Category Archives: Arsenal

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal 4-0 PSV

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Arsenal (3) 4 PSV Eindhoven (0) 0

UEFA Champions League Group B, Matchday 1 of 6

Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU

Wednesday, 20th September 2023. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Ødegaard (c), Declan Rice, Kai Havertz; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard.

Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Cédric Soares, Takehiro Tomiyasu, (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Fábio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Karl Hein.

Scorers: Bukayo Saka (8 mins), Leandro Trossard (20 mins), Gabriel Jesus (38 mins), Martin Ødegaard(70 mins)

Yellow Cards: Ben White

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 59%

Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)

Assistant Referees: Stefan Lupp (Germany), Eduard Beitinger (Germany)

Fourth Official: Sven Jablonski (Germany)

UEFA Referee Observer: Alexandru Deaconu (Romania)

UEFA VAR Team in Geneva: VAR Marco Fritz (Germany); AVAR Juan Martinez Munuera (Spain)

Attendance: circa 60,000

Tonight sees our return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when we were miserably ejected from the competition by Bayern Munich in the Round of Sixteen. Still, that was then, and this now and who knows what we are able to achieve with our gallant squad of Young Guns? For this match, we will be without the services of Gabriel Martinelli, who was injured in Sunday’s victory at Everton, and David Raya continues to be in goal tonight as well.

Despite the awful weather, our supporters are in good heart, and after a minute’s silence for the recent disasters in Libya and Morocco, the match got underway. PSV are the first team to have an attempt on goal tonight as Noa Lang was allowed too much space to run towards the penalty area before he hit a low effort to the near post but fortunately David Raya got down quickly to save comfortably. The visitors look very confident as they continue to put us under pressure; however after just eight minutes, we took the lead when goalkeeper Walter Benitez dropped a shot and Bukayo Saka was on hand to capitalise on the goalie’s error. A fantastic start for us! Just a minute or so later, Gabriel Jesus was desperately unlucky in not grabbing the second goal, and then a good run on the edge of the penalty area by Bukayo Saka saw our man find some space. He skipped a challenge and then found Leandro Trossard, who sent a cross to the back post but Gabriel Jesus nodded the ball wide under pressure from the PSV defence. After twenty minutes, Leandro Trossard grabbed our second goal of the evening when Bukayo Saka ran down the right wing and picked out Leandro Trossard perfectly and the forward hit a wonderful strike into the bottom corner of the net. We continued our pressure on the PSV goal when Kai Havertz ballooned a shot over the top of the crossbar from close range, and a couple of minutes later, a Gabriel Jesus effort came even closer to scoring our third goal. The visitors came back at as, and although a Johan Bakayoko effort went wide of the post, we were dominating the match. We were committing players forward all the time, to try and grab a third goal before half time, and with seven minutes of the half remaining, Gabriel Jesus scored our third goal of the evening when Leandro Trossard managed to get behind the PSV defence on the left wing, looked up into the penalty area before sending a perfect cross to the feet of Gabriel Jesus, who simply drove the ball into the back of the net. Unfortunately, Ben White got tangled up with Sergino Dest and he undeservedly received the first yellow card of the game, and although two minutes injury time was played, nothing really happened, and we went into the break very much in command.

The second half started with much expectation from everyone in the crowd here at the Emirates, and there is a gneral hope that the boys can capitalise on their three-goal lead. Shortly after the restart, our captain placed a perfect pass to Gabriel Jesus just inside the PSV penalty area, but sadly, he was unable to turn the defender. The visitors tried to catch us on the break, but the resulting effort from Johan Bakayoko was easily covered by David Raya, and a few minutes afterwards, Reiss Nelson and Takehiro Tomiyasu replaced Leandro Trossard and Oleksandr Zinchenko with an idea by the manager to rest players before the North London derby on Sunday afternoon. We continued to apply pressure on the PSV defence, and although we were actively looking for that elusive fourth goal, the pace of the game has changed a little bit, with Arsenal seemingly happy with the goals that they already have, and PSV seemingly happy in not conceding any more goals either. With twenty minutes of the match remaining, Mikel Arteta made some more changes as Emile Smith-Rowe made his first appearance of the season; he came on the pitch along with Fabio Vieira; Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka made way for this duo. Kai Havertz held the ball up and then found Emile Smith-Rowe, who used his upper body strength to hold off a defender and passed it neatly to Reiss Nelson, who in turn slotted the ball to Martin Ødegaard, who took a simple touch before hammering an unstoppable twenty-five yard strike into the bottom corner of the net to make it four-nil to Arsenal on the night. We were still hungry for yet more goals though, as our strikers continued to apply massive pressure on the PSV defence; Reiss Nelson was desperately unlucky in not grabbing a fifth goal when his shot was blocked, and as the match petered out, with the crowd starting to leave, there was a huge sense of a job extremely well done.

