Match report – Participant rankings – Arteta response – Video
The place to begin? Properly, how concerning 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 obtained 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 greatest by opening the scoring. For as soon as Saliba and Gabriel weren’t on the identical wavelength, he was put by way of by Savinho and poked house for 1-0.
It might have been worse. Ilkay Gundogan hit the submit and Metropolis have been constructing momentum we discovered onerous to cope with. 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 facet, 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 referred to 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 reduce it again for Riccardo Calafiori to curve house a powerful aim on his first Premier League begin. What a end, and as for Metropolis’s complaints, Walker may 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 offer 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 possibilities at our finish had dried up, and we threatened from set-pieces. Gabriel was too robust for Jeremy Doku from one nook, so subsequent time they put Walker on him. What adopted was probably one of many funniest belongings you’ll see all season.
Walker was poking and prodding Gabriel, I assume to try to put him off. The Brazilian shimmied a technique, then the opposite, ran to the again submit 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 function in blockading Ederson. The Metropolis keeper was so weak for each these corners, from a keeper thought of top-of-the-line on this planet, it was feeble stuff, and also you like to see it.
That aim got here simply earlier than the break, giving us an important platform to take into half-time, however then the following second that modified the sport passed off. Having been booked for a really tender 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 in all probability attempting to make a move extra than simply boot it, and he type of pulls out of it, but it surely seems to be 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. Purple card. And look, I consider all of the groups within the Premier League, we must be hyper-aware of this, as a result of we’ve already fallen foul of this rule. Actually, we appear to be the one group that this rule applies to, since you didn’t must look far on social media final night time to search out examples of gamers doing the identical factor and never getting despatched off. Certainly, considered 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 shouldn’t have given the referee – particularly that referee – the possibility to place himself entrance and centre. We all know this rule all too properly, and now we have to be smarter in future. On the similar time although, this rule is a load of shit and we can not have video games ruined over minutiae like this, as a result of that’s what it did. It ruined it.
I believe what Arsenal virtually did in that second half was extraordinary, a heroic defensive effort till that late aim obtained Metropolis a degree I don’t assume they actually deserved. However objectively, it turned an excellent sport of soccer – probably an all-time Premier League traditional – 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 obtained that purple card, I’d simply swap off. Truthfully, I wouldn’t watch, and I’d really feel considerably robbed after such an enthralling first half. The self-styled ‘greatest league on this planet’ is at risk of turning into a laughing inventory for nonsense like this (even when there’s part of me that wonders if an govt resolution has been made someplace to skew the game versus leisure facet of matches as a result of the latter creates extra headlines and eyeballs).
Mainly, 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 frightened about for a second. Let’s be clear right here, there are myriad good the reason why a participant will be despatched off, this isn’t considered 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 develop into normalised, ex-players and pundits backing the referee’s resolution 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 resolution to ship somebody off and fully hand the benefit to at least one group 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 desires this’, as an alternative of merely parroting PGMOL press releases?
Michael Oliver is identical 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 influence 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 are able to do is be smarter, management what we are able to 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 might simply have utilized some frequent sense, and had a phrase with Trossard, however no. He wished to negatively influence the sport, not less than for us.
I’ve obtained 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 world 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 consider Rice’s tiny contact towards Brighton and the way that was punished, it’s onerous 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 onerous for Metropolis to interrupt us down. Mikel Arteta referred to as it an unattainable job, and it’s one we so very almost 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 enjoying simply exterior our field. Wave after wave after wave which we repelled time and time once more.
In the long run, a really slight lapse in focus from a nook noticed them get a fortunate bounce and John Stones equalised within the 98th minute. You may 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 assume an opposition aim has had that form of influence on me for a very long time.
We tried so onerous with 10 males towards a group that’s relentless when it comes to 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 technique to additional consolidate the motivation and togetherness of his group. He’ll 100% try this once more with this.
He’ll be certain 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 concerning the effort, the endeavour, the unity, the best way his gamers stood up for one another in presumably probably the most testing circumstances you possibly can 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 group take one other step ahead in its improvement. I believe we must be happy with the trouble we noticed yesterday, as a result of it was not straightforward.
Afterwards, he mentioned:
Clearly, we have been thrown right into a context that made it virtually unattainable for 56 minutes, however anyway, we tailored to that context in the absolute best means and the best way the group competed was simply unbelievable. I’m so happy with the group. You may’t be thrown right into a tougher state of affairs towards that form 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, aside from to say:
I’m anticipating 100 Premier League video games this season to play 10 towards 11, or 10 towards 10, or 9 towards 10. Let’s see.
Tongue firmly in cheek, after all. In the long run, a sport which I believe we are able to 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 almost an hour. As I mentioned above, you possibly can ensure that’s one thing Arteta will use, however past that, I’m wondering if it barely shifts the dynamic between us and them. We was really easy to beat, now we’re something however, and I’m wanting ahead to our house sport towards them once we’ll take our revenge for the way this one panned out ultimately.
Anyway, I higher depart it there for now. You may be part of us a bit later for an Arsecast Additional once we can go over issues in a bit extra element. Maintain a watch out for the decision for questions on Threads @gunnerblog and @arseblog with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or should you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, depart your query within the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
Pod must be out mid-morning. For now, have a great one.
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