Match report – Participant rankings – Arteta response – Video
The place to begin? Nicely, how in regards to the first few seconds when Kai Havertz ran into Rodri, who stepped throughout his path. The Spanish worldwide pretended he’d been caught within the face and the sport was stopped for 2 minutes whereas he stored up the facade and acquired some therapy. That set the tone for what was to return.
Minutes later, Erling Haaland clattered into William Saliba as he was making an aerial clearance, a harmful motion which the referee stored his playing cards in his pocket for. It felt like a day when this rivalry took on a brand new layer. Haaland did what he did finest by opening the scoring. For as soon as Saliba and Gabriel weren’t on the identical wavelength, he was put via by Savinho and poked house for 1-0.
It may have been worse. Ilkay Gundogan hit the put up and Metropolis have been constructing momentum we discovered laborious to take care of. Then one of many moments that modified the sport. From a nook Rodri jarred his knee, went down really harm this time, and needed to come off. Mateo Kovacic got here on, however that appeared to place the brakes on the house aspect, and we began to play a bit.
Nearly instantly, we have been degree. Metropolis have been aggrieved that Kyle Walker wasn’t allowed time to get again in place after the referee had known as the 2 captains over for a phrase in midfield after we’d been awarded a free kick. Thomas Partey took it, performed it down the road to Martinelli who lower it again for Riccardo Calafiori to twist house an impressive aim on his first Premier League begin. What a end, and as for Metropolis’s complaints, Walker might need been distracted however he wasn’t paying full consideration both, and Metropolis have been disorganised due to the substitution. That’s extra on him/them than the ref – and I’m not somebody inclined to present Michael Oliver any advantage of the doubt (learn on).
Even at 1-1, it was a sport we struggled to pay money for. By the thirty third minute Declan Rice had made simply 3 passes. Trossard and Havertz had 2 and 1 respectively. However the probabilities at our finish had dried up, and we threatened from set-pieces. Gabriel was too sturdy for Jeremy Doku from one nook, so subsequent time they put Walker on him. What adopted was probably one of many funniest stuff you’ll see all season.
Walker was poking and prodding Gabriel, I assume to try to put him off. The Brazilian shimmied a method, then the opposite, ran to the again put up and leaped highest to move house and make it 2-1. It was splendidly dismissive. He’s such a risk, the timing of his runs is impeccable, however kudos too to Bukayo Saka for the standard of the supply, and to Gabriel Martinelli for his position in blockading Ederson. The Metropolis keeper was so weak for each these corners, from a keeper thought of among the finest on the earth, it was feeble stuff, and also you like to see it.
That aim got here simply earlier than the break, giving us an amazing platform to take into half-time, however then the subsequent second that modified the sport passed off. Having been booked for a really comfortable foul, Leandro Trossard was proven a second yellow for ‘delaying the restart’. He kicked the ball away after he’d made a foul. I believe he’s most likely making an attempt to make a move extra than simply boot it, and he kind of pulls out of it, however it appears to be like like a little bit of a hoof. It’s additionally only a bit instinctive, barely a second after the referee blows (and the Metropolis participant is on the bottom anyway, so I don’t know what restart he’s really delaying).
Michael Oliver didn’t hesitate. Second yellow. Crimson card. And look, I consider all of the groups within the Premier League, we needs to be hyper-aware of this, as a result of we’ve already fallen foul of this rule. In actual fact, we appear to be the one workforce that this rule applies to, since you didn’t should look far on social media final night time to search out examples of gamers doing the identical factor and never getting despatched off. Certainly, certainly one of them was Dominik Szoboszlai for Liverpool in a sport refereed by … yep, you guessed it, Michael Oliver.
So, my ideas are thus: Trossard was a bit daft, and mustn’t have given the referee – particularly that referee – the prospect to place himself entrance and centre. We all know this rule all too nicely, and we’ve got to be smarter in future. On the identical time although, this rule is a load of shit and we can not have video games ruined over trivia like this, as a result of that’s what it did. It ruined it.
I believe what Arsenal nearly did in that second half was extraordinary, a heroic defensive effort till that late aim acquired Metropolis a degree I don’t suppose they actually deserved. However objectively, it turned a superb sport of soccer – probably an all-time Premier League basic – right into a horrible sport of soccer. I watched it as a result of I’m an Arsenal fan, but when that was Metropolis v Liverpool or Man United or anybody else, and the guests had acquired that purple card, I’d simply change off. Truthfully, I wouldn’t watch, and I’d really feel considerably robbed after such an enthralling first half. The self-styled ‘finest league on the earth’ is in peril of turning into a laughing inventory for nonsense like this (even when there’s part of me that wonders if an govt determination has been made someplace to skew the game versus leisure side of matches as a result of the latter creates extra headlines and eyeballs).
Principally, the Premier League and/or PGMOL have invented an issue like ‘delaying the restart’ and cracked down on it to make it look as if they’ve authority, when in actuality this was by no means a difficulty folks talked about or anxious about for a second. Let’s be clear right here, there are myriad good the explanation why a participant will be despatched off, this isn’t certainly one of them. Not least as a result of there are different methods delaying the restart will be handled – the simplest of which is to only add the time on. That’s what added time is for.
