The door that didn't slide (Positives Needs & Hopes)

Today at 12:18 PM

'The door that didn't slide'

An Arsenal blog from a coach's perspective

As I've been traveling and 'blog absent,' this will cover the Forest and Lisbon games.

After the Forest game rolled around, I was less concerned about our form than I was about how Arteta was being viewed. I knew we would rebound but I'm also aware that fans can be dangerously impatient and angry.

We all know that we live in a time where people feel that their anger is justified and that you can only be interesting if your opinions live on the East and West Coast. Life in the middle is thought to be dull, but certainly is geographically closer to the truth. People traveling to the United States have no desire to go to Oklahoma and only consider New York and LA, but neither of those places represent most people’s reality or represent the worldview of the majority.

Arteta has not been without fault during this period but he is also not the problem. Every coach has a weakness and my observation is that perhaps his greatest strength is his desire to personally improve as we see in his creative methods and interesting coaching techniques from other sports. You will also never hear him act like any of his players have arrived. Always saying that there is more to push for. I was concerned that the press, who seem to have a dislike for him anyway, would start going after him if we didn’t beat Forest at home. They’d already decided to focus on the fact that we have a poor recent record in European away games, and so the knives were certainly out and the blades were being sharpened. This period certainly looked like a sliding doors moment for Arteta and the club's season. As Liverpool have decided to not drop points recently and the Champions League table is so tight there seemed like very little room to drop more points. This sliding doors moment wasn’t 'win or done' but there certainly was a door and it was on rails. I suppose the difference between the best coaches and others is that they do not let their team fall away. At the least they stay in touch and as the outcomes were so positive we are now still in touch. Also, a top coach, with top players, can drag them from their mediocrity right back to the very top of their game quicker than other coaches. 

This might end up being more important than the points. In both games the players were not only dominant at both ends, but had managed in just one week to go from looking somewhat stressed to looking like they were playing in the park. Now that we are back in form, I am reminded of how good our players actually are. Form can deceive you into thinking that a player isn’t as good as you thought he was. Again, it depends where you live. I live in what I consider to be the grey area of reality, So perhaps this isn’t a huge surprise, but more a nice reminder. 

Currently Arsenal have up to seven players who would be in consideration for being the 'best in their position' in Europe. I remember writing an article for 'The Gooner' where I valued our current squad. It was comfortably over 1,000,000,000 pounds. An astonishing achievement by our club considering where we were five years ago. One that does not come with a trophy, but shows the importance of good decision-making during the months of January, July and August. The seven players are David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka. If you were asking a coach, they'd probably include Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz too. 

So, who or what was the catalyst? I think that the average fan isn’t fully aware of the influence that our captain has. Not only will he be respected as the best attacking midfielder in Europe, but he is the ultimate modern day player who puts more value than any midfielder I’ve ever seen at Arsenal in doing the hard work on such a consistent basis. If there was any lack of respect for his leadership based on his mellow personality, it would be made up by the respect they have for his attitude every time, all game long. We had been lacking a difference maker. Somebody who comes on the field with a key in his pocket and repeatedly unlocks the door for others to enter through. 

Martin Ødegaard has been the catalyst and is an example of the influence of a true leader.

POSITIVES:

Odegaard:

How do you describe this talented genius? He reminds me of a talented makeup artist. Not necessarily the talent that gets the most attention but most certainly the talent that makes the performance so much better for everyone else.

Playing without him has been much like watching an orchestra without a conductor. We are capable. A group that does not lose its talent, but without the one person that makes it work. For Partey’s goal against Forest I saw Odegaard at his best. Yet another moment of great potential happening on the right wing, but without Odegaard intentionally making a run away from the ball and into the box to drag a defender with him, the gap does not open for the pass and Partey does not score the crucial goal. Again, Odegaard doesn’t necessarily get the plaudits as many did not even notice his involvement but without it we don’t score. 

Playing against him must be a nightmare for your muscles. He is constantly jerking opponents around with his stop/start style. He is proof of why it’s possible to not just have pace and skill if you want to be able to retain possession and dance in and out of opponents. The career of Theo Walcott is the first comparison that comes to mind. A player with such pace and sufficient skill, but a player that did not value when he needed to decelerate and change pace, and how he could best use his pace by slowing the defenders’ wheels down in order to lose them.

