Great Expectations or Much Ado About Nothing? Xhaka MotM

Arsenal missed a chance to create a breathing space between themselves and the following pack. If Arsenal fans are feeling a draw is a terrible result I wonder how Chelsea, Man U, Spurs or Liverpool fans feel this morning? Is it the beginning of the end leading to the November slump? Or just an October Blip and ever onwards? Also keep in mind that Arsenal have lost 3 out of last 5 games at St Marys, and did Wenger lose his head here when he as good as sacked an errant keeper after a poor performance by the team?  

With this is mind can we agree with regular AT contributorMerlion that this is a turning point of some importance, or just a stutter in the best start to a season since 1903?

Enough from me. The Editor

Merlion’s view follows

 Thanks to all Football Gods that there are only two league games against Chavs and Wolves in November. And then we are saved by the WC2022 break to allow time to recuperate and to work out all the shortcomings, correct them and rethink tactical formations during this 6-weeks “winter break” before the League restarts on 26 December. 

Against Saints, the shortcomings of our players were exposed and as Mikel Arteta said, it is a good lesson learned which should see him correcting all those vulnerabilities on the training pitch for this week’s game against Nottingham Forest at home, who just beat Liverpool FC No disrespect to Forest, if we can’t beat them at home, why are we talking about being title contenders (Are we? Editor)?
Player Ratings

Ramsdale 6 – My worry is again his poor performance in 1-on-1 situations and poor reaction to go down quicker against those type of low-shot. Contrast that to the quick reaction of Turner against PSV hard low shot through a thicket of legs. The main worry is his tendency to dwell on the ball with Saints players charging into the box and seemed indecisive where to pass the ball. It is matter of time that Ramsdale will be punished for this kind of dwelling and misjudged the speed of the attacker (again).  

Tomiyasu 5 – After pocketing Salah and Gakpo, he was having a nightmare at left flank, allowing Saints free run there and often caught out of position. Plus, there is disconnect amongst Tomi, Martinelli and Xhaka at the left flank, leaving Xhaka carrying the can alone to initiate attacks down left flank. It looked like against physical imposing team with a quick winger to press us immediately, all our left-side attacks broke down at left flank. 

Gabriel 7 – He bailed out Saliba on a few occasions and was the calming influence on Saliba who was jittery and seemed short of confidence. A pillar in defence and we should not blame him for the goal when the entire midfield and Tomi went missing with Saints players slaloming through the middle like a hot knife through butter. 

Saliba 5 – minus one point for that backward pass that Gabriel bailed him out. His inexperience is showing and he lost his imperious calmness when under pressure in all previous league games. Apparently, mental fatigue from too many intense games is catching up with him. He needed to be taken out of the firing line and needed downtime to recuperate. 

Ben White 7 – One extra point for the assist. He played his heart out but his attacking plays are limited and he has no help to offer a Saka under pressure. Of course, Odegaard is mainly at fault for his disappearing act whenever Saka and White needed his support to create passing channels.

Odegaard 5#1 #2– What a woeful performance as our creative playmaker where the game passes him by without him demanding and seeing much of the ball as Xhaka’s. He disappeared utterly (including a disallowed goal?) and contented with playing safe backward passes instead of taking the game by the scruff of the neck and drive Arsenal forward with relentless attack. Suddenly, he did not offer any passing option for Saka, who was immediately surrounded by three Saints players, whenever he received the ball. Why we lost this game is simply: 

#1 – Saka was neutralized as an attacking threat without Odegaard offering another right-side attacking threat, plus not bringing White more into an attacking position with his bye-line running. 

#2 – Odegaard has no leadership and organizational ability as a Captain and just disappeared from the game. Captain Xhaka is the main driving force and the Leader on the pitch. He played virtually the entire game passing backwards all the time as his first instinctive move. That is not a no. 10 taking control of the game as a leader to drive the team forward. 

Xhaka 8 – MOTM. One extra point for that goal. Without his experience, organizational ability and leadership to hold this bunch of bewildered players together, we will have lost this game. He is unbelievable as our main creative playmaker, dictate the plays, but cannot do more when the rest of his teammates losing virtually all 50:50 balls and unable to pass the ball, or string together 2 or 3 passes together, while under pressured. 

