3 Things I Loved From Arsenal’s Victory Over Luton by Noah
The chemistry between Havertz and Jesus: Whisper it quietly, but Kai Havertz has picked up 3 goals in his last 4 Arsenal appearances. It has long been debated what his best position is, but it is now becoming clearer that it is behind the striker. His goal yesterday showed how dangerous he can be when making runs from deep.
His goal against Lens came in a similar fashion, and he is continuing to find the right spaces and exploit them to full effect. Gabriel Jesus also deserves a shoutout for his contributions yesterday. The bullet header for the 2nd goal was brilliant, and he made that 3rd goal out of nothing except hard work and industry. He and Havertz are building a telepathic understanding with each other; long may it continue.
Ødegaard being human: As chaos ensued in the away corner of Kenilworth Road, one action stood out to me: Ødegaard hugging David Raya. Conceding 3 goals from an expected goals of 0.50, Raya did not have a great performance yesterday. As he made his way from our goal to the other side of the pitch to join in on the jubilation, Ødegaard embraced him with a warm hug and some encouraging words.
This was a touching act from Ødegaard and showcased his strong emotional intelligence (just like his football intelligence), and further proved why he is our Captain. We mustn’t forget that the pros are humans too and everyone makes mistakes from time to time.
Although I don’t know the solution to the Raya-Ramsdale dilemma, I believe that as fans, it is our duty to support whoever Arteta puts on the teamsheet. Both are great keepers in their own respect, and I think that if they just relax and play without fear, we should be in line for plenty of clean sheets.
Character: If I could only use one word to describe this team, it would be character. Time and time again, we find ourselves in difficult positions, but just find a way to grind it out and get 3 points (Although occasionally it takes some heroics… Thank you Declan Rice).
When losing 2-3, and playing away in the most electrifying atmosphere in the Premier League, it would have been so easy to back down and allow ourselves to be intimidated, but no… we stood tall and took care of business.
This team is full of leaders… Ødegaard, Rice, Jesus, Gabriel, Jorginho, Zinchenko, Saka, Elneny (and kill me if you want, but even Cédric is a leader). We may be one of the youngest teams in the league, but by golly, we are wise beyond our years. Leadership will take us far and let’s hope it brings us to glory on many fronts this season.
Thanks for reading! Share how you reacted to yesterday’s game in the comments below!
Noah Mroueh
Watch the amazing highlights of Luton v Arsenal here…
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