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Match Report: Arsenal 4 – 0 Norwich

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Arsenal (2) 4 Norwich City (0) 0

Premier League

Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU

Wednesday, 1st July 2020. Kick-off time: 6.00pm

(3-4-2-1) Emiliano Martínez; Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz, Sead Kolašinac; Hector Bellerin, Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka, Kieran Tierney; Reiss Nelson, Alexandre Lacazette; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Substitutes: Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding, Cédric Soares, Nicolas Pépé, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, Matt Macey, Bukayo Saka

Scorers: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (32 mins, 67 mins), Granit Xhaka (37 mins), Cédric Soares (80 mins)

Yellow Cards: Emiliano Martínez

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 52%

Referee: Peter Bankes

Attendance: A maximum of 300 attendees due to UK government coronavirus restructions

For the first time since the one-nil victory over West Ham United on Saturday 7th March, we find ourselves finally playing a home game in the Premiership, even though none of our wonderful supporters will be present in the stadium to witness this evening’s match, sadly. It goes beyond words to state that every point is precious now, and each man must play their part for the club until the end of this topsy-turvy season. Our visitors tonight may well be currently residing at the bottom of the Premiership table, but that does not mean that should they should not be taken just as seriously as anyone else who plys their trade in the Premier League. Great to see young Reiss Nelson getting a start tonight, as well as Cédric Soares included as part of the substitutes’ bench too; this shows good intent and a real desire to change things around by Mikel Arteta. Nothing more than a victory tonight will do.

Arsenal certainly got the best of the early exchanges, and although Norwich were on the back foot, they certainly didn’t crumble under the relentless pressure from our forwards. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got the first shot on target after ten minutes, and it became apparent that we had everything under control so early in the game. Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney were working the wings very well, moving into the spaces that Norwich had kindly left open for our speedy wing-backs to exploit. After twenty minutes, our defenders sloppily left just enough space for Ben Godfrey to hit the post from circa thirty yards with Emiliano Martínez grasping for air, and after the drinks break, we took control of the match again. David Luiz was unlucky not to score from a thirty-yard free kick on the half hour, and by now it was looking like we would be the first team to score. Tim Krol made a horrific error on the edge of his area; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang blocked the ball, then simply took the ball around him and with the most simplest of tasks, put Arsenal one-up on the night. A few minutes later, David Luiz placed a long ball over to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the left, who quickly slotted the ball to Kieran Tierney. He took the ball to the byline, and crossed it for Granit Xhaka to finish the job and score our second goal of the night. In injury time, Emiliano Martínez made an acrobatic save to deny the vistors a goal; the subsequent corner led to nothing, and so we went into the break comfortably in the lead, overall.

Rob Holding replaced Shkodran Mustafi for the second half, and although Norwich started to wake up a bit, with one or two excitble chances, Arsenal were hardly bothered, to be fair. We contained the visitors very well, and we found that the best way to deal with them was to play a high pressing game, but in doing that, we left one or two spaces at the back, which Norwich tried desperately to capitalise on. Joe Willock replaced Reiss Nelson after fifty-seven minutes, and in doing so, changed the shape of the team by moving Alexandre Lacazette up with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to make a double-pronged attack on the Norwich defence. The visitors had a tepid penalty call, which was denied by the VAR team at Stockley Park; good to see them get something right for a change. Joe Willock blasted a ball over the bar from just inside the penalty area, then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got our third of the night after sixty-seven minutes following another dreadful defensive error from Norwich, and with fifiteen minutes left, Hector Bellerin and Alexandre Lacazette were replaced by Eddie Nketiah and Cédric Soares to get fresh legs out there for the remainder of the match. Cédric Soares, on his debut, blasted Arsenal’s fourth goal of the night from twenty yards, and two-goal Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was substituted for Nicolas Pépé with nine minutes remaining. By now of course, the job was done, and the rest of the match was simply one of containment on our part.

There’s nothing like a good win to put a smile on everyone’s face, and with three wins in a week, life is good. Everyone played their part tonight, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was in unbelievable form, whilst Emiliano Martínez pulled off some fine saves to prevent Norwich getting on the score sheet. Our debutant Cédric Soares scored a dream third goal, whilst David Luiz, it has to be said, was superb at the back. Oh, and we are a point above Spurs in the table too! Saturday’s match against Wolves at Molineux will be a better test for us, but with the confidence that tonight’s win under our collective belts can give us, who knows? 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: Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium, Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton WV1 4QR on Saturday, 4th July at 5.30pm(Premier League). 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.

Arsenal need the new Santi Cazorla, not Santi Cazorla

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Fair play to Santi Cazorla.

