Category: Match Reports

The return of the prodigal son Patrick Vieira may well have been what dominated the headlines in the build-up to the match, but Arsenal knew heading into their match against Crystal Palace that they would need to right the wrongs of their 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion a fortnight ago.

The only absentee from the Arsenal side was Granit Xhaka, who likely won’t feature for the club again until the new year, which allowed Nicolas Pépé to drop into the team as Arsenal opted for a 4-3-3 formation.

For the most part, this seemed a good strategy. Arsenal found themselves a goal to the good inside of 8 minutes, courtesy of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s back post rebound after Pépé’s initial shot was acrobatically saved by Vincente Guaita.

But, in true Arsenal fashion, the team took their foot off the proverbial gas and allowed Crystal Palace to gradually worm their way back into the game.

A controversial incident saw James McArthur lucky to escape a red card after (accidentally it has to be said) booting Bukayo Saka’s standing leg after the whistle had gone, forcing the youngster off at half-time.

After that, the Arsenal everyone has come to know of the past 8 years or so began to creep back in. Thomas Partey’s total lack of positional awareness allowed him to be easily closed down, leaving Arsenal’s defence totally exposed and despite Kieran Tierney’s best efforts, Christian Benteke was their to slot it home to bring the visitors level.

But it wasn’t over yet, Albert Sambi Lokonga was caught out in exactly the same way as Partey, which allowed Palace to break through, culminating in Odsonne Édouard having a clean run of goal as Ben White backed off as much as he could, which gave the Frenchman invitation to shoot, which he did, dispatching the ball ferociously past Aaron Ramsdale to give Palace a deserved lead.

Arsenal pushed on and on, but never really looked like scoring. It was a tepid display in both attack and defence and it was only through a last gasp shot from Ben White, which trickled it’s way to the substitute Alexandre Lacazette, who lashed it home from close range to salvage an utterly undeserved point.

It was a pathetic display, it had to be said. Arsenal looked utterly devoid of ideas and as though a single gust of wind would blow them over. There was no spark in the team and though Martin Ødegaard and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dutifully led the high-press, no one else really followed through and the introduction of Alexandre Lacazette seemed to be the only thing that gave Arsenal hope as the Frenchman linked up well with Aubameyang.

It was a particularly awful night for the usually excellent Thomas Partey. There is perhaps not too much to be concerned about for the long-term, but the Ghanian’s performance in midfield was a worrying aspect of the team’s performance. Partey was easily closed down, his distribution was awful and he looked like he needed a proper central midfielder alongside him.

Another issue seems to crop up on the form of Gabriel Martinelli. Martinelli has found first-team opportunities thin on the ground at the Emirates this season and his late introduction begged the ternal question, why was he brought on so late? Martinelli didn’t have quite the impact fans were hoping for, but there was enough there to suggest that he should be making more regular appearances and yet, Nicolas Pépé was preferred to the talented Brazilian and the Ivorian was once again, lacklustre.

The game seemed to echo the worrying trend that has plagued Mikel Arteta for some time. Without his perfect XI, he cannot win. Arsenal fans will of course have seen him beat teams without his best XI, but those wins are becoming few and far between.

No Xhaka meant that Arsenal had no one in midfield to help PArtey out and seemed to contribute to the lack of a Plan B. But for Xhaka, Arteta had near enough his perfect XI and was unable to come up with the goods. This is something that Arsenal fans may need more data on, but the fact that an entire game plan can fall apart if just one player is missing (a player Arsenal tried, in earnest, to bin off this summer) is worrying.

Arsenal now face off against Aston Villa on Friday night and if their performance last night is anything to go by, it’s going to be a very tough game for them unless they can really sort things out.

Arsenal team:
32.) Aaron Ramsdale
18.) Takehiro Tomiyasu
  4.) Ben White
  6.) Gabriel Magalhães
  3.) Kieran Tierney
  5.) Thomas Partey (Martinelli 81’)
  8.) Martin Ødegaard (Lacazette 67’)
10.) Emile Smith Rowe
  7.) Bukayo Saka (Lokonga 45’)
19.) Nicolas Pépé
14.) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (c)

Arsenal subs:
  1.) Bernd Leno
16.) Rob Holding
17.) Cédric Soares
20.) Nuno Tavares
15.) Ainsley Maitland-Niles
23.) Albert Sambi Lokonga
35.) Gabriel Martinelli
  9.) Alexandre Lacazette

