Arsenal finally clocked up their first win since the return of the Premier League, not only that, we managed to keep a clean sheet as well. What a lovely sentence that is to start the blog for a change.. We faced Southampton down at St Mary’s on a particularly hot & humid evening on the south coast. With the conditions in mind & the fact that players are still looking to shake off some of the post lockdown cobwebs, it wasn’t hard to imagine a game which wouldn’t be as exciting as you might hope. Still though, with that said I was hoping to see a reaction from the players after our last two lacklustre displays.
Before the game had started I had a similar feeling that I recall I had towards the end of the Emery era, just get a win. Sure, we are not in the same state that we were in towards the end of the Emery era, but at the same time I really felt like the team needed a win to breathe a bit of fresh air back into the squad. The old classic springs to mind, it’s not always how you win that matters, the fact is that you won. Sometimes it just takes a win to get things “back on track”, I use that lightly however as looking back at our results & how inconsistent they have been this season, it might not mean very much at all. Purely from a supporters perspective though, it keeps the league interesting, it keeps the players focussed as well as we still have the chance of qualifying for the Europa League, which is our only relatively realistic goal for the season now. If we had lost yesterday, you could pretty much wave goodbye to European football for the following campaign, unless we go on another FA Cup run of course.
The game was not a thriller by any stretch of the imagination, as we thought, the pre-season feel & temperature were clearly playing it’s part. During the first twenty minutes however, I thought we looked much sharper than they did. We kept our structure well, which was fluid in its transition between attack & defence. We were also popping the ball around nicely during the opening exchanges & really should’ve been one up after Auba missed a glorious opportunity, smashing the crossbar with his attempt. Personally I could understand Nketiah’s frustration at not being picked out, there was a simple square pass on for Auba which would’ve meant a tap in for the academy striker. It didn’t take long for Nketiah to break the deadlock afterward though, he presses very well, which is probably the reason he is being started by Arteta at the moment, he really does have a superb work ethic, which is similar to that of Martinelli. It was the work ethic which got him his goal in the end, fortuitous as it was after the howler by the Southampton keeper, it was a goal that both Arsenal & Nketiah deserved all the same. We went in one up at half time then & we had rarely looked troubled throughout the first half.
The second half was a slightly different game, we weren’t as comfortable as we were in the first half & Southampton were starting to put a little more pressure in & around our penalty box. Martinez was forced into a fine save from Shane Long & reacted very well after, getting up very quickly which denied Ings what would have been an easy tap in. That’s exactly what you train for as a keeper all week, it’s those reactions to second saves, how quick can you get up to save the second attempt etc. Overall I thought Martinez looked solid again yesterday evening, his distribution was solid & he commanded his box well when it came to crosses. As with most games when you are only one up, you always know you need to get that second hola to kill off the opposition. I had hoped it would come within the first fifteen minutes of the restart, to enable us to play with bit more freedom & help generate that confidence in our play that we desperately need. It didn’t come until late on, but it was another academy player who grabbed the goal. Willock followed up a Lacazette strike to slot home the decider & it was game over. You have to feel pleased for Willock, it’s been an interesting season for him. He started the season well & had a solid preseason. He’s shown glimpses of his talent but towards the end of 2019 & early 2020 his form had dropped a little. This isn’t to be unexpected of course, as it is practical to see this happen to a player when they are still in the development stage. Regardless, it was nice to see him grab his goal yesterday & with that the game ended 0-2 to The Arsenal, a nice away win & a clean sheet. Happy Days.
It’s hard not to give a special mention to man of the Match, Rob Holding. In my last blog I wrote about how he had shown some improvement & seemed to gain a little confidence in himself.
His performance yesterday was brilliant, he won every header he competed for & seemed to ooze that swagger that he had back in 2016-17 & pre injury. I remember saying back then that he was probably our best defender alongside Koscielny, he was playing some magnificent stuff. I genuinely hope he’s bacon the right path, he deserves his run in the starting eleven at this point that’s for sure.
Looking at the table this morning & once again your mind will start to play the “what if” game with you (probably the worst aspect of being a football fan this is), we are six points off Wolves who sit in sixth place, we play them before the season is up & with seven games remaining, we could well sneak in there. We also have Spurs & Sheffield Utd wedged between us & they will have the same thought as us right now that’s for sure.
Next up is another away trip (four one the bounce now!) to Sheffield Utd in the FA Cup. This is a big game for us as the FA Cup does seem to have an extra importance from a financial point of view. If we cannot find the consistency in the league to get into the EL places, then we can always get in by winning the FA Cup & as much as I dislike the Europa League, I think we need it. There would be some much needed cash coming into the club if we qualify, which we clearly need & it would also give more opportunity to lean in to “project youth” in my opinion. It will give Arteta a chance to look at other future players & experience nt a little with the side without any real expectation from the supporters, as its clear not many of us enjoy the Thursday night routine.
I’ll be back after the game at the weekend, enjoy your day.
The Arse 