Back in 2016 he injured his right Achilles tendon during a Champions League fixture against Ludogorets Razgrad, in what became a career threatening injury.

After 8 operations and contracting gangrene which saw the infection “eat” part of the tendon, there were fears Cazorla would be unable to walk again, let alone play football.

He required a skin graft, with the skin sourced from Cazorla’s left forearm where a tattoo of his daughter’s name had featured, as recovery took nearly 2 years.

After 636 days, he finally reappeared on a pitch for a friendly, in the yellow of Villarreal rather than the red of Arsenal.

In 2017, whilst injured, Arsenal had renewed his contract  for a further year in the hope he might play again during the 2017/18 season. He failed to regain fitness and Arsenal made the decision to release him on a free at the end of 2018.

Cazorla returned to former club Villarreal in order to train with them during the rest of the pre-season period and prove his fitness. In August the club which gave him his debut and whom he had been with for 7 season offered him a permanent contract.

In the past two years, Cazorla has regained form and fitness in La Liga and was re-called by the Spanish football team – playing 4 times in 2019.

His fine form has led many Arsenal fan to call for his return at the end of this season, with his Villarreal contract set to expire.

These fans are romanticizing about his return.

The Premier League is a much tougher league, more physical and quicker, than La Liga. Spain has suited Cazorla in the twilight of his career.

A less physical league, where players have more freedom to express themselves without fear from some lump from Burnley or Stoke “letting him know they are there” has allowed Cazorla to flourish.

But he is 35-years-old now, and he does not have the body for Premier League football.

Were Arsenal to sign him, the first game we would play, an opponent would leave one on him to test his body. We would all wince and hope he gets up.

Having spent 2 years out injured, with a fear of not walking again, why would Cazorla himself want to put his body at risk for 1 or 2 more seasons in the Premier League?

The deal would not make sense for Cazorla or Arsenal.

Santi was brilliant for Arsenal. We have sorely missed his technical ability in the middle of the park. Arsenal have not replaced the progressive passing midfielder that both Cazorla and Jack Wilshere were.

Whilst Granit Xhaka is a fine line passer, he is not someone who makes a short, sharp pass in the middle of the park, then run forward for the return pass before passing it on once more.

A midfield with Xhaka and someone like Cazorla in it would give us some robustness, and a good range of passing. Arsenal’s midfield at the moment is very weak.

But we need someone like Cazorla, not Cazorla.

The scouts, the statisticians need to put Cazorla’s attributes and output into a computer and see who comes out. Find a player who can take the ball off the defence and pass it through the midfield, progressing upfield with the ball.

What Jorginhio does for Chelsea or Ilkay Gundogan for Manchester City.

Rodrigo Bentancur would be an ideal signing, but I doubt Juventus would let him go.

Ruben Neves at Wolves or Fabian Ruiz at Napoli are two more realistic options.

Or we come back to Thomas Partey who might not have the passing range of Cazorla, but has the capability to transition the ball through the midfield by driving it forward himself. More a Patrick Vieira type rather than a Cesc Fabregas.

There are plenty of options out there who can solve the problem for Arsenal. We do not need to bring in a short term fix such as Santi Cazorla.

As a club we need to be building for the future. Focusing on players under 25, who can be part of the clubs rebuilding for some time. Who have sell on values so that we can sell and reinvest if required.

What we should not be doing is looking at short term fixes, like David Luiz or Santi Cazorla.

Santi, thanks for the memories at Arsenal, but you should not come back.

Keenos

Potential departure of Arsenal youngster a ‘sign of the times’

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Yesterday David Ornstein broke the news that talented Arsenal teenager Folarin Balogun could be set to leave Arsenal.

Balogun has been thought of as the “next big thing” coming out of the academy, following in the footsteps of Bukayo Saka.

Like Saka, the strikers contract expires in 12 months time and Arsenal must decide whether to cash in now, or use the next 12 months to try and negotiate a new deal with him.

Balogun signed his first professional contract in 2019. Rules at that players under 18 may only sign a contract for 2 years.

This results in clubs agreeing a 2-year deal with youngsters, before negotiating a new deal – usually for 3 years – a year later.

Previously, clubs would not have to worry too much about the player turning down the new deal. An offer in the region of £20,000 a week would be on the table, guaranteeing the player earns £3million even if he did not play a game.

However in recent years there has been an increase of players deciding to turn down the new contract to seek first team football elsewhere.

Jadon Sancho led the way on this new decision making – turning down a deal with Manchester City due to lack of assurances over playing time. He joined Borussia Dortmund and could end up making a big money move back to England this summer.