Crystal Palace team:
13.) Vincente Guaita
  2.) Joel Ward
16.) Joachim Andersen
  6.) Marc Guéhi
  3.) Tyrick Mitchell
  4.) Luka Milivojević (c) (Kouyaté 67’)
18.) James McArthur
  9.) Jordan Ayew (Olise 71’)
23.) Conor Gallagher
22.) Odsonne Édouard (Tomkins 82’)
20.) Christian Benteke

Crystal Palace subs:
  1.) Jack Butland
  5.) James Tomkins
34.) Martin Kelly
  8.) Cheikhou Kouytaté
17.) Nathaniel Clyne
15.) Jeffrey Schlüpp
12.) Will Hughes
  7.) Michael Olise
14.) Jean-Philippe Mateta

Following their stupendous win in last Sunday’s North London Derby, Arsenal headed into their match against a high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion with the sort of confidence not seen around the club for a long time.

The injury to Granit Xhaka meant that only one change was necessary from the previous week as Albert Sami Lokonga dropped into midfield alongside Thomas Partey.

Graham Potter’s side have been playing with a confidence and swagger that has made them one of the surprise packages of the season and an ever-increasingly popular scalp to take.

The home side started well, attacking Arsenal with pace and with venom. Neal Maupay, already public enemy no. 1 for Arsenal fans after his clash with Bernd Leno and Mattéo Guendouzi, came close on a number of occasions, but it was set-pieces that Arsenal looked unusually vulnerable from. A bizarre match-up saw 6 fot 7 inch Dan Burn being marked by 5ft 10 inch Martin Ødegaard, which left no one in any doubt why the defender kept coming so close from the team’s subsequent corners, Lewis Dunk too.

That’s not to say that Arsenal didn’t have their fair share of chances, Bukayo Saka’s mesmeric run allowed Arsenal to have their first shot of the game and a few minutes later, he teed up captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who’s header smacked off the post.

The second-half was more of one-way traffic. Brighton were mean and looking to inflict as much damage as possible, most of which seemed to be coming in the form of either Marc Cucurella or Jakub Moder, both of whom were reeking havoc on the Arsenal defence, but for exceptionally poor finishing on Brighton’s part, Arsenal may well have walked away with nothing.

Emile Smith Rowe had arguably the biggest chance of the game, however. Faced with the decision between squaring it for Bukayo Saka or going alone, the youngster opted for the latter, and rather than placing his finish squarely into the far corner, he instead opted for the front post, which prompted a fairly easy save from Robert Sánchez.

The final say of the game, however, fell to Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal’s superb goalkeeper. A fantastic whipped in cross almost found Maupay, however, Ramsdale was quick to react and kept it just out of the Frenchman’s reach.

It wasn’t a good performance from Arsenal at all and a long, long way off of the mesmeric first-half that saw that expertly dispatch Tottenham last weekend.

The performance of Thomas Partey will likely be the focal point for many. Though he didn’t look too bad in midfield, his constant pot-shots, all of which seemed to cause more problems for any low-flying aircraft within the vicinity of the stadium, killed so many Arsenal attacks and begs the question as to just what he is actually doing in training. The shots were embarrassingly poor for a midfielder of Partey’s technical qualities and seemed to re-enforce the idea of the Ghanian never taking a shot again.

Another issue seems to stem from questions of the manager, such as “What does Gabriel Martinelli actually have to do to be given a place in this side?”. The performance of Martin Ødegaard was always going to open the possibility of a winger coming on and Emile Smith Rowe switching to the middle, but when the time came, Martinelli was nowhere to be seen, instead seeing Nicolas Pépé enter the field of play instead.

Martinelli’s conspicuous absence means that Arsenal have a distinct lack of energy in the team and it’s no surprise that Ødegaard’s departure saw the team’s intensity drop-off significantly.

However, as Sky Sports’ pundit and former Arsenal player Jack Wilshere pointed out in the aftermath of the game, given Arsenal’s young squad and lack of experience, sometimes learning not to lose is as useful as learning to win and Arsenal seemed to learn that against Brighton, even if they were a little lucky to do that too.

