real chances. Perhaps Partey–who had two assists for Ghana during the week–should have debuted sooner in an attempt to unlock a City defense that before today had not collected its first clean sheet of the season?

Reality Check

After our loss to Liverpool in Week 3, this was our second major test of this league season. And while the season remains young, Gooners should view losing (hell, I would have gladly taken a draw) to a City sans Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Aymeric Laporte, and Benjamin Mendy as a missed opportunity and a sign that in spite of our positive start to the season, our boys remain very much a work-in-process. Let’s hope for a more enjoyable watch against Leicester next week.