At the time Manchester City had Jadon Sancho in their youth team, they also had Phil Foden – just 2 months younger than Sancho.

Sancho moved to Germany for 1st team football, Foden remained in England,

Since making the move to Dortmund, Sancho has played 5,440 minutes in the Bundesliga, earning himself 11 England caps.

Foden, meanwhile, has played just 834 minutes of Premier League football; averaging just 26 minutes a game.

Over the last couple of years, there has been an increase in youngsters deciding to move for first team football rather than become a millionaire and not playing.

A lot of these players have taken their talents abroad, with young English players out in Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy and France.

This would have been unthinkable in the 20 years.

Very few English players used to go abroad to play football.

The big money available in the Premier League meant that is was financially better for them to remain in England, sign that 3-year deal at 18, become a millionaire and then slowly drop through the leagues.

The recent crop of youngsters seem to be hungrier than previous generations.

They seem to realise that playing time is most important; and that whilst they might take a financial hit in their teens, they could become even richer if they fulfil their potential.

Sancho is now reportedly on £190k a week, whilst Foden earns £20k a week at Manchester City.

Leave for first team football, prove yourself, and an even bigger pay day will come.

Manchester United’ Angel Gomes announced yesterday that he was leaving Manchester United on a free transfer.

Gomes joined Man U at 6 years old, making his debut in 2017 and winning the Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year, the youngest player ever to receive the award.

The 19-year-old became the youngest player to represent Manchester United since Duncan Edwards in 1953, as well as the first player born in the 2000s to appear in the Premier League.

Despite being rated so highly, the youngster has yet to start in the Premier League – playing just46 minutes across 5 substitute appearances in 3 seasons.

The easy option for Gomes would have been to remain at Manchester United – sign a new deal and spend a few years on loan and then end up at a Championship club with a few million in his pocket.

Instead he has turned down a deal and is now moving on a free transfer.

Manchester United decided not to sell Gomes last summer, instead keeping the player in the hope he would sign a new deal.

Whilst they lost out on a transfer fee in 2019, they will still receive compensation for Gomes despite his contract having expired.

Arsenal are in a similar situation now with Balogun – and it is a repeat with what happened with Xavier Amaechi.

In 2019, with a year left on his contract, reports came out of Arsenal that Amaechi was not prepared to sign a new deal due to lack of first team opportunities.

A mixture of injuries and the progression of Saka, 8 months his junior, led to Amaechi falling to play a game for Arsenal.

Having turned down a contract, Arsenal sold him for to Hamburger SV for £2.25million.

So what do Arsenal do with Balogun?

Do they move him on for a fee now, and turn their focus on developing the next one in Tyreece John-Jules? Or do they try to keep hold of him on for the year in the hope he changes his mind and signs a new deal?

A few years back, Chelsea received £3million from Liverpool in compensation for Dominic Solanke. Balogun’s compensation will be similar.

So the club either sells him not, earning around £3million with the potentially of adding some sell-on fees, or loses on a free in 12 months time earning around £3million in compensation.

Fans should have no issue with young players like Gomes, Sancho or Balogun leaving a club for first team football.

At top clubs like Man U, Man City and Arsenal, there is a huge gulf between talented youth team player and first team regular. Many a player has signed that 3-year deal at 18 and gone on to make no appearances before leaving at 21 to a lower league team.

The club and the fans should not get in the way of a young player moving elsewhere to play first team football.

In Balogun’s case, he is behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli. First team football will be extremely limited.

Where the club and fans can be angered is if he goes on to join Liverpool or Manchester City (as rumoured); or Chelsea (who Angel Gomes has been heavily linked with).

Gomes and Balogun will be in an identical situation at those clubs as they would be at Arsenal. Playing U23 football, odd game in the League Cup. They might, however, double their money.

Balogun moving to Liverpool would not be a football decision. He has less chance of playing for them than Arsenal. It would be a financial decision and one he would probably regret.

He might win a “fake” medal – ie where gets a medal despite having not contributed anything (think Rhian Brewster or Phil Foden). But players who celebrate that sort of medal do not have the mentality you would want at the club. They are clearly not hungry. Celebrating like they have made it despite not playing.

For Balogun, Arsenal would have been selling him the future.

A year on loan, before coming back to fight with  Nketiah and Martinelli for a place in the squad. Especially with Aubameyang and Lacazette’s contract situations.

The club do not want to lose him, but they also should not stand in his way of playing regular football elsewhere.

Teenagers turning down contracts for first team football elsewhere will become a more regular occurrence. It is a sign of the times.

Keenos