Arsenal team:
32.) Aaron Ramsdale
18.) Takehiro Tomiyasu
  4.) Ben White
  6.) Gabriel Magalhães
  3.) Kieran Tierney
23.) Albert Sambi Lokonga
  5.) Thomas Partey
  7.) Bukayo Saka (Maitland-Niles 90’)
  8.) Martin Ødegaard (Pépé 63’)
10.) Emile Smith Rowe
14.) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (c) (Lacazette 72’)

Arsenal subs:
  1.) Bernd Leno
16.) Rob Holding
17.) Cédric Soares
20.) Nuno Tavares
25.) Mohamed Elneny
15.) Ainsley Maitland-Niles
19.) Nicolas Pépé
35.) Gabriel Martinelli
  9.) Alexandre Lacazette

Brighton & Hove Albion team:
  1.) Robert Sánchez
24.) Shane Duffy
  5.) Lewis Dunk (c)
33.) Dan Burn
34.) Joël Veltman
13.) Pascal Groß (March 84’)
14.) Adam Lallana
15.) Jakub Moder (Mac Allister 78’)
  3.) Marc Cucurella
11.) Leandro Trossard
  9.) Neal Maupay

Brighton & Hove Albion subs:
23.) Jason Steele
  2.) Tariq Lamptey
28.) Haydon Roberts
20.) Solly March
30.) Taylor Richards
10.) Alexis Mac Allister
27.) Jürgen Locadia
  7.) Aaron Connolly 
60.) Jeremy Sarmiento

For many, Arsenal’s Premier League season did not start in their 2-0 away defeat to Brentford, but rather, in the team’s narrow 1-0 win against Norwich over a fortnight ago. Such is the upturn in form, that Arsenal entered Sunday’s North London derby in significantly better form than Tottenham, who’s early season form has since been overturned by a period of two consecutive games in which they have conceded three without reply.

There was one fairly predictable change for Arsenal as Nicolas Pépé was dropped to the bench in favour of Granit Xhaka, aside from this, it was the same team that beat Burnley last weekend.

Arsenal’s season has usually been characterised by starting at break-neck speed and then slowly petering out and allowing the opposition to have more and more chances as the game wears on, however, against Tottenham, Arsenal started a little more cautiously. Whether this was a conscious decision from Mikel Arteta or just a by-product of it being a derby game is unknown, but it suited Arsenal to grow into the game as quickly as possible, rather than to start at 100mph right from the off.

Their patience was rewarded as the soon found themselves ahead through Emile Smith Rowe. Wonderful link-up play between Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka allowed Saka to drift into the Tottenham box, a lack of covering from midfield saw Emile Smith Rowe free as a bird in the middle of the box and a tidy finish gave the hosts the lead.

Soon after, Arsenal went again. This time a blistering counter-attack that had Tottenham bewildered from the get-go allowed Smith Rowe the chance to run at Japhet Tangaga and then lay an inch-perfect ball into the path of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who’s weaker foot shot was scuffed into the far corner into the net to double the lead.

It was a sign of Mikel Arteta’s love of playing-out-from-the-back that caused the goal. A slightly hospital pass from Aaron Ramsdale hadn’t looked too encouraging but Granit Xhaka fought hard to win the ball back (the possibility of a foul in the build-up too) and Kieran Tierney was able to feed Smith Rowe to do the rest.

But Arsenal weren’t done yet! Harry Kane lost his footing on the edge of the Arsenal box and Arsenal again countered at speed. Though Kane fought hard to catch Bukayo Saka, he was ultimately unable to prevent the talented teen from getting loose in the box. Though the England captain was able to block Saka’s pass to Aubameyang, it actually served up a lovely finish for Saka, who took the chance gratefully to truly put the game to bed.

The second-half wasn’t quite as one-way traffic as the first, especially as Tottenham soon found themselves finding their feet at last, but the game still looked well beyond their grasp, even with the double-change they made at half-time.

Arsenal’s defending, so often criticised for it’s lackadaisical offerings, was on a different level entirely all game and it is perhaps only to a potential injury to Granit Xhaka (which had the defence’s head turned momentarily), that Heung-min Son was able to creep his effort past a flailing Aaron Ramsdale.

It may have been a consolation goal, but it wasn’t the last scare of the day for Arsenal. Lucas Moura’s deflected effort looked to be creeping towards the top corner, however, an acrobatic save from Aaron Ramsdale was tipped onto the crossbar and headed out for a subsequent corner.

The final whistle blew as the Emirates Stadium erupted with noise. It was arguably the team’s best performance since the departure of Arsène Wenger and as complete as you could get while still conceding.

Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka continued to assert their dominance in the attack for Arsenal. Both were utterly unplayable on the day and were aided by their new partner in crime Martin Ødegaard, who’s velvet-touched passes reminded the crowd of Mesut Özil at his very best.

In defence, Arsenal were incredible. Though he may have some way to go before he is able to repay the rather brobdingnagian price tag Arsenal paid for him, Ben White looked assured and confident as he marked Harry Kane out of the game. His partner in crime Gabriel Magalhães was just as assured, while Kieran Tierney was the main focal point of the attack as always. However, the performance of new boy Takehiro Tomiyasu was one for the memory book. The Japanese international failed to lose a single aerial duel, was quick enough to nullify the threat of Heung-min Son, who was forced into the middle in order to change his luck and was a brick wall all game.

The controversial decision to restore Granit Xhaka to the starting eleven was met with consternation of fans. The Swiss international has never exactly been what you’d call “popular”, however, his performance alongside Thomas Partey was a sign that he still has a role to play for the club.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s performance must also be singled out. While the Hale End boys will take the headlines, the captain’s assured performance in front of goal, as well as his blistering pace, was every bit as crucial as anyone else.

Arsenal must not get too carried away now though, a trip to the Amex Stadium beckons and Brighton will likely not be as easy as Tottenham, who looked like they were still stuck on the Seven Sisters roundabout for the first-half.

Arsenal team:
32.) Aaron Ramsdale
18.) Takehrio Tomiyasu
  4.) Ben White
  6.) Gabriel Magalhães
  3.) Kieran Tierney
34.) Granit Xhaka (Lokonga 82’)
  5.) Thomas Partey
  8.) Martin Ødegaard
  7.) Bukayo Saka (Maitland-Niles 87’)
10.) Emile Smith Rowe (Tavares 87’)
14.) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (c)

Arsenal subs:
  1.) Bernd Leno
16.) Rob Holding
17.) Cédric Soares
20.) Nuno Tavares
15.) Ainsley Maitland-Niles
23.) Albert Sambi Lokonga
19.) Nicolas Pépé
35.) Gabriel Martinelli
  9.) Alexandre Lacazette

Tottenham Hotspur team:
  1.) Hugo Lloris (c)
25.) Japhet Tangaga (Emerson Royal 45’)
  6.) Davinson Sánchez
15.) Eric Dier
  3.) Sergio Reguilón
20.) Dele Alli (Skipp 45’)
  5.) Pierre-Emile Højberg
28.) Tanguy Ndombele (Gil 70’)
27.) Lucas Moura
10.) Harry Kane
  7.) Hung-min Son

Tottenham Hotspur subs:
22.) Pierluigi Gollini 
4.) Cristian Romero
14.) Joe Rodon
33.) Ben Davies
12.) Emerson Royal
29.) Oliver Skipp
11.) Bryan Gil
18.) Giovani Lo Celso
44.) Dane Scarlett

It’s been a trying opening few weeks for Arsenal fans, defeats to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City have left a stale taste int he mouth for some time. However, the closing of the transfer window, which saw Arsenal just about bring in Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu from Bologna, has given the place a slight boost.

Heading into their game against Norwich, Arsenal fans were perhaps cautiously optimistic with the refrain “The season starts against Norwich” being the constant reminder Arsenal needed.

There were already a few changes abound for Arsenal. Number 1 Bernd Leno was dropped in favour of new boy Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhães played their first game as a defensive pair, Ainsley Maitland-Niles (fresh off the back of his Instagram outburst) partnered Albert Sambi Lokonga in midfield, while Emile Smith Rowe dropped to the bench.

Arsenal started furiously. They pressed Norwich hard and high. It was the kind of high-pressing game that Mikel Arteta has been begging for his team to play more often.

Such was the intensity of Arsenal’s press, that they began to force some errors from Norwich, none more so than Tim Krul, who seemed to crumble whenever Arsenal strayed too close to him.

However, in typical Arsenal fashion, the team took their collective foot off the gas and allowed Norwich more breathing space. Norwich slowely began to creep back into the game and by the time the half-time whistle had blown, Norwich had had more shots than Arsenal (though most were off target) and Arsenal looked like the break hadn’t come soon enough.

Arsenal again started brightly in the second-half. Norwich looked a little more worse for wear and although they too created chances and began to hurt Arsenal, it was always the home side who looked to be in total control.

