Well lovely Arsenal people, I went through an emotional rollercoaster watching that game. When they “scored” for 2:1, I thought they deserved it. We were very sloppy in defence and every time they went forward I was scared. Then it was disallowed and the last 10 minutes were breathtaking.
It was honestly the good, the bad and the ugly. We were the better team in the first 30 minutes, and of all people, the ball had to fall to Havertz who misskicked it 5 yards away from goal, and there wasn’t even a challenge around him. Then the guy made the mistake with the pass that led to their goal.
I am really trying to find something to hold on to with him, and the one time he made a positive run forward he tried to win a penalty, when he could’ve been 1:1 with the goal, although that doesn’t mean anything with him.
I’m just baffled why Arteta had him on for 75 minutes. That experiment is shocking. I think Arteta made a confession of one of his mistakes, by reverting to the back 4 from last year. That said our defending wasn’t great again. United really had one plan, draw us out and hit a ball to the wings, and unfortunately we fell for it, and I’m annoyed because I knew it would happen.
On the positive side we responded immediately to go back level, and we deserved it. It was the one time we were really quick going forward. I think we were too static, until Jesus and Vieira came on.
I’m going to give credit to the manager for the subs as once again they changed our performance. Jesus started asking questions Eddie just doesn’t, and I’m in no way dissing him, but when Gabby J came on, we had someone who could hold the ball up front, take a man on or create a chance for himself.
Also Fabio Vieira, the guy’s played roughly 40 minutes this season and he has won a penalty and has 2 assists to his name. If Havertz is picked over him against Everton it would be a travesty.
The best player on the pitch by a country mile was Declan Rice. I didn’t miss Partey, and that goal. You go into folklore with such goals, but overall the guy took the initiative in a moment where we desperately needed a win.
I think you just saw when the players reverted to a system they know, how Odegaard came alive and had his best game this season. Even though Saka had a poor game he kept pushing, and he had support in Ben White, which Partey just doesn’t offer.
I also want to shout out Martinelli who is an absolute hero on the left, playing with no support, missing Xhaka and still being a real threat.
All and all, I’m very happy with the 3 points. The way we rose from the dead, after we had almost lost it, was encouraging. Did we have to leave it so late and dramatic? Let’s be real, if we want to win the title, we should’ve had 12 points against the opposition in front of us. We need some more comfortable wins, and better control of games.
10 points from 12, it is what it is. Let’s just end the Havertz experiment and work on our defending. We go to Everton away after the break, a ground where our record is really poor, but they are a terrible football side and we need a few dominating performances. Remember, we are considered the biggest threat to City for the title, we need to improve to live up to those standards.
But overall, I’m happy with the win in the end. We leave in a positive mood, but let’s learn from the first 4 games and start putting in more confident performances, or results will eventually catch up. Last minute winners are great, but we need some more sustainable and controlled wins.
Konstantin
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