Tonight, our captain Martin Ødegaard was absolutely immense, leading by example and getting his just reward by scoring the fourth and final goal tonight. Declan Rice and Kai Havertz had complete control, and it was heartening to see Emile Smith-Rowe making his first appearance of the season, let’s pray that it won’t be his last. David Raya had very little to do in our goal, and Leandro Trossard constantly and consistently showed his class througout. A job very, very well done tonight, chaps. 

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates on Sunday, 24th September at 2.00pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon

Unexcited about The Arsenal’s Champions League return

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Maybe I am just becoming a grumpy old bastard, but I am not that excited in the return of Champions League football tonight.

We have not played in UEFA’s premier competition since 2017, and I can understand why fans are a bit giddy today – especially those 20 or under. But I have seen us play Champions League football for 19-years in a row, so it really is not something too special for me.

I was there at Wembley in 1998 when the club made the horrendous decision to play Champions League games in North-West London to maximise profits. I sat watching the 2006 Final from my University house in the middle of my final year law exams wishing I was out there.

I have been to Rome, Munich, Milan, Paris and more. The competition has never been that close to my heart, and I will always prefer the FA Cup.

For me, the Champions League is not about establishing who the “best team in Europe is”. It is all about generating the most money for UEFA and those clubs participating. That is why UEFA are changing the format to something no-one wanted. It is all about more games generating more revenue to pay for those 5* hotels that UEFA delegates love so much.

So yes, from a financial point of view, it is good that Arsenal are back in the Champions League. But from a footballing point of view, I do not care.

In another example of greed, the Premier League are reportedly looking to “increase the TV rights deal with 25% more games being shown live on TV”.

Including in their plans is a new television kick-off time of 6:30pm on a Sunday.

It is example 32438578352 that Sky Sports, the Premier League, et al’s response to the European Super League was simply fakery. They have no interest in the match going fans that they “stood up for”. There only issue was that they were not invited to the party.

It is hard enough already to get home from Newcastle, Liverpool and more for a 4:30pm Sunday kick off. A 6:30pm kick off will mean you will not be back to the local train station until around 7:30pm. And then if you do manage to get the last train, you are back at Kings Cross or Euston for midnight.

Fans who see football as a TV show, who complain each week about their favourite show club not being on TV devery weekend, will love this. They will be saying “but without the TV money Arsenal will not exist”.

That is simply not true.

Football survives across the world without TV deals as big as the Premier League’s, and without huge international fan bases.

I go football to watch The Arsenal. I would watch us regardless of whether we had William Saliba, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus or James Tarkowski, James Garner and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. I would be there week in, week out regardless of whether we were Premier League or Leauge Two.

I support Arsenal because I love the club, I found somewhere where I belong, not because we have global superstars playing for us, win trophies or play in the Premier League.

As we have seen with Manchester City fans mocking Luton Town, football is now filled with TV fans who just do not get it (note: I am not talking about all TV fans). They support their team not because they are local or have family ties, but because they win trophies or have their favourite players.

When their team stops winning trophies, they will find a new hobby. When their favourite player leaves, they will support the club they join. For me, this is not what being a football fan is all about.

Luton, meanwhile, are a community club whose fans have been on a journey over the last decade. From 5th tier to Premier League. They are everything that Wrexham try to market themselves as.

On a side note, it is laughable that Wrexham’s new TV show describes them as an “underdog” last season, when they are financed by two millionaire actors and were buying to players from League One and had the higher wage budget than many clubs two leagues above them. “Watch them win their first title in 40-years” – I imagine many of their new TV fans will not even realise they were playing in the 5th tier….

Luton have done brilliant to go from the brink of extinction to Premier League football in a decade.

I would rather watch my club in the ground week in, week out surrounded by locals, at 3pm on a Saturday and win nothing than watch a global brand on TV every week winning trophies. The new breed of Man City fans are everything their older fans hated about Manchester United.

At some point we need to say “no” to the TV companies.

More games on TV and more revenue will not equal better players. Premier League clubs already over pay for mid-tier players in comparison to elsewhere in Europe. Do Chelsea really need another £50m a year to overspend on random players?

All more games on TV benefits is those fans that see us as a TV show. And you will all moan when your Sky subscription has to go up to pay for them.

Anyway, I look forward to the game tonight. I will be there in the ground even if I am not excited, backing my team 100%.

UTA

Keenos

David Raya, Fabio Vieira, Offside, Leandro Trossard and more…

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David Raya

On-loan keeper David Raya was a surprise starter on Sunday. It lead many to assume that he was not Arsenal’s number one. But was the decision just tactical?