Partey:

Thomas is proving the point of patience. I don’t want to pretend that I wasn’t concerned about investing in a player that could not stay fit but regardless of opinion, it is quite beautiful to see the comeback of a player who is largely unmatched in Europe. Certainly, as a defensive midfielder who can 'defend' and 'midfield.' When he plays like he has currently, it’s almost like trying to compare the talent taking the tennis lesson with the resident pro at the tennis club. 

I played Central Midfield growing up. Infrequently I play with the kids on my team and I am made aware again of how difficult it is to be as calm as Thomas is as you have people coming at you from the north, south, east and west or you think you have. He makes it look so easy and as much as other players at Arsenal get the flowers there has to be a huge trust in the player playing in that position on both sides of the ball. All of the players are willing to do what the coach wants them to do but you see how they feel when the going gets tough. When things go sideways players never stop moving for Thomas Partey as they trust him and believe so strongly in his ability to quarterback and turn it around. The same goes on the defensive side. Again, when things go sideways, if the players don’t trust the DM to do his job, they will step out of position and over cover or simply not go forward for fear of his lack in stopping transition.

Beyond all of this, one of the saddest aspects of watching football is seeing a player destined for the very top not be able to get there because of injury. Don't forget that Arteta did what Thomas is doing for 20 years and fully understands what this player needs to look like. The fact that he has stuck with him when he has a 105M player willing to learn what his flaws are and improve to be the DM that Arteta wants and yet Thomas Partey plays there still, shows you how good Partey is.

In a sea of talented players, Thomas Partey has always been my favourite and I love that he is currently exhibiting his endless ladder of talent.

Corners:

I was getting a little concerned recently. Not so much that we hadn't scored from a corner as we are far above XG, but I was getting concerned that we weren't getting to any of the corners first until Gabriel scored v Sporting. 

Saka:

His humility is so evident, especially if you are not an Arsenal or England fan. It is like seeing your niece every once in a while, you notice changes easier than in your spouse. Most players might have improving stats but it's hard to see new skills. 

On Saturday I saw his new quick release three times when he was shooting. Once for his goal and twice as he shifted the ball to his left and shot. Arteta will be all over the details as we know and he will have told Saka (if he hadn't figured it out himself) that advanced shooting catches the keeper off the ground when shooting or not 'set' so they are flat footed when the ball is in flight. His goal on Saturday was better than the spectacular reaction to a thunder strike.

Happy timing: 

As the amount of games increases, the timing of our desire to rotate players should not affect results. For as much as we look at ourselves and what we are going to do during the next couple of months, the other teams at the top of the league have the same problem with the same busy schedule, but perhaps less trust in their squad options. I’m hoping that Arteta rotates around two players per game regardless of previous performance, and that everybody gets their rest at the appropriate time. Even though Partey has hit top form, his rest must be one of the priorities before he breaks. Perhaps the fact that he is refusing to play for Ghana will elongate his minutes on the field.

Nwaneri:

The way his career has been managed so far has kept a cap on the excitement. The fact that these months are crowded will see him benefit. I read a report talking of his personal development plan and how Arteta told him that there would be more minutes available further into this part of the season and opportunities to start games.

Looking at the fixture list I would imagine that he will get a run of games around Christmas. Everton, Palace, Palace again followed by Ipswich and Brentford could be his run of games and will reveal if he has value beyond playing 10 to 30 minutes. I would imagine that the club knows that he is already capable, but the decision isn’t just based on his abilities. When he goes in a player of similar talent comes out and we don’t have many, if any players in our squad, who would justify becoming a regular substitute so that he could play. When he does come in, I would imagine that his run of games will at first not necessarily be in the same position. You can rest Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli or Trossard and even Rice or Merino at left eight and give Nwaneri an opportunity. After this period we might well know not only if he needs to sit somebody down but what his best position is. Right now it sure looks like it’s where Odegard plays, but much like Timber, Califiori and others in the past, when you play for a very good team sometimes you end up changing positions as your brilliance is too good to sit down but your rival has equal brilliance.

Silencing:

One sign of a good coach is seen in the performance of the opponent's better players. Forest have had a very good season and Elanga and Hudson–Odoi have been the danger men alongside Chris Wood. Both of the wingers were completely nullified by Arteta's tactic to hedge those distributing to central areas, especially on the counter. 