I’m additionally genuinely astonished how shortly this load of crap has turn out to be normalised, ex-players and pundits backing the referee’s determination to ship Trossard off. Somebody like Roy Keane, a combative midfielder who would have loved a bodily sport like this, is backing an official’s determination to ship somebody off and utterly hand the benefit to 1 workforce over one thing so small and meaningless. It’s absurd. What are we doing right here? Why are none of them saying ‘That is silly, no one needs this’, as an alternative of merely parroting PGMOL press releases?
Michael Oliver is similar official, by the best way, who didn’t need to ship Kovacic off at our place final season as a result of he didn’t need to ‘overreact’ and ‘negatively affect the sport’. It’s humorous how the identical didn’t apply when the choice was to be remodeled an Arsenal participant, eh? As I mentioned, all we will do is be smarter, management what we will management, however I stand by what I mentioned after the Declan Rice purple – no participant, not even a Spurs participant, ought to get despatched off for that. We have been seconds from half-time, Oliver may simply have utilized some widespread sense, and had a phrase with Trossard, however no. He wished to negatively affect the sport, a minimum of for us.
I’ve acquired this far and I haven’t even talked about the Doku bit. Did he delay the restart? Even when he was placing the ball again into the realm the place the referee was pointing, he kicked it past Rice who was clearly going to take the free kick, so sure, he did. When you concentrate on Rice’s tiny contact in opposition to Brighton and the way that was punished, it’s laborious to not be pissed off by the inconsistency. Again to Trossard, I can perceive the choice within the present local weather (a lot as I believe it’s nonsense), however I can’t bear the double-standards. Guidelines ought to apply to everybody, even silly ones.
The purple card meant we made a change, bringing on Ben White for Bukayo Saka, and the plan was to make it laborious for Metropolis to interrupt us down. Mikel Arteta known as it an inconceivable job, and it’s one we so very practically pulled off. To a person everybody put in an enormous defensive effort, and it’s a must to realise how draining that’s. Bodily and mentally, it’s so robust. We made blocks, clearances, saves, catches, as Metropolis threw the kitchen sink at us, typically taking part in simply outdoors our field. Wave after wave after wave which we repelled time and time once more.
Ultimately, a really slight lapse in focus from a nook noticed them get a fortunate bounce and John Stones equalised within the 98th minute. You’ll be able to ask the place on a regular basis got here from, as a result of regardless of Arsenal understandably losing a while to ease the strain just a bit bit, the ball was in play for greater than 35 minutes – probably the most in any half this season. It was a sickener, a intestine punch. I don’t suppose an opposition aim has had that sort of affect on me for a very long time.
We tried so laborious with 10 males in opposition to a workforce that’s relentless by way of high quality and expertise, and it was horrible to concede so late. However I’ve a humorous feeling about this sport and what we’ll take from it. Arteta has typically used issues like this as a approach to additional consolidate the motivation and togetherness of his workforce. He’ll 100% try this once more with this.
He’ll make sure that what we take away isn’t the sting of that late aim, or body it as two factors dropped. He’ll make this all in regards to the effort, the endeavour, the unity, the best way his gamers stood up for one another in presumably probably the most testing circumstances you’ll be able to face within the Premier League. This was our third away sport in every week too, Metropolis had an additional day of relaxation after their Champions League draw with Inter Milan, and the best way we dug so deep was one thing he’ll use to assist his workforce take one other step ahead in its growth. I believe we needs to be happy with the trouble we noticed yesterday, as a result of it was not simple.
Afterwards, he mentioned:
Clearly, we have been thrown right into a context that made it nearly inconceivable for 56 minutes, however anyway, we tailored to that context in the very best approach and the best way the workforce competed was simply unbelievable. I’m so happy with the workforce. You’ll be able to’t be thrown right into a tougher state of affairs in opposition to that sort of opponent and the best way we dealt with that. I’m so proud.
As you’d anticipate, he wouldn’t be drawn on the purple card, apart from to say:
I’m anticipating 100 Premier League video games this season to play 10 in opposition to 11, or 10 in opposition to 10, or 9 in opposition to 10. Let’s see.
Tongue firmly in cheek, after all. Ultimately, a sport which I believe we will take lots from, regardless of the frustration. Each season that hole to Metropolis closes, and this time they couldn’t beat us even with the benefit they got for a second half which ran to just about an hour. As I mentioned above, you’ll be able to make sure that’s one thing Arteta will use, however past that, I ponder if it barely shifts the dynamic between us and them. We was once really easy to beat, now we’re something however, and I’m wanting ahead to our house sport in opposition to them after we’ll take our revenge for the way this one panned out ultimately.
Anyway, I higher depart it there for now. You’ll be able to be a part of us a bit later for an Arsecast Additional after we can go over issues in a bit extra element. Preserve an eye fixed out for the decision for questions on Threads @gunnerblog and @arseblog with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or in the event you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, depart your query within the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
Pod needs to be out mid-morning. For now, have a very good one.