Soon enough, Arsenal managed to find their breakthrough! A slide rule pass allowed Nicolas Pépé loose with the ball, and he galloped into the penalty area, only for his shot to cannon off the post, his follow-up was blocked by Brandon Williams and the Ivorian’s tumbling foot managed to connect with the ball, drifting it into Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s path who will never have an easier tap-in.

VAR looked at the goal, but Michael Oliver gave it and Arsenal had their first goal of the Premier League season.

There were still a few scares to come from Norwich before the half was out and soon enough, Arsenal had just about managed to scrape through intact and with a cleansheet to boot.

It hadn’t been the prettiest performance from Arsenal on the day, but they won’t care a win is a win and the three points were all that mattered.

Arsenal could have had plenty more if they had had their shooting boots on. Nicolas Pépé, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Martin Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka and substitute Emile Smith Rowe could all have had goals if they’d been a bit better in front of goal. Smith Rowe’s shot in particular looked gilt-edged.

There was however a very promising performance from new boy Takehiro Tomiyasu. Initially though to be too soon for the Japan international owing to visa and work permit issues, he was thrown into the team immediately and looked like he’d been there all along.

Tomiyasu’s performance was stunning. He looked a real threat going forward and was a very competent defender when Arsenal needed him, winning 5 out of 5 aerial duels in the first-half. His substitution will perhaps raise some eyebrows, but it’s understandable why Arteta would want to keep his new boy fit and ready for Burnley next weekend, especially given his cramps towards the end.

Meanwhile, the performance of Ainsley Maitland-Niles will raise some eyebrows. Despite his baffling progressive passing rate of 6 (the joint-highest in the team), the youngster did not look comfortable in midfield, and it would perhaps be welcome to see Thomas Partey back in the mix next weekend, though, in Maitland-Niles’ defence, he hasn’t played for Arsenal in a Premier League match for some time and would perhaps have needed a bit more time to bed in.

It’s a monkey off the back for Mikel Arteta and co., but Arsenal need to keep their feet firmly on the ground as they travel to Turf Moor next weekend.

Arsenal team:
32.) Aaron Ramsdale
18.) Takehiro Tomiyasu (Smith Rowe 62′)
  4.) Ben White
  6.) Gabriel Magalhães
  3.) Kieran Tierney
15.) Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Cédric Soares 82′)
23.) Albert Sambi Lokonga (Partey 62′)
19.) Nicolas Pépé
  8.) Martin Ødegaard
  7.) Bukayo Saka
14.) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (c)

Arsenal subs:
  1.) Bernd Leno
22.) Pablo Marí
21.) Calum Chambers
17.) Cédric Soares
20.) Nuno Tavares
  5.) Thomas Partey
10.) Emile Smith Rowe
35.) Gabriel Martinelli
  9.) Alexandre Lacazette

Norwich City team:
  1.) Tim Krul
  2.) Max Aarons
  5.) Grant Hanley (c)
44.) Andrew Omobamidele
21.) Brandon Williams
   7.) Lukas Rupp (Idah 80′)
20.) Pierre Lees-Melou
23.) Kenny McLean
10.) Kieran Dowell (Cantwell 62′)
18.) Christos Tzolis (Rashica 69′)
22.) Teemu Pukki

Norwich City subs:
28.)Angus Gunn
15.) Ozan Kabak
  4.) Ben Gibson
  8.) Billy Gilmour
16.) Mathias Normann
17.) Milot Rashica
19.) Jacob Sørensen
14.) Todd Cantwell
35.) Adam Idah

It’s been a pretty dismal start to the season for Arsenal and a trip to the Etihad at Saturday lunchtime was hardly ever going to brighten the mood around the club.

Despite an emphatic 0-6 drubbing of West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup, it had been preceded by defeats to Brentford and Chelsea respectively.

A truly tortuous opening set of fixtures which saw Arsenal start the season with a number of injuries and COVID-related incidents, not least to new summer signing Ben White, who was unavailable for the trip to Manchester.

Mikel Arteta decided to start with a back-five. The formation had worked wonders when Arsenal had beaten Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final in 2020 and would surely work this time.

How wrong he was.

Manchester City tore through Arsenal like a hit knife through butter.

It’s easier to speak about the chances that Arsenal didn’t concede. So numb to the pain of conceding, it’s actually difficult to recollect just how Arsenal managed to concede five goals.

While Mikel Arteta will have his critics, the recruitment in the summer has done very little to ever really alleviate the issues that permeate in the squad.

