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Match Report: Arsenal 1 -0 Leeds United

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Arsenal (0) 1 Leeds United (0) 0
FA Cup Third Round
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Monday, 6th January 2020. Kick-off time: 7.56pm

(3-4-1-2) Emiliano Martínez; Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Rob Holding, David Luiz; Reiss Nelson, Mattéo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka, Sead Kolašinac; Mesut Özil; Nicolas Pépé, Alexandre Lacazette.
Substitutes: Bernd Leno, Dani Ceballos, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Joe Willock, Gabriel Martinelli, Tyreece John-Jules, Bukayo Saka.
Scorers: Reiss Nelson (54 mins)
Yellow Cards: Sead Kolašinac
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 42%
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Attendance: 58,403

As we have just discovered, the winners of tonight’s tie meet AFC Bournemouth at The Vitality Stadium in the fourth round; certainly a prospect of another mouth-watering tie in the offing no doubt. However, first things first. It was a very competitive start to the match tonight, with the visitors having the best of the early exchanges, and to be fair, they were very unlucky not to score when a Jack Harrison shot was saved well by Emiliano Martínez. We looked a little all at sea when Patrick Bamford hit the crossbar a few minutes later, and if it was not for the superb performance of our goalkeeper, we could have been in deep trouble. Indeed, as the first half wore on, our play looked extremely sloppy with Leeds United taking full advantage of our tardiness in all areas of the pitch. On the half hour, we came close to scoring when David Luiz’s header narrowly went the wrong side of the post from a Mesut Özil corner, our first one of the match, unbelievably. Soon afterwards, young Mattéo Guendouzi showed intelligent play in clearing the ball out of the penalty area after yet another dangerous Leeds United attack in which we were fortunate not to concede a goal, and as the minutes wore on towards the break, it was Leeds United who looked the most likely team to score; with their youthful exuberance and desire on the night, they opened up the Arsenal defence time and time again with the ease of an electric can opener on a helpless tin of peas. Indeed, it was almost some kind of miracle that we went into half-time not being in deficit, as the visitors were by far and away the better side in the first period of the match.

The second half certainly started better for us, when Reiss Nelson was unlucky not to score after advancing thirty or so yards into the Leeds penalty area before being dispossessed by opposing defenders at the last minute. A superb free-kick from the right foot of Alexandre Lacazette skimmed the top of the Leeds crossbar, and a minute or three later we were unfortunate not to score when both Alexandre Lacazette and Mattéo Guendouzi came close to scoring. However, nine minutes after the restart, Reiss Nelson bundled the ball into the net (after some exemplary work by Nicolas Pépé out on the wing) via the leg of defender Kalvin Phillips, to open the scoring. Arsenal were now in the ascendancy, with purpose, verve and vigour; now it seemed to be our turn to control the match. A call by Alexandre Lacazette for a penalty was denied, and Arsenal changed shape again when Reiss Nelson was substituted for Gabriel Martinelli after the sixty-fifth minute. Sead Kolašinac picked up our only booking of the evening when he committed a foul on Helder Costa; the subsequent free-kick sailed over the Arsenal bar, courtesy of Barry Douglas. Deft and clever footwork from Gabriel Martinelli led to a good block from Ben White, just minutes before Joe Willock replaced a seemingly fatigued Mesut Özil after seventy-six minutes. With four minutes remaining, Sead Kolašinac was the subject of a VAR enquiry due to an altercation; thankfully, there was nothing to write home about and the game carried on in its own momentum. Bukayo Saka replaced Nicolas Pépé in the first minute of injury time, but by then the match was winding down to its conclusion, and ultimately it was Arsenal that progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup.