Partey 5 – When he is bad, he is unbelievable bad. He was physically outplayed, passed badly and simply not in the game in the 2^nd half. The midfield was missing with Saints clearly domineering in 2^nd half attacking and winning virtually all 50:50 balls and 2^nd balls at will. No doubt, we were playing with 10 men with Odegaard hiding. 

Martinelli 5 – His regular huff and puff performance, easily shunted safely to the bye-lines with little goal threat. And there is no team-play and inter-passing amongst Tomi, Martinelli, Xhaka and Jesus at left flank, with each player more or less functioning as a silo, easily defended no scoring threat throughout the 2^nd half. Time to rest him a she seemed physically and mentally fatigue and just lacked that early season “oomph” to terrorize Saints’ defence. 

 Jesus 5 – He was simply outmuscled and outfought by that quick and gigantic Saints CB. Now you understand why Pep sold this inconsistent and misfiring striker to Arsenal to make room for Haaland. He will not make it into Brazil WC2022 squad if he continues to squander chances upon chances for the next 4 or 5 games he should be playing. Apparently, he is not that clinical striker even at Man City (He now has 100 goals in 250 Premiership games. Ed).

Saka 6 – One extra point for that backheel to White. This game showed he got much to learn and his football intelligence is not at that elite level of great players. Great players like Pele and Maradona have that peripheral vision and tactical awareness that glimpse quickly on the evolving tactical situation on the pitch and instinctive selected the correct pass or the technical skills to beat 3-man press to dribble or pass the ball. He was poor in his decision-making, attempting to dribble pass a 3-man press all the time, and just not smart enough to beat the press and pass the ball more. Plus, it is no help that a missing Odegaard is not there to offer passing option, a decoy to draw off defenders, and to take charge as no. 10 to see more of the ball and create forward plays. He must improve in these areas

Substitutions: 

Mikel Arteta did not learn from his OT defeat with questionable substitutions in Vieira on, and taking White off, albeit I concur that Nketiah and Tierney immediately transformed our attacking impetus. White offered more of an attacking threat down the right flank rather than Tomi. Defensively, Tomi was having an off-day with Saints players running passed him. 

Nketiah 6 – In hindsight, he should have replaced Jesus at start of 2^nd half. Jesus did not relish physical battle with a giant CB, but Nketiah did, and thrived on all those physical battles, taking and giving as much as he got. Arteta should start him against Nottingham Forest, giving Jesus a breather for the Chelski battle, as we need a physical player like Nketiah to attack those physical Nottingham Forest players. 

 Tierney 6 – A breath of fresh air down the left flank with a visible attacking threat down there in the few minutes he played than Tomi there. In hindsight, Tierney is the correct player to start against Saints instead of Tomi, who was having an off-day, maybe due to fatigue?  

 Vieira 0 – He was woeful and not ready to play against a physical team like Saints. He was disposed off in the first 30:50 ball and continued being robbed of the ball so lightweight he was. Arteta made an appalling mistake (like that OT daft 3 substitutes) where even Partey was losing the physical battle in midfield, and he threw in a raw youngster who was all at sea and just not in the game. Again, it is a 10-man Arsenal team desperately trying to find the winner. 

 Mikel Arteta 5 – Woeful and simply did not have the tactical nous to change the game in the 2^nd half, persisting with the “same old same old” possession-based slow-passing football without any forward impetus to attack a compact Saints Low Block that read his tactics like a book to close off all passing channels and identified Saka as the main attacking threat and just use a 3-man block to instantly press him whenever he receives the ball in their half. 

He was not ruthless enough to take off Jesus and Odegaard at start of 2^nd half. Nketiah should replace Martinelli immediately with Nketiah as the front man to occupy Saints CB who was man marking Jesus. Lokonga should come in to replace Odegaard to help out Partey to battle it out in midfield. We were losing the midfield battle after the 25th minute in the 1^st half. 

Lesson learned and the test for Mikel Arteta is how to bounce back. 

All title contenders will have a setback. But the test is how a team will bounce back from a setback and goes on an unbeaten run of 10 to 12 games, stringing at least 6 to 8 consecutive wins. 

Arteta must instill more fight in his team against physical teams like Saints.