Arsenal enter their third game of the season, away at the league champions with Calum Chambers and Rob Holding being partnered in defence by Sead Kolašinac. Surely this was result was the only ones on the cards?

Even with such a makeshift defence, Arsenal looked sluggish. They didn’t even look like a team that were that bothered by the result. It seemed as though Mikel Arteta had told them that he expected them to lose and the team went out and did just that.

The afternoon was worsened further by the red card of Granit Xhaka, the only saving grace being that Arsenal fans won’t see him again for three matches.

Xhaka hadn’t been having the worst game in the world up until that point and his red card was perhaps hastened by the play-acting of João Cancelo, however, the Swiss captain should really know better than to dive in two-footed, even if he did win the ball.

The display obviously raises questions on just how much longer Mikel Arteta will be able to stick this out for, but so too, for Edu.

Arteta’s job is perhaps contingent on the next run of results. Wins were never expected against either Chelsea or Manchester City, even their game against Brentford was perhaps a little up in the air, given how many absentees there were, but his performances against Norwich, Burnley and Tottenham will be an interesting indicator on his viability.

As for Edu, the clock is most certainly ticking, perhaps not at board level, but certainly with the fans.

A COVID-affected market is understandable, as his inability to shift under-performing players in a market that doesn’t exist, but the lack of a proven goalscoring midfielder and a competent right-back is not doing anyone any favours at all.

Arsenal have (at the time of publishing) two days remaining in the transfer market and while the outgoings will be watched with great interest, the incomings are so much more important.

Arsenal are crying out for a decent right-back and are practically having Houssem Aouar shoved down their throats by Lyon and they are still inexplicably yet to act.

It’s almost as if Arsenal are deliberately waiting as long as possible to sign players and it’s costing them on the field as well as off it.

An international break is a welcome sight for once and the transfer market closing will likely be welcome too, but Arsenal need to sort their season soon, or else be confined to yet another season of no European football.

Arsenal team:
  1.) Bernd Leno
17.) Cédric Soares
21.) Calum Chambers
16.) Rob Holding
31.) Sead Kolašinac
  3.) Kieran Tierney
34.) Granit Xhaka 🔴
10.) Emile Smith Rowe
  7.) Bukayo Saka (Elneny 45’)
  8.) Martin Ødegaard (Maitland-Niles 71’)
14.) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (c) (Lacazette 59’)

Arsenal subs:
32.) Aaron Ramsdal
33.) Arthur Okonkwo
22.) Pablo Marí
20.) Nuno Tavares
15.) Ainsley Maitland-Niles
25.) Mohamed Elneny
23.) Albert Sambi Lokonga
35.) Gabriel Martinelli
  9.) Alexandre Lacazette

Manchester City team:
31.) Ederson
  2.) Kyle Walker (Zinchenko 45’)
  3.) Rúben Dias
14.) Aymeric Laporte
27.) João Cancelo
20.) Benardo Silva (Sterling 58’)
16.) Rodri
  8.) İlkay Gündoğan (c)
  9.) Gabriel Jesus (Mahrez 61’)
10.) Jack Grealish
21.) Ferran Torres

Manchester City subs:
13.) Zack Steffen
  5.) John Stones
  6.) Nathan Aké
11.) Oleksander Zinchenko
25.) Fernandinho
69.) Tommy Doyle
80.) Cole Palmer
26.) Riyad Mahrez

Following their tepid 2-0 defeat to Brentford on the opening day, the pressure has begun to rise on Mikel Arteta and his team.

Heading into Sunday’s game, Arsenal’s first at the Emirates Stadium this season under the watchful eye of their fans, there was still an air of “we’re going to get beaten today”.

Arsenal’s form hasn’t exactly been stellar stuff, but equally, its notable absences that lead to such a shocking attitude from the fans. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was back in the squad following his COVID-19 diagnosis, however, Alexandre Lacazette, Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson and new signing Ben White, were absent with COVID too, meanwhile Martin Ødegaard did not have his visa sorted in time and Gabriel Magalhães and Thomas Partey were not fit.

If ever a team looked it had multiple players missing from it, it was Arsenal. Holding and Marí, who had formed an uneasy yet effective partnership last season, were torn apart by Chelsea new boy Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku’s strength was far too much to handle for Arsenal, especially for Marí, who was tossed aside as if he were a rag doll, which allowed Lukaku space in the box as he tapped in from close-range to give the visitors the lead.