Mikel Arteta spoke post-game about how pundits would not question him making tactical changes in the outfield, altering the team depending on the opponent.

In the previous 5 games against Everton, we have averaged 68.2% possession. In the previous 3, that rises to 72.7%. Yesterday we had 75% possession.

Arteta made the decision to play Raya, who is superior to Aaron Ramsdale with the ball at his feet, due to his expectation that we would dominate possession.

It will now be interesting to see whether Arteta continues to rotate his goal keepers based on opposition, like he would with outfield players…

Fabio Vieira

Talking about rotating players to exploit the opposition, Fabio Vieira came in for Kai Havertz. Again, some doubters saw this as Havertz being dropped. I think it was tactical.

Yes, I thought Havertz might have a big part to play in sunday’s game, but there is a reason why I sit behind a keyboard whilst Arteta stands on the touchline.

Everton beat us last season through compacting the midfield and making themselves very hard to play through. They force teams outside where they then rely on their wingers to help their full backs and know they have the power in defence to clear any high balls into the box.

Havertz likes to play central. He tends not to drift too far outwide. His inclusion would have led Arsenal to play into Everton’s hands with the congested midfield.

When Arsenal play with Oleksandr Zinchenko, Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah, we end up very narrow on that left hand side.

Fabio Vieira makes that run from in to out. He gets himself round the back of the winger, and also the full back. That allows him to get to the touchline and play balls on the deck into the box.

When you compare the heat maps of Vieira on Sunday against Granit Xhaka last season, you can see how wide Vieira played despite being in the “same position” as the ex-Arsenal captain.

Vieira playing wider has two affects on the games.

Firstly, he can find himself with space and time to influence the attack. Secondly, it drags Everton’s defence over which can then open up space on the right hand side.

I think Havertz will be a big player for Arsenal. But he does not yet have the natural instinct to get himself outwide.

We should not see Vieira starting over Havertz as a negative, but as a positive.

Arteta now has a collection of players that can all come in and slightly alter our attack depending on opponents.

Offside

I am still confused as to how that was offside on Sunday.

There is a debate to be had over the angle for the offside cameras at Goodison Park, but I do back the technology.

What I do not understand is the laws surrounding “deliberately playing the ball“:

*‘Deliberate play’ (excluding deliberate handball) is when a player has control of the ball with the possibility of:

  • passing the ball to a team-mate;
  • gaining possession of the ball; or
  • clearing the ball (e.g. by kicking or heading it)

If the pass, attempt to gain possession or clearance by the player in control of the ball is inaccurate or unsuccessful, this does not negate the fact that the player ‘deliberately played’ the ball.

The offside came from Gabriel trying to play a sideways-backwards ball to William Saliba. The Everton player charged towards the ball and attempted to intercept it.

I am really confused that this is not seen as a deliberate attempt to play the ball. If the Everton player was not trying to play the ball, what was he doing running towards it?

“It was not a case of instinctive stretching or jumping, or a movement that achieved limited contact/control” – He was in full control of his body and knew exactly what he was doing – trying to intercept the ball and knock it back to his midfield.

He was in full control of his body and the ball went in the direction he wanted to go – his touch was just heavier than he hoped due to the speed he was travelling.

I do not get how an attacker in the 6 yard box jumping over a shot can be deemed “not interfering with play”, and then they deem a player deliberately playing the ball can be deemed as not deliberately playing the ball….

Leandro Trossard

Interesting to see people say “Leandro Trossard should have started” after his fine goal.

Trossard has been a brilliant signing for Arsenal. He offers us depth in a multitude of positions and works in tandem to with Martinelli to keep that left hand side fresh for 90-minutes.

He scored a fantastic winner, and his Man of the Match performance has led many to say he should start regularly, and it is a mistake by Arteta that he has only started 1 league game this season.

It ignores the fact that Martinelli had given Arsenal the lead, and it was only a ref error that led to the goal being ruled out.

In another world, Martinelli’s goal is given, he does not pick up an injury, and Arsenal win 4-0.

Yesterday was not proof that Trossard should start ahead of Martinelli. It was proof that we have two very good options on the left hand side.

You do not need to pick a side, you can support both players!

Corner time

A lot has been made about The Arsenal taking 26 seconds to take the corner which lead to the match winning goal. It is almost like Neville, Sky Sports et al go out of their way to discredit an Arsenal win.

To bring our 26s into perspective, last season it took sides on average 33 second to take corners.

Brentford have regularly topped the goals from corners charts since their return to the Premier League. They also take more time over set pieces than any other clubs. This shows a correlation between taking your time over a set piece and scoring a goal from them.

I have never heard Neville, Sky or anyone else criticise Brentford for how long they take over them, in fact they are universally praised.. So why criticise Arsenal now? I think we know why…

Keenos