Match report – Participant rankings – Arteta response – Video
The place to start out? Properly, 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 saved up the facade and bought 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 saved 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 by way of by Savinho and poked residence for 1-0.
It might have been worse. Ilkay Gundogan hit the submit and Metropolis had been constructing momentum we discovered exhausting 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 had been stage. Metropolis had 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 reduce it again for Riccardo Calafiori to curve residence a powerful objective 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 had 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 good thing about the doubt (learn on).
Even at 1-1, it was a recreation 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 doubtlessly one of many funniest stuff you’ll see all season.
Walker was poking and prodding Gabriel, I assume to attempt to put him off. The Brazilian shimmied a technique, then the opposite, ran to the again submit and leaped highest to move residence 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 blocking Ederson. The Metropolis keeper was so weak for each these corners, from a keeper thought-about top-of-the-line on the earth, it was feeble stuff, and also you like to see it.
That objective got here simply earlier than the break, giving us an amazing platform to take into half-time, however then the following second that modified the sport happened. Having been booked for a really mushy foul, Leandro Trossard was proven a second yellow for ‘delaying the restart’. He kicked the ball away after he’d made a foul. I feel he’s in all probability making an attempt to make a move extra than simply boot it, and he type of pulls out of it, but it surely appears 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. Pink card. And look, I consider all of the groups within the Premier League, we ought to be hyper-aware of this, as a result of we’ve already fallen foul of this rule. The truth is, we appear to be the one group that this rule applies to, since you didn’t need to 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 recreation 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 we have now to be smarter in future. On the identical time although, this rule is a load of shit and we can’t have video games ruined over trivia like this, as a result of that’s what it did. It ruined it.
I feel what Arsenal virtually did in that second half was extraordinary, a heroic defensive effort till that late objective bought Metropolis a degree I don’t suppose they actually deserved. However objectively, it turned a superb recreation of soccer – doubtlessly an all-time Premier League basic – right into a horrible recreation 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 bought 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 ‘finest league on the earth’ is in peril of changing into a laughing inventory for nonsense like this (even when there’s part of me that wonders if an govt choice 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 fearful about for a second. Let’s be clear right here, there are myriad good 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 simply 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 choice to ship Trossard off. Somebody like Roy Keane, a combative midfielder who would have loved a bodily recreation like this, is backing an official’s choice to ship somebody off and fully hand the benefit to 1 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 needs this’, as an alternative of merely parroting PGMOL press releases?
Michael Oliver is identical official, by the way in which, 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 revamped an Arsenal participant, eh? As I stated, all we are able to do is be smarter, management what we are able to management, however I stand by what I stated after the Declan Rice purple – no participant, not even a Spurs participant, ought to get despatched off for that. We had been seconds from half-time, Oliver might simply have utilized some frequent sense, and had a phrase with Trossard, however no. He needed to negatively influence the sport, no less than for us.
I’ve bought 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 in opposition to Brighton and the way that was punished, it’s exhausting to not be annoyed by the inconsistency. Again to Trossard, I can perceive the choice within the present local weather (a lot as I feel 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 exhausting for Metropolis to interrupt us down. Mikel Arteta known as it an unimaginable job, and it’s one we so very practically pulled off. To a person everybody put in an enormous defensive effort, and you must 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, usually enjoying simply outdoors 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’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 stress 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 objective has had that type of influence on me for a very long time.
We tried so exhausting with 10 males in opposition to 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 recreation and what we’ll take from it. Arteta has usually used issues like this as a strategy to additional consolidate the motivation and togetherness of his group. He’ll 100% try this once more with this.
He’ll be sure that what we take away isn’t the sting of that late objective, or body it as two factors dropped. He’ll make this all in regards to the effort, the endeavour, the unity, the way in which 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 recreation in every week too, Metropolis had an additional day of relaxation after their Champions League draw with Inter Milan, and the way in which we dug so deep was one thing he’ll use to assist his group take one other step ahead in its growth. I feel we ought to be pleased with the hassle we noticed yesterday, as a result of it was not simple.
Afterwards, he stated:
Clearly, we had been thrown right into a context that made it virtually unimaginable for 56 minutes, however anyway, we tailored to that context in the very best manner and the way in which the group competed was simply unbelievable. I’m so pleased with the group. You’ll be able to’t be thrown right into a tougher state of affairs in opposition to that type of opponent and the way in which we dealt with that. I’m so proud.
As you’d count on, 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 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. In the long run, a recreation which I feel we are able to take quite a bit 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 stated above, you’ll be able to make certain 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 trying ahead to our residence recreation in opposition to them once we’ll take our revenge for the way this one panned out ultimately.
Anyway, I higher go away it there for now. You’ll be able to be a part of us a bit later for an Arsecast Additional once 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 for those who’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, go away your query within the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
Pod ought to be out mid-morning. For now, have an excellent one.