Arsenal looked shaken and perhaps need the rallying cries of established seniors, but with only Granit Xhaka on the field to do the rallying, there simply wasn’t enough experience and it was unsurprising that Chelsea added a second a quarter of an hour later.

The second-half was a more confident showing from the home side. Whether that be because Chelsea took their foot off the gas or because Arsenal were slowly growing in confidence is unknown. Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli had shots early on that tested Édouard Mendy, but ultimately, Arsenal were well beaten by this point and a few snapshots were not going to change that.

The final whistle was a welcome sound as Arsenal trudged off the field to a chorus of boos and jeers.

In Arsenal’s defence, taking six starting players out of any team and they would probably struggle to provide much of an attacking threat ot defensive rigidity.

The absences of Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhães were the most notable. Partey’s ability to control possession in midfield and Gabriel’s strengths were two things Arsenal desperately lacked on the day.

It seemed as though there was very little that Mikel Arteta could realistically have done to improve things. The formation could probably have been switched to a back-three in order to provide more cover for the defence, but realistically, the Spaniard was doing the best he could with what he had available to him.

With Manchester City looming on the horizon in the league, it seems unlikely that Arsenal will be grabbing three points anytime soon. City are the favourites for the title and Arsenal are currently unable to score even a consolation goal at the moment. The hard part for Mikel Arteta now will be preventing a blood-bath.

The final days of the transfer window will be decisive for Arsenal now.

Arsenal team:
  1.) Bernd Leno
17.) Cédric Soares
16.) Rob Holding
22.) Pablo Marí
  3.) Kieran Tierney (Tavares 66’)
34.) Granit Xhaka (c)
23.) Albert Sambi Lokonga
19.) Nicolas Pépé
10.) Emile Smith Rowe
  7.) Bukayo Saka (Aubameyang 61’)
35.) Gabriel Martinelli (Balogun 79’)

Arsenal subs:
32.) Aaron Ramsdale
21.) Calum Chambers
20.) Nuno Tavares
31.) Sead Kolašinac
15.) Ainsley Maitland-Niles
25.) Mohamed Elneny
24.) Reiss Nelson
26.) Folarian Balogun

Chelsea team:
16.) Édouard Mendy
28.) César Azpilicueta (c)
  4.) Andreas Christensen
  2.) Antonio Rüdiger
24.) Reece James
  5.) Jorginho
  8.) Mateo Kovačić (Kanté 72’)
  3.) Marcos Alonso
19.) Mason Mount (Ziyech 82’)
29.) Kai Havertz (Werner 90’)
  9.) Romelu Lukaku

Chelsea subs:
  1.) Kepa Arrizabalaga
  6.) Thiago Silva
15.) Kurt Zouma
14.) Nathaniel Chalobah
21.) Ben Chilwell
  7.) N’Golo Kanté
22.) Hakim Ziyech
20.) Callum Hudson-Odoi
11.) Timo Werner

The return of club football is a very welcome sight for football fans up and down the land. The excitement of the EUROs and the Copa América this summer has had people itching to see the team they chose strut their stuff on the opening day.

Arsenal’s match against Brentford was the first game to be selected for showing on Friday 13th. It’s perhaps fitting that Friday 13th was the date for the game, given how truly abysmal and unlucky Arsenal’s transfer business had been in the build-up to the match.

Late injuries to Alexandre Lacazette and captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as well as earlier injuries sustained by Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhães, Arsenal were clearly not heading in with their best starting XI.

Nevertheless, the team that was chosen should have been enough to give newly-promoted Brentford a run for their money; and they did, for the opening 20 minutes or so. Arsenal looked sharp moving forward, a little suspect at the back, but that was understandable given there was no official right-back and the club’s best defender was out injured.

But things soon took a very predictable turn as Brentford’s corner was hastily scrambled away by Arsenal, only for the home side to launch another attack. Pablo Marí’s clearance wasn’t swooped upon by the players and the former Barcelona and Liverpool youth player Sergi Canós lept onto it and smashed a superb effort through the legs of Calum Chambers at Bernd Leno’s near post to give the hosts the lead.

Arsenal continued to create chances, but there was a very distinct lack of ability in front of goal. Chances either went begging or were never truly taken and Arsenal went in at half-time a little punch-drunk.