Numbers:

Arteta talked pre-Forest about getting more numbers in the box. Coaches often forget in the fog of fear that the more numbers you push forward, the more they bring back. If you don't want CHO or Elanga to influence the game, make them defend.

Saliba:

The best players make playing the best players look like every other day.

Passing range freedom:

Perhaps it's the return of Odegaard or perhaps it's coaching encouragement, but I'm seeing more adventurous dinks, chips and such. 

The ball to Saka for Havertz's goal was Partey perfection. Over the last 20 or so years Arsenal have rarely used the lower percentage, creative ball. Even though we have had players with this eye like Arshavin, Fabregas and Odegaard, we have preferred patience and high percentage football. Generally I like this style. Probably because I live in the world of no patience and have been trying to teach it on the soccer field for 20 years whilst simultaneously teaching soccer parents to stop shouting 'go, go, go' or 'vamos.'

I often think about what I would do if I had the chance to coach at the highest level. Just pillow thinking for fun. Without a doubt, I would teach the balance between high percentage, simple, keepaway football and creativity and the importance of the unexpected. Modern football has become significantly more programmed. It will become increasingly more difficult in a year or two to break teams down because defending in an organized block will become so frequent that many will crack the code of denial and become experts at it. The need for the unexpected will therefore become the most important offensive characteristic and coaches will start looking for players that go against the grain. I also feel strongly that you should never put a cap on the ceiling of a hyper talented player, like Thomas Partey. Telling him to be a 7 out of 10 player with an obsession for possession stats should be considered a crime, only to realize when you see him playing in the MLS, that he could’ve gone to 9 or 10 if he felt the freedom and trust to take risks. 

Tap-ins:

How very lovely that all of the goals in Lisbon were tap-ins or simplistic finishes. This is another lack in our game as we haven’t perfected utilizing the 6 yard box. Martinelli’s goal was rather fortunate as the keeper forgot that he wasn’t seven years old and could be braver than your average under eight player. Havertz's goal was fantastic attacking play, even though it looked so simple. It’s nice to see a player who is lauded for other qualities have success in the most basic part of a striker’s job. Always expect others to miss and position yourself in case they do so you can pick up the scraps. Every striker should score at least five goals a season this way. Trossard did the exact same thing when following up for his simple header, and Gabriel’s header was unopposed due to fantastic teamwork in blocking and holding. We have never been a team that relies on penalty kicks, which brings more focus on my previous point about needing a proactive dribbler. Saka's goal came from some proactive creativity by Odegaard.

Mastering the right side:

Does any team in world football have such focus and success on one side of the field as Arsenal do on their right side? It’s intentional of course. In Trossard and Martinelli we have two finishers and our creators are on the right side. What is almost comical is that opponents know that we are going to set up our attacks on that side and obviously prepare for it, but still cannot stop it. I think it has less to do with individual brilliance than movement off the ball. Players care about the instruction they get when it comes to players moving quickly around them off the ball. They are in fear of the glaring sin of not following your player. They know that they will be shouted at by their teammates and embarrassed at the team meeting, too.

So, we take advantage of this by bamboozling them with unselfish off ball movement leaving others who are not in sight to take advantage.

NEEDS:

Near Post:

I'm trying to keep this blog balanced so I have to point out some flaws in our game. Since Olivier Giroud, we haven’t had a striker that makes runs in front of the near post defender. We were spoiled for many years with not just Giroud, but Van Persie getting the 'first chance' when the cross came in. That’s really the advantage in picking that area to attack. In order for the ball to go to the middle or back post, it has to travel past the front post and somehow avoid the keeper and defenders, so the front post might be a little harder when finishing, but at least you get the 'first chance.'. There is of course, the chip to the back post, which is different but everything else gives the 'first chance' to the player that gets into that position. Havertz does it sometimes but rarely and missed a couple of 'first chance' opportunities in these two games as he was waiting in other areas.