A classic tale of two halves; thankfully Arsenal woke up at half-time to finish victorious, but to be fair, the first half performance told another story. We were most fortunate not to be at least three down by half time, but by sheer fortune (and an exemplary performance by Emiliano Martínez) we held out. Granit Xhaka was lucky to escape a booking (at least), and most of our players looked completely out of their depth against a vivacious Leeds United side. However, the second half told a different tale, as the pep talk handed out to them by Mikel Arteta in the dressing room meant that they played with purpose and vision. Arsenal’s substitutes reinvigorated the side, changed their shape and ultimately we were able to end the match as winners. But it was a close run thing. 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: Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, 11th January at 12.30pm (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.

2 weeks under Mikel Arteta – What has actually changed?

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Structure

The biggest criticism of Unai Emery’s Arsenal was the lack of structure.

He chopped and changed the formation so often that it was clear that he did not know how he wanted the team to play. And this translated onto the pitch as players did not know what their job was.

Our game lacked structure. Where we playing counter attacking football? Possession based football? High pressing football? A lack of cohesiveness led to gaps between defence and midfield, midfield and attack. We could not defend. We could not score goals.

Just a couple of games in and it is clear what Mikel Arteta is doing.

It starts with the formation. 4231. And then carries through to style of play.

Arteta clearly wants the team compact in defence with the team pressing as one. Not much space between the forward line and defence, it squeezes the oppositions around the half way line.

It takes energy and high fitness levels; something which will be addressed over time as players adapt to what Arteta wants.

Once Arteta has sorted out the defensive structure of the side, he can then move onto the way we attack.

Desire to win the ball back

Under Unai Emery it was too easy to get to Arsenal’s back 4 and get a shot on target. When we conceded as many shots on target as we did, it would only be a matter of time until one flew in.

The biggest problem is we did not defend as a team. There was not a desire to win the ball back from the forwards through to the defence.

Manchester City and Liverpool are successful due to their ability to win the ball back. The opponents can not score if they can not get out of their own half. Win the ball in the opponent’s half and you are already half way to goal.

From Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette up top through to the midfield and defence, every Arsenal player is now putting in 100% commitment to win the ball back.

A key change has been the return of Lucas Torreira in the middle of the park.

Getting Ozil ticking

It is only a couple of games in and we know Mesut Ozil can turn his form on and off like a tap, but in the last 2 games against Chelsea and Manchester United Ozil has performed well.

Ozil is clearly an emotional player and needs a manager who will put an arm around him, tell him that he loves him and that everything will be OK.

His big drop in form came off the back of heavy criticism playing for Germany, much of it with an undertone of racism.

At the same time he went from having a manager who spoke his language and cared for him in Arsene Wenger to Unai Emery, who comes across as a very cold manager.

A big criticism of Emery at PSG was the way he treated his star players. He struggled with Neymar’s ego (but who doesn’t?) and quickly lost the dressing room. Emotional intelligence is clearly not Emery’s strong point.

Arteta has clearly learnt from the likes of Wenger and Pep Guardiola as to how to deal with players. And it is working for Ozil. For now.

Players feel wanted

It is not only Ozil who feels wanted, but it is clear the entire squad have also bought into Arteta.

Man management is as equally as important as good coaching. The No. 1 reason people quit their jobs is a bad boss or immediate supervisor. In football it is not easy to quit, so players tend to down tools, their performance drops.

To be a success players and management need to be working in unison.

After every game, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola make a point of going onto the pitch and shaking every players hand as they come off. An arm around the shoulder of a player disappointed with his performance. A high five with a player who has done well. It makes players feel wanted.

If you want to be a success, players need to buy into what you are trying to do as a manager. They will only do this if they have bought into you as a person.

The way Arteta has got the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles playing well in such a short period of time shows that the players like him. They believe in him.

The way Arteta spoke about Granit Xhaka after the Manchester United game sums it up. He has made the Swiss man feel wanted again. On the verge of leaving, Arteta rates him, thinks he is a key player, and has made his feelings clear on the matter.

Gone are the newspaper rumours that senior players were unhappy with Arteta’s appointment, everyone is pulling as one.

We should not go OTT over Mikel Arteta. The Emirates crowd had a similar positive bounce following Unai Emery taking over from Arsene Wenger. But the signs are good,

Match Report: Arsenal 2 – 0 Manchester United

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Arsenal (2) 2 Manchester United (0) 0
Premier League
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Wednesday, 1st January 2020. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

(4-3-1-2) Bernd Leno; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, David Luiz, Sead Kolašinac; Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Pépé; Mesut Özil; Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Dani Ceballos, Rob Holding, Reiss Nelson, Emiliano Martínez, Joe Willock, Mattéo Guendouzi, Bukayo Saka.
Scorers: Nicolas Pépé (8 mins), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (42 mins)
Yellow Cards: Sead Kolašinac, Bukayo Saka
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 49%
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Attendance: 60,328

It is with a great sense of relief (and certainly not regret) that Black December is now firmly behind us; surely we all hope that 2020 will be far kinder to us than the previous year was. Well, it all starts again in earnest with this evening’s match against our old adversaries Manchester United, a game in which we must come away from with maximum points; as no more, no less will do.

The match could not have started better for us, when after just eight minutes, a Sead Kolašinac cross found Nicolas Pépé (via the back heel of Daniel James), who made no mistake from just ten yards near the United goal. Just what the doctor ordered, and so early in the game too; we now oozed confidence as we found our men well, and thus quickly seized the ball back when the opposition had it. We looked both clever and compact (particularly in the midfield area), and on the left side of the pitch, Sead Kolašinac was having the game of his life, getting in behind the Manchester United defence time and time again in order to get crosses in for the strikers. The visitors vented their spleen several times on both Mesut Özil and Alexandre Lacazette, but it mattered not as we continued to apply considerable pressure on the United goal. Alexandre Lacazette and Lucas Torreira were desperately unlucky not to score just after the half hour, and a few minutes later, Nicolas Pépé hit the post with a superb twenty yard shot that left David De Gea grasping for fresh air. Quite deservedly, just minutes before the break, Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored our second goal of the night from point-blank range after being the grateful recipient of a Nicolas Pépé corner (which was completely missed by the comatose Manchester United defence) that was flicked on by Alexandre Lacazette.

The visitors, as expected, came out of the blocks fighting at the beginning of the second half, but we successfully managed to slow the United attack down, whilst the defence held firm under pressure. After sixty-two minutes, Reiss Nelson replaced Nicolas Pépé, who to be fair, was having a poor second half, to try and regain control of the match before United clawed something back. It was becoming evident that Sead Kolašinac could not continue much longer with his damaged ankle, so young Bukayo Saka replaced him after sixty-eight minutes; a short while later, Manchester United had a penalty appeal turned down, which only served to make them more determined to score. But still we held firm, as David Luiz was doing a sterling job in marshalling his fellow defenders in the latter stages of the match. Alexandre Lacazette went down with possible cramp, and although Lucas Torreira was also in difficulty, Mikel Arteta decided (rightly so, it has to be said) that our striker was the man to be replaced by our final substitution of the night, Mattéo Guendouzi. As the minutes ticked away, Arsenal consolidated, and made various attempts to add to the score, but it was not to be. Thankfully, and deservedly, we took maximum points against an old rival tonight, and more importantly than all this, Mikel Arteta got his first win as Arsenal manager.

Tonight, the team were strong and confident in the first half, in fact they looked more than comfortable in their own skin, something that we have not seen from a group of Arsenal players for a very long time. David Luiz played like a man possessed, and his spirit and leadership went through the team tonight. It was also good to see Nicolas Pépé start a game, and although he was substituted in the second half, his impact was undeniable. They looked strong, but, as in the Chelsea match, went off the boil in the second half, unfortunately. But in the end we got the three points we desperately needed, and we appear to be on return to better things. Fingers crossed! 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: Leeds United at The Emirates on Monday, 6th January at 7.56pm (FA Cup). 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.