The second-half wasn’t pretty. Arsenal had more clear-cut chances and dominated for most of the half, but the speed and intensity of Brentford’s press proved too much to deal with.

Brentford’s second-goal was truly a comedy of errors. Arsenal looked utterly woe begone. Brentford’s party-piece, the long throw, was used to devastating effect as Bernd Leno was marked out of the move, failed to get anywhere near the ball and allowed Christian Nørgaard the easiest header of his career.

Arsenal’s chances were fairly interesting, Emile Smith Rowe’s somewhat tame effort was easily saved by former Arsenal target David Raya and Nicolas Pépé’s late effort forced another impressive save from the Spaniard, but Arsenal looked done well before then and the final whistle was a merciful release.

Having four key players injured for a game will always have an adverse effect on the team’s performance. Without your star defender, sart midfielder, last year’s top scorer and your captain, you expect a certain level of drop-off, but Arsenal did not look up to the task at all.

Mikel Arteta’s insistence on playing out from the back has once again raised questions as to why the team are still bothering. Training videos show the players practicing El Rondo’s every single day, so why do the players look so utterly petrified when the press comes to them? Arsenal are no further forward in the tactic than they are in their overall performances.

Ben White looked particularly fragile on the night as well. Though this is likely down to the fact that he was partnered alongside Pablo Marí, who looked very meak, and being next to the very defensively poor Calum Chambers, it wasn’t a good night for Arsenal’s new £50m defender. The aforementioned insistence on playing out from the back put a lot of pressure on the defender and he seemed incapable of being able to win aerial duels, resulting in Brentford dominating the skies far more than they had anticipated.

There were some bright performances, however. Emile Smith Rowe and Kieran Tierney were at their usual best and new boy Albert Sambi Lokonga looked like a gem too. Folarian Balogun was unable to show his real qualities owing to a distinct lack of service, but the forward often found himself in good positions and was able to get himself into areas that could prove deadly in the coming weeks if Arsenal sort the supply line out.

Brentford’s meteoric rise is well known (especially to those who have read Christoph Biermann’s wonderful Football Hackers: The Science and Art of a Data Revolution), however, their unique means of operating aside, they looked like a team that was better prepared than Arsenal, a team that knew what they wanted to do and a team that already had the opposition sussed.

Arsenal are in dire-straits now. Games against Chelsea and Manchester City beckon respectively and Arsenal seem assured to finish both games with no points. The recruitment has been stagnant and uninspired and it’s taking far too long. As per usual, Arsenal have left things to the last minute, but while Technical Director Edu Gaspar may need to look inwardly at his own work, Mikel Arteta needs to change things on the field, or else find himself looking for a new job.

The Arsenal fans are restless and tolerance isn’t high, the mood is changing and Arsenal need to act fast if they are to save their season. Deals for Martin Ødegaard, a striker, a midfielder, a back-up goalkeeeprr and a right-back need to be concluded as soon as humanly possible. Still though, the kits looked good.

Arsenal team:
  1.) Bernd Leno
21.) Calum Chambers (Tavares 81’)
  4.) Ben White
22.) Pablo Marí
  3.) Kieran Tierney
34.) Granit Xhaka (c)
23.) Albert Sambi Lokonga
19.) Nicolas Pépé
10.) Emile Smith Rowe
35.) Gabriel Martinelli (Nelson 71’)
26.) Folarian Balogun (Saka 59’)

Arsenal subs:
49.) Karl Jakob Hein
16.) Rob Holding
  2.) Héctor Bellerín
17.) Cédric Soares
20.) Nuno Tavares
15.) Ainsley Maitland-Niles
25.) Mohamed Elneny
  7.) Bukayo Saka
24.) Reiss Nelson

Brentford team:
  1.) David Raya
20.) Kristoffer Ajer (Sørensen 71’)
18.) Pontus Jansson (c)
  5.) Ethan Pinnock
  7.) Sergi Canós
15.) Frank Onyeka (Bidstrup 80’)
  6.) Christian Nørgaard
27.) Vitaly Janelt
  3.) Rico Henry
19.) Bryan Mbeumo (Forss 86’)
17.) Ivan Toney

Brentford subs:
13.) Patrik Gunnarsson
29.) Mads Bech Sørensen
  4.) Charlie Goode
30.) Mads Roerslev
14.) Saman Ghoddos
28.) Mads Bidstrup
  9.) Marcus Forss
21.) Halil Dervisoglu
11.) Yoane Wissa