Middle of the gap:

Whilst I’m being picky, I’m always amazed at two aspects of football at the highest level that have not really been mastered. One is the non-insistence that if you are a professional footballer that you have two feet that work equally. Secondly, teaching how to correctly play through balls is obviously not taught or tweaked. Too many balls are overhit on slick pitches, and now that the keeper is coming out further and further, this has been an even harder skill to perfect. It does, however, create one of the simplest chances in the game as one ball can dissect an entire back four, five or six. The bigger problem is the placement of the pass. Too many midfielders play the ball with the priority being that it has to fall directly into the path of the attacker. Most of them don’t get through the gap because in order to put it right in his path, it has to travel too closely to one of the defenders. The correct way to do it is to not worry about the attacker’s run, but show more concern in getting the ball through the gap in the first place. In this case, you don’t look at the runner because your peripheral vision will see him. You look for gaps and put the ball exactly halfway between the two defenders, encouraging them to commit to a ball that they cannot get and leaving your striker free to go 1 v 1. 

Weak foot dribbling:

Back to weak foot. I noticed that when Saka is dribbling close to the sideline, he keeps the ball on his left foot, encouraging the defender to steal it. He needs to shift the ball to his right foot as space is limited and if the defender wants to lunge for it, the ball is further away from him.

HOPES:

Wasting time:

I can't get into the MLS or any sport that has playoffs. Inter Miami finished the season topof the league, winning the league by 8 points and 15 points beyond third place. They didn't win the MLS Cup though because they were knocked out in the stupid playoffs by Atlanta United who finished 10 points off bottom and 34 points below Inter Miami at the top. I can't respect a league where this happens. 

The Premier League is starting to lose respect from many in a different way. I watch enough PL games to know that the PGMOL fix issues midway through the season. The latest 'improvement' is not sending off players for kicking the ball away. Players who are already on a yellow card. Improvements are important, but they should be done in the summer and firm decisions made that are stuck to during the season. If you 'fix mistakes' that should never have happened in the first place then the league is no longer fair. If Arsenal do win the league, it will likely be by less than 3 points. Same for City or Liverpool. Those points could be simply tracked back to Declan Rice and Leo Trossard being sent off for a rule that has now been changed.

Dribbling technique:

I do wish that Arsenal would have the option of a proactive dribbler. Odegaard, Trossard, Saka, and Martinelli are all reactive dribblers. Players whose dribbling touches are determined by the defender's body movements. This is a safer way to dribble and for Odegaard in particular, it is one of his huge strengths. They call these types of players 'press resistant' and in Odegaard's position that is pivotal. The issue becomes when you have four players that dribble and their success is largely dependent on the weakness of the defender making incorrect body movements, particularly lunging for the ball.

 In comparison, if you look at a proactive dribbler player like Mbappé he won’t wait for the defender to encourage him to go one way or the other. He will likely do a stepover or similar, and then use his change of pace to freeze and deceive. The issue becomes that you are in the hands of the opponent if you are waiting for them to bite. A smarter opponrent will not bite simply because they want their teammates to have time to get back in position, therefore making it harder to score.

Both proactive and reactive dribbling are good and needed. Simply for balance, I think that we need a player that is proactive as one of Arsenal’s very few lacks is directness and ruthlessness, when given the opportunity to transition. Mo Kudus could be this player and I think that the club have serious interest in Brahim Diaz as a versatile attacker. That will largely depend on whether he stays in the team when Vini Junior and Rodrygo come back.

Interestingly, as I write this, we are watching the Golazo Show as it hops around all of the Europa League games. I’ve just seen Nico Williams completely lose his right back and set up the second goal for Athletic Club with a step over and change of pace. I suppose it illuminates my point when you see a player doing something that our players don’t do.

Gyokeres:

The chat around his performance and ability to potentially play for Arsenal is the perfect example of what I said earlier. So many people are having such firm and brutal assessments of a player that they’ve likely never seen play a full game. They are forgetting that Gyokeres is playing against the best center back partnership in world football. What actually happened was that whenever he was brought into play he did fine, well and very well. He had a couple of half chances to score and came within 1 inch of scoring with his weak foot. His holdup play and body strength was excellent even against our two monsters. His creativity was limited, but good when given a chance. If I had never seen him before, he would have caught my eye as he looked like he could potentially be the full package, even though he is capable of better.

How many players can you mention that are possibly the strongest center forward in Europe, the most powerful centre forward in Europe, the best goalscorer in Europe, the most capable centre forward in Europe at scoring out of nothing as well as being one of the most useful defensive center forwards in Europe. On top of this, he is one of the quickest centre forwards in Europe, and possibly the most two footed center forward in Europe. 

My only concern is how he performs against the deep block that he rarely has to face. I struggle to think that a player with so many top qualities wouldn't thrive in any environment. 

I'm unconcerned about what happens to Havertz because (unfortunately) there are too many games and so if your better one plays 35 and your rotation player plays 25 then this is better for the team and the individual anyway. Even if the players think they want to play every game.

Finally, even though City are not in their best form, he is the only player to score a Hattrick against them since they became a powerhouse. 

If Arsenal were to sign him in January, I think that not only would we win the league, but we would become the best team in Europe in coming seasons. Why? He would occupy both centre backs, giving even more room for the plethora of other capable scorers. If they went one v one on him to cover others he would score like Haaland.

Potentially, he is the best all round striker in Europe but he will not achieve this title unless he moves to a Champions League challenging club.

Ferguson:

The more likely January supplemental signing would be Evan Ferguson at Brighton. He is apparently available on loan as he is not being used at Brighton and losing value. He would be a good short-term addition, but I’m unconvinced about him in the long-term as he cannot stay fit. His superpower is his ability to shoot like his foot is a gun.

Mbeumo: 

He may be the most likely signing in January. Apparently, we were interested during the last couple of days of the summer window and did not bite for some reason. I think the interest is based on his ability to play on both wings and at centre forward, if needed. Honestly, even though he has been in the league for many years he is not a player that I have paid enough attention to to have a firm opinion. He is dangerous in front of goal, but not anywhere near as dangerous when receiving the ball one on one compared to other wingers. I’m sure Arteta loves his pressing and team style of play.

Retugui:

We are apparently linked with him for a potentially January signing. He has had an unbelievable season and became Italy’s starting centre forward. I’m sure you have reservations like I do about any Italian player playing in England as it is rare that they even come let alone have success. One to keep an eye on though.

Brahim Diaz:

A player that I think that we are genuinely interested in again because of his versatility. He played under Arteta's coaching at City and has developed to the point where he is an irregular starter at Real Madrid. Extremely quick on and off the ball and exceptional in possession. I don’t see this happening because the only reason he would leave Madrid is likely because of more of a guarantee of starts. I can only imagine Arsenal see him as a very interesting squad rotational option, like Madrid do.

Adam Wharton:

Another rumour. Certainly a great long term purchase but currently overpriced at 65M he is not necessary until the summer.

Morten Hjulmand:

Tuesday was the first time I'd paid attention to him. I knew him as an Arsenal fan who Max told me about him a while ago and I noticed his composure, especially in front of goal against Arsenal.

SCOUT MAX:

And now on to players that have not been linked, but are very much worth a thought….

Marmoush:

Max has been telling me about Omar Marmoush for over a year now. To his credit he noticed him before he got 24 goals and assists already this season at Eintracht Frankfurt. A 25 year old versatile Egyptian forward who won't be there long.

Quenda:

You may recognise the name from Tuesday. A seventeen year old right sided player that played right wing back for Sporting. Not sure he is what Arsenal need right now, but if the longer term plan is to buy and loan like Chelsea, he would be a player in contention. 

TWEETS and THOUGHTS:

I had no idea. Just when we are salivating over Ethan, we find out there is another Nwaneri. He's called Emerson and apparently he plays for us and he's just made the England U-15 team. 

Screenshot

Screenshot

Well congratulations, oh talented brother of a talented brother.

Am I over excited? I mean Ethan could have a baby brother called Weethan who is 2 and just (accidentally) hit top bins when kicking Ethan's puppies dog toy. Totally unaware that there was a mini goal in front of him in the living room, or what 'top bins' even means.

FINAL THOUGHT:

We just played two of the most in-form teams in Europe and completely nulified their best players and won with an aggregate 8-1 scoreline. Sometimes you look at the fixtures and find it hard to find one that doesn’t trouble you. Then we remember what a bloody good team we have and we forget the part of the contest where our opponents have to contain a team who start games with seven players who are the cream.

The post The door that didn't slide (Positives Needs & Hopes) first appeared on